Hey everyone, so I'm pretty worried right now.
To start off with some background information, my female russian came out of brumation several weeks ago (February 20th) and started off healthy and with a big appetite. Nothing was wrong until a week or two ago I noticed that she was having issues walking; her back legs would drag slightly when walking but still would move and retract if I held her. I thought it may be because some fire ants that had started popping up had got to her legs, or constipation/stones. I bathed her, took care of the fire ants immediately, separated her (she was living with a male and female) and then monitored her closely. She hasn't been getting much better with walking, but still eats some and basks.
Today, however, I inspected her and noticed something strange. She had started to grow some growth lines already, yet when I pressed down towards the growth lines on the scutes, it was not firm and liquid would come out from where the growth lines were forming. The bone beneath the scutes was firm, yet the scutes on top were not. I was wondering if it was shell rot or some sort, but it has been really dry recently (except for me spraying down the pen yesterday) so I'm really unsure what's happening.
Here are some pics, one before pressing and one after some liquid came out- I already had squeezed and dried most of the liquid before the pic, there was more earlier. Also, you can see some dirt sticking to the growth line because of the liquid.
To start off with some background information, my female russian came out of brumation several weeks ago (February 20th) and started off healthy and with a big appetite. Nothing was wrong until a week or two ago I noticed that she was having issues walking; her back legs would drag slightly when walking but still would move and retract if I held her. I thought it may be because some fire ants that had started popping up had got to her legs, or constipation/stones. I bathed her, took care of the fire ants immediately, separated her (she was living with a male and female) and then monitored her closely. She hasn't been getting much better with walking, but still eats some and basks.
Today, however, I inspected her and noticed something strange. She had started to grow some growth lines already, yet when I pressed down towards the growth lines on the scutes, it was not firm and liquid would come out from where the growth lines were forming. The bone beneath the scutes was firm, yet the scutes on top were not. I was wondering if it was shell rot or some sort, but it has been really dry recently (except for me spraying down the pen yesterday) so I'm really unsure what's happening.
Here are some pics, one before pressing and one after some liquid came out- I already had squeezed and dried most of the liquid before the pic, there was more earlier. Also, you can see some dirt sticking to the growth line because of the liquid.
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