A new toe!

[laramill]

Well, I'm pretty excited and no one around here (at home) is thinking this is a big deal, but I do!

I was taking Wilson out of his soak today and I think he has a claw trying to grow on his "elephant foot" (The foot that appeared to have lost all its toes.)

When I first got him, he was kind of rotty, but I figured that those missing toes were just a battle wound. Then I read something about how fungus can attack their claws as well as their shell, so every time I treated his shell, I dabbed a bit on where his toes should've been on the 2 feet missing them. (The front foot has only one toe/claw, the back foot had none. His other front and back feet were fine)

Well, I stopped doing that months ago when I stopped treating his shell and just figured there would be no claws--Fine.

But I noticed a bit of a nub on his foot last week, and today it actually looks like there is a claw starting. (I tried to take a picture, but couldn't get one that wasn't blurry-- so I'll see if I can do it after the claw grows a bit-- or if he's sleeping with that foot hanging out I might be able to get it, too.)

Even better...I think the other 2 spots on the same foot where there should be toes look slightly like they are getting nubby, too! I can't see any kind of claw there at all, but there are 2 little nubs, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed!

I tried to check the front foot, but by that time, Wilson had had enough of me poking at him... so from what I could tell, nothing new there.... But I'll take one certain claw and 2 possible ones any day!!

(Kind of wonder if I should get the creams back out and put a bit more on that front foot now...)

 

[Yvonne G]

I didn't think appendages would re-generate. That's interesting news.

 

[Cowboy_Ken]

Not to get you too worried, but is there a chance these could be abscesses developing under a scale? What I'm thinking is maybe, your first care on the foot did a very good job at healing the wounds over, yet there was still crud deeper in the wounds. If these festered, then started to bulge out under a scale, it might very well look like a toe is regrowing. Just a thought.
Like I said though, I'm not intending you to get overly worked up about it, just to keep observing and maybe check real good with a magnifying lens.

 

[laramill]

I've been looking at his feet and I think what makes his toes look like toes is the claw coming out of it (on his normal feet)- they don't have toes like we do or say a cat or dog or bird have... So when his claws were gone (for whatever reason), it looked like his toes were. Now that the claw is back, his 'toe' appears back.

Anyway- his back foot definitely has a brand new claw after at least 6 months (that's how long he's been with me) of nothing there and I'm starting to think the other two areas are also showing new claws. I'm watching it closely... but I'm very optimistic that he may have a back foot with 3 claws soon. The first claw seems to be growing crazy-fast.

Ill try to post a picture as soon as I'm able to get one that isn't blurry, which is proving to be tricky because it has to be so close up to really see anything.

No change in his front foot though.