Sore on leg

[KsivaD]

This morning when I picked up my tortoise I noticed there was a red sore located on his upper leg. I have no idea how long it has been there because it can only be seen when his leg is fully extended. He is still eating fine and acting normal but I am really worried about him and would greatly appreciate any input as to what it might be. Sorry the pictures are not the best, I was running late to class and he has some substrate stuck to him (eco earth). Thank you so much!
Kelli

 

[J. Ellis]

Kelli,

What is your complete substrate and how are you keeping him? Humidity? Water dish? Etc.

I could be completely wrong (I am more often than not) but my first reaction is that it was caused by a wet piece of substrate stuck between his leg and body, causing irritation and eventually a skin infection.

 

[Greg T]

Josh may be right, or possibly a sharp piece of substrate either scratched or punctured his leg. Either way, watch it for a few days and see if it gets any better. It doesn't look too bad now, I've seen worse. Some might apply an antibiotic ointment on it if possible also.

Hope it heals quickly.

 

[Yvonne G]

Sometimes you see injuries like this when a tortoise is trying to climb something and falls down. His shell scrapes that part of the leg, causing an abrasion. You can put some Neosporin (triple antibiotic ointment) on it to help it heal.

 

[KsivaD]

Ok I put some triple antibiotic ointment on it. I usually try to soak him once a day or every other day but should I hold off on that to keep it dry? Also how can I keep the ecoearth from sticking to the ointment or is that not a major problem? Thank you all for the advice. If it starts to look any worse over the weekend I am going to take him in to see a vet but hopefully I am just overreacting and it will just get better from here

As for his enclosure, it is a rubbermaid under the bed storage container with ecoearth substrate which I try to keep moist but usually the top layer is semi dry. There is a humid hide on the warm side which has ecoearth in it also. I put a heating pad under the enclosure where it is to make sure the temp does not drop too much at night and it stays around 80 degrees. There is a shallow water dish in the enclosure and additional hiding areas. The room temp usually stays in the upper 70s or lower 80s and a mercury vapor lamp provides a basking temp in the upper 90s. I know most health issues are husbandry related so I want to make sure that I am not doing anything to harm him, so if I need to make some changes please tell me. He/she is about 8 months old and definitely has a tendency to be a little curious and has flipped over on several occasions trying to climb things. I removed the main climbing temptations so he hasn't flipped in a while but will still occasionally try to climb up the sides (which I have blocked so he cannot see out), so the idea of him scraping his leg on his shell could definitely be the problem. If the substrate had something to do with it, how would it be possible to prevent it from happening again?

Thank you all again for everything!
kelli