General Care Discussion :: Blisters in feet

[dumbork14]

Hi all! I just noticed that Dumbork has blisters on her feet. I have several causes in mind:

-When she's basking under the sun for 30 minutes, she lifts and retracts both feet back in her shell. I use a plastic tub and maybe the tub gets too hot under the sun. So, sunburn?
-Her resting place is a green mat with a grass-like texture (she's been using this for the past 2 years, so far there's no other problem aside from said blisters. So, excessive rubbing?

What do you think is the cause? I've touched it and the skin is not broken, it just looks like a little white lump. Do you think it's pus-filled? Should I put some ointment in it? Is there a thing called "water blisters"? Should I put some SSD and dry-dock her in the meantime? Should I replace her resting area with a smoother one? Right now she's staying at that position.

[steve]

I can't see any blisters. Are they sensitive?

[dumbork14]

It's the white spot on the feet. It's a little inflamed and raised and soft to the touch.

[dumbork14]

Here's a closer look -- can you see the blister I'm talking about?

right foot

[steve]

Thanks for clearing that up. I'm not sure... I can't recall seeing white blisters like that before. How long has this been going on? Any change in size?

[Jeremiah]

Please correct me if I'm offering the wrong method, but I would recommend allowing your turtle to dry off (which should eventually "deflate" or pop the blisters). That way, they won't be able to spread as easily, if at all. Once they pop, I would suggest cleaning it out the first time with some Betadine. After that, I would use something like Hibiclens and/or silver sulfadiazine on a daily basis, until the skin heals over. Be sure to apply Neosporin after rinsing off the Betadine and Hibiclens.

[dumbork14]

Hi steve and Jeremiah! Didn't want to take a chance, took her to the vet this morning. It's bacterial pododermatitis. check out the story here: http://dumbork.wordpress.com/2013/10/08 ... -what-now/

[ljapa]

Sorry to hear it, but great news that you decided to go with a vet visit and caught it.

[dumbork14]

Yeah, the vet said that it was idiopathic (am I getting it right?), that there is not a single cause of this disease. Sort of like RI.

[Madly]

I hope that everything goes well. I keep my fingers crossed.

[steve]

Very interesting. Good for you on the fast reaction.

[Jeremiah]

Good to hear. How did your vet make the diagnosis? Typical lab cultures take more than one day, so I was just curious.

[dumbork14]

He took a sample and then did an Impression Smear. He compared it to the sample in the lab.