Wound

[Jabbathetortiose]

Hi guys, I left my Sulcata tortoise alone for a day and I came home to this wound on his head. I am kinda freaking out right now, if anyone can help me figure out what this is and maybe how to clean it I would appreciate it. My thought is that maybe it cut his head on his shell???

 

[method89]

post pictures of your setup.

his substrate looks pretty dry. what is the humidity level.

anything is possible, he may have flipped over and cut it when righting himself.

Give this a read: its one of, if not the best guide for raising a sulcata

The Best Way To Raise A Sulcata, Leopard, Or Star Tortoise

I chose the title of this care sheet very carefully. Are there other ways to raise babies? Yes. Yes there are, but those ways are not as good. What follows is the BEST way, according to 30 years of research and experimentation with hundreds of babies of many species. Babies hatch during the...

www.tortoiseforum.org

 

[Yvonne G]

Was he outside? A bird may have pecked him.

 

[AndreaJonly]

Riley has been cutting his head, too. I think he's catching his scalp on his shell. He is a determined shover, and tries to get as close as possible to the corners of his home (or my room if he's roaming around the house). It seems he's cutting his outer back legs on his shell, too.
I rinse with saline and apply antibiotic ointment (like Neosporin).
I read the care guide link, but didn't see anything about what to do for repeated cuts on the head.
Riley is a 2 1/2 yr old sulcata that weighs 5.4 kg; I've had him since he was about 4 weeks old (still had his egg tooth) and 40 g.

 

[Tom]

Does this tortoise live alone?
What type of enclosure? Open top?
Got any other pets? Cat?
Rodents a possibility?

 

[AndreaJonly]

Does this tortoise live alone?
What type of enclosure? Open top?
Got any other pets? Cat?
Rodents a possibility?

Riley lives alone. He's got a 4x2x2 foot enclosure (MDF with glass sliding doors in front). He's allowed out to roam when I notice he wants to do so. The cuts happen inside his house. I have a beardie with his own house, and they stay clear of each other when they are out together. No rodents. He skinned his head before; it was healing, but he re-skinned the same spots today.
I think I'm more worried than he is, but it would be nice to know how to help him heal. I checked on him and he's smearing the salve on his shell. Glad I laid it on thick!

 

[Tom]

Riley lives alone. He's got a 4x2x2 foot enclosure (MDF with glass sliding doors in front). He's allowed out to roam when I notice he wants to do so. The cuts happen inside his house. I have a beardie with his own house, and they stay clear of each other when they are out together. No rodents. He skinned his head before; it was healing, but he re-skinned the same spots today.
I think I'm more worried than he is, but it would be nice to know how to help him heal. I checked on him and he's smearing the salve on his shell. Glad I laid it on thick!

What could he be scraping his head on to do that in the enclosure?

I would not let the lizard and tortoise out together. Neither should be out loose on the floor. This is a recipe for disaster in one or more ways.

I asked about rodents because that looks like a bite. The tortoise doesn't have enough weight or force to scrape its own head like that even if there were jagged rocks in the enclosure. I suspect the beardie bit him when you were not looking.

 

[AndreaJonly]

The picture is not my post/not Riley. The picture is of Jabbathetortoise/in the original post by Jabbathetortoise.
Riley's cuts align with his shell. They are bilateral and nearly symmetric. The ones on his back legs are likewise configured, aligned with his shell.
I think, as he gets a little height climbing the wall, he rests and abruptly slides down, snagging his up-turned head on his shell, and snags his shell backwards on his legs.

 

[Tom]

The picture is not my post/not Riley.

Whoops. Sorry about that.

 

[AndreaJonly]

Whoops. Sorry about that.

No worries - just wanted Jabbathetort to know that they are not alone; that it seems possible (to me, anyway) that their tort could cut itself on its shell; and see if anyone had other wound care suggestions.
Thanks for your comments!