Skin Rash on Hatchling?

[RevoltinglyYoung]

My little guy is a 4 month old, He's always been healthy, eats like a little champ, and is strong and active, I soak him for 15mins once a day and rarely miss a beat with his schedule however, today while I was drying him off with a que tip he got super upset with me (its our routine so he's normally calm) and started flailing like a madman, I'd never seen him like this, scared me and so I immediately stopped.. I looked at him after I came home from work to find red spots on his skin.. is it possible his skin was just dry and he tore it (like chapped lips) or is this a more serious problem? They appeared over night and I'm super worried about it.

Also, should I introduce VitaShell to his skin, or is he too young???? Not sure what the problem is... : ( please help.

 

[pebbles]

Could you post a picture of his skin? i think that would help a lot of the readers to help you.

 

[egyptiandan]

Does your Sulcata go outside?

Danny

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi RevoltinglyYoung:

Welcome to the forum!!

Were you using the same brand of Q-tip as you normally have used in the past?

It would not be harmful to use an antibiotic ointment on the skin. Don't use too much, just a light coating. I don't believe in using any shell preparations like Vita Shell. But if you have a first aid problem, you can use the same first aid products on your tortoise that you would use on yourself or your child.

I really think we need to see a picture of the rash before we jump in with diagnoses.

 

[RevoltinglyYoung]

Omg so much feedback (this is one of my first forums so thank you so much for the fast response!) I'm uploading pictures now, so that you can see what I'm talking about, they look like cuts, and its silly that it never occured to me I could hurt him.. I'm hoping its just that and that it will heal. : ( but what do you think? and We go outside yes, but since he's so little he is under CONSTANT supervision, I live in an area of Az where hawks could be an issue and even though i know its unlikely, I'm super scared that something might swoop down.. but he's never been hurt outside.. And yes, just generic que tips.

Why not VitaShell?

This is my very first time with ANY reptile so there's alot I don't know and alot that I'm not aware of, if you have any tips or tidbits please let me know. I think I've got my bases covered, but, let me know what you think, thanks.

 

[egyptiandan]

He could have been stung by ants or just poked by something. It set up an infection and you using a q-tip just took off the dead skin over the infection. An over the counter triple antibiotic ointment should fix that up no problem.

Danny

 

[RevoltinglyYoung]

Thank you so much! : D I'll deffinately do that then. I'll update on the results.

 

[Tom]

Next we need to get your set-up and hydration routine up to speed. There is a lot of new info out there. Have you had a chance to check out the sulcata section. Lots of great threads. The substrate in your pic needs to be replaced ASAP.

Welcome to the forum.

 

[RevoltinglyYoung]

I know! DX
I just commissioned my grandfather on designing a tortoise table for me, he's young but I hate that he's in an aquarium. :/ But since I am using an aquarium in the meantime, which substrate would be best? The Timothy hay or the topsoil mixture? Or does it even matter?

 

[Yvonne G]

Yes, actually, it matter quite a bit. You want a substrate that you can moisten. I know...I know...you've heard that they're from the desert and require a dry habitat. Well, forget all that information that you've "heard." The most recent thought on the subject is that babies hide down in deep burrows most of the first year of their life. They need to be kept fairly moist in order to not grow bumps on their carapace. This is called pyramiding. You want a nice smooth growth. So, I use cypress mulch. I pour quite a bit of water on it and stir it all up. The light soon dries out the top layer, and that way your baby isn't sitting on a wet substrate, but the wet underneath rises into the air as it evaporates, allowing the baby the humidity he needs.

 

[RevoltinglyYoung]

Can I find cypress mulch at my local petstore??


This is so helpful btw thank you so much for your info, It really is appreciated.

 

[Yvonne G]

I'm on the West Coast of the U.S. and cypress mulch isn't available to us here in bulk or large bags or at garden centers. If you live on the east coast or there abouts, you can find it at garden centers or home improvement stores. A very large bag is usually around $3.

If you're unlucky enough to be on the west coast, you can still buy it, but it will cost you a lot more. Look for T-Rex Forest Floor or Zoo Med Jungle Bed or other names like that, in the pet stores. It only comes in small bags and its around $8 a bag.

If you want to purchase online and pay shipping, Tyler Stewart of tortoisesupply.com has it. I've bought from him before. Here's his web site:

http://www.tortoisesupply.com/categories/Substrates/

 

[Livingstone]

What was inside the aquarium before your tortoise? Did you thoroughly clean it?

 

[RevoltinglyYoung]

Brand new aquarium.