Septic?

[JenniferAnn]

Hi all,
I'm still here with Woody, who may have recently developed a problem. He is about 6.5 years old now. Other than being inside all winter, his housing or food has not changed. He has one pink spot where his scale is abnormal and a couple other discolorations on his neck. He's still acting normal and eating a bunch, but what do you think is the cause of his symptoms? I have a vet in Louisville that says they can look at him, but not an exotic specialist so I haven't taken him yet.

 

[Careym13]

I am absolutely no expert, and only have a couple torts, but from the photos it looks to me like he just scraped himself or something. One of my torts scraped up against a rock one time and had an area on his leg that looked almost identical to what your tort shows in the picture. Same thing on the neck...they look like abrasions. I'm sure others will chime in with their thoughts, though.

 

[ZEROPILOT]

The pink spot on the leg looks like a minor injury. A scale missing maybe.
Has there been any bleeding with either area?

 

[ZEROPILOT]

It looks like Careym13 beat me to it.

 

[JenniferAnn]

No bleeding. But one of the spots on his neck does look like a bruise/scrap now that I'm thinking about more explanations than a blood infection His chin is a little orangish though. Woody does like to climb a little, so a scrap is definitely a possibility. I worry about him getting septic because he had pink spots on the bottom of his feet twice before-which I can't explain.

As for the scale on his arm- just it be?

 

[JenniferAnn]

I meant, just let it be?

 

[Careym13]

If you're concerned or feel like maybe it is something other than a scrape or a cut, the best bet would probably be to have a vet check him out. Even the orange on the chin looks like just normal wear and tear to me...but it is your tort and you have to do what makes you feel comfortable. If it were me, I'd just keep an eye on it and see if it gets better on it's own. If the tort is acting normal otherwise it may not be worth it to stress him out and take him to a vet. But like I said, go with your gut feeling and do what you think is best for your tort

 

[ZEROPILOT]

A dab of antibiotic ointment would be my first reaction.
Usually I find that that alone does the trick 99% of the time.
I buy the antibiotic cream from the dollar store and it's something anyone can afford.

 

[Yvonne G]

I don't see anything to be concerned about.

 

[JenniferAnn]

Thank you all! Just a little overly cautious I guess. I appreciate your responses

 

[dmmj]

it does not look like septicemia to me.

 

[Careym13]

Thank you all! Just a little overly cautious I guess. I appreciate your responses

Nothing wrong with being cautious!

 

[Maggie Cummings]

Septicemia would make his plastron 'lines' very pink. It's shocking to see, and your tort does not have it.

 

[JenniferAnn]

Thank goodness! I'll have to do some searching through the threads that way I know the signs a bit more.

 

[tortadise]

Appears to be minor exterior scraps or injuries. What sort of items are accessible to him in the enclosure? Sharp bark, hides, anything really? Septicemia is subcutaneous and appears in light pink to bright pink coloration under the skin and they typicssly do not eat, walk and or show normal signs of behavior if infected or showing the last signs of it. Your tortoise looks just fine. Typical wear and tear from something possibly in the enclosure or possibly a foreign predator or manipulator exhibiting these minor injuries.

 

[JenniferAnn]

There are a couple of sharp things. I have cinder blocks and stumps, which may have been what caused it.