Lesion on Baby Sulcata Shell

[vipy18]

As i was about to soak my sulcata for the day I discovered this lesion on his shell. Three ants were converging on this wound, maybe gnawing their way in.

I got rid of the ants and let it be. I checked it the next day, it got bigger, again with a couple of ants. What could this wound be?

Please advice.

I tried putting petroleum jelly to protect the lesion from being invaded by the ants, so far it's doing its job. But would this be enough to cure the lesion?

Thanks

 

[wellington]

Hello and Welcome. I can't help with the lesion. You do need to keep it clean and the ants off. Not sure if the jelly will let it heal or not. See what others say, otherwise I would keep him housed inside until it heals. The ants will make it worse and keep it from healing.

 

[Ruchonnet]

When my tortoise had a wound like that I was told to put iodine on it twice a day with a q tip and let it dry. Then put antibiotics on it. Maybe you could try that?

 

[Yvonne G]

If you're keeping the little guy very wet, it MIGHT be shell rot. At any rate, if you use athlete's foot cream on the spot instead of the vaseline, it won't do any harm if it's NOT shell rot, and it will also help clean up shell rot and keep the ants off.

If you don't think it's shell rot, you can substitute antibiotic ointment for the vaseline.

 

[sibi]

Yvonne, I didn't know sullies get shell rot, and even if they do, this is right on the growth line. It looks to me like the ants took some good bites and now it's a wound. It wouldn't hurt to clean the area with antiseptic and apply aloe from the plant. The gel that comes from the leaf would not be painful and I imagine it would keep the ants away too. It should heal nicely. Obviously, after several applications of aloe, if the wound doesn't seem to be healing, then you can assume its a fungus. Then applying a fungal cream may work. Just keep an eye on it.

 

[Tom]

That looks like a scrape from trying to get under a rock or something. Some sort of mechanical injury. Do you have a dog? Any opposing marks on the plastron?

Either way, I'd use triple antibiotic instead of Vaseline. Give it a few days and then let it scab up and dry out. Weird that the ants would go for it...