New Blue Tongue - Health Issues

[Ellie_A]

I had posted yesterday regarding a new blue tongue that I was going to be receiving yesterday and I now have some more questions and pictures.

She was being given away free on kijiji so I thought that I would take her, I already figured that she would be in rough shape with her being free and on kijiji. A little background on her: I was told that she was 5 years old and that I am her 3rd owner, her first kept her with a bearded dragon, the second kept her alone but on sand. She has had babies once, has awful looking toes (very few are left as you can see below and she has a lot of retained shed around them), what looks to be a healed scar on her back, and a sore of some kind.

She's extremely friendly. When I got her home last night I immediately put her in a bath for about 15 minutes and a little of the retained shed came off but theres still a lot left. Her enclosure currently is a huge rubbermaid (I would estimate around 50 gallons). I set it up with a lot of eco-earth, a big water bowl that she can fit into if she wants to bathe, a couple of hides and a basking spot with a heat lamp and UV light. I think that this set up is ok for her but any suggestions are welcomed. I will be keeping an eye out for a 55-90 gallon aquarium and will pick one up as soon as I can. I left her alone for the most part last night but she seemed to be very inquisitive and was exploring her new home and this morning I gave her some food (a mixture of red chard, acrorn squash, yellow pepper, bok choy, a little mushroom, cooked lean ground beef, scrambled eggs and calcium powder, this is what I already feed to Yoshi).

I think that the retained shed will gradually come off with the increased humidity in her home and regular baths, my main concern is the sore on her back. Here are some pictures, sorry about the poor quality. Any recommendations on what I should do about it?



Also, here are some pictures of her feet after the bath





And a couple of pictures of her




In this one you can see the scar that I referred to earlier


Any advice would be very appreciated, I want to get this girl healthy and give her a great home.

[iLoveMyLizard]

For the open wounds to the feet, dabbing an iodine solution, such as betadine or vetark's tamodine would reduce risk of infection etc and would be a good idea. An obvious answer would be to see a vet, however I think other members may be able to advise further on the other issues. Just keep bathing for the time being, gently rubbing the feet to remove retained shed and ensure the humidity is around 40-45%. Other things you could do to aid retained shed would be to have plenty of things to rub against in the enclosure, and before bathing, it might be worth, as suggested by another member here, to run a steaming hot shower before hand to increase humidity in the room. This then combined with around a 10-15 minute bath should aid in the removal of the retained shed.

It would also be good to look on the underside of the toes to see if the shed is fully wrapped around the toe, or wether the skin on the feet is just damaged.

[Spindown]

I agree with using betadine, things for people like neosporin are actually not a good thing for reptiles. Also do not have normal substrate in cage, have paper towels or newspaper in there, much easier to keep clean and sanitary. You dont want her poor toes catching on anything and getting worse.

She may very well need antibiotics for those open wounds, so taking her to a vet would just make sense.

[Ellie_A]

Unfortunately the closet vet that will see reptiles is 6 hours away so unless home treatment doesn't work seeing a vet just isn't possible.

[Spindown]

my bad, so sorry OP
You are totally fine, i suggested betadine below X_X
I'm pretty sick at the moment and easily confused

[Ellie_A]

I think that you are responding to the wrong thread. There is nothing wrong with my skink's eye. I really don't appreciate being told that I am abusing my pet, especially considering I just got her yesterday from a home that wasn't caring for her properly. My animals are all very well cared for and see vets if/when necessary. Retained shed, in my opinion, unless it gets bad enough that infection is likely, is not a case that needs to be taken to a vet 6 hours away. As previously stated, if home care does not work then she will see a vet.

Unfortunately the closet vet that will see reptiles is 6 hours away so unless home treatment doesn't work seeing a vet just isn't possible.

It is possible, you just apparently arent willing to make the sacrifice, even though you were totally willing to PUNCTURE your LIVING (for now) SKINKS EYE!

I dont think you really have a choice at this point unless you are going to let the bluey suffer in horrible agony when further infection sets in. Injuries to eyes are VERY serious. There is a reason eyes are designed with corneas, to protect the pupil from being open. Now the eye is open to any infection. This bluey already had issues, now its very possible it could die from other issues directly related to what you have done.

I guess your options are to GO TO A VET or...GO TO A VET. You never should have jabbed it in the eye, and now that you have, its ON YOU to get it to the vet, and I dont care if its six hours away. You could have at least called the vet and asked for advice BEFORE jabbing it in the eye! Bet they would have said NO to that.

If you cant care for this skink (which since you jabbed in the eye says that no, you cant) you should rehome it immediately to someone who IS willing to take the poor thing to a vet.

I'd make a more harsh suggestion if it seemed to me that you had common sense but I cringe to say anything now that you have proven you havent. Take it to a vet or rehome it or you will probably have a very VERY sick skink (or dead) on your hands very soon.

Not sure how you would "home treat" a previously blind eye, which is now PUNCTURED. Do you somehow have lots of experience caring for injuries more than mites or toe loss or stuck shed? You are NOT a vet and should NOT be treating this animal in any way shape or form. IF you lived near me you'd probably be charged with animal abuse. If this was a dog or cat it wouldnt matter where you lived, you would ABSOLUTELY be charged with this.

[iLoveMyLizard]

I was also slightly confused when the eye was mentioned, even looked through other threads to no avail, however, It is important to remember that you can not always be sure that an animal is in good health (especially reptiles) and the only way to be sure would be to see a vet (or if your medically qualified to work with them etc)

Although home treatment will improve things, such as the open wound to the feet, you can again not be sure if the skink would be of good health. Albeit SapphireTigress may have got the issues slighty confused, im sure you can appreciate she only wants to help out, and her anger was vented at the person, who im sure you will agree by reading what she suggests they did, isnt a very good pet owner. Seeing a vet would be the best option (obviously) and I can appreciate that looking for home treatments before driving 6 hours is more convenient, but the principle still applies.

[Krippschick]

Unfortunately the closet vet that will see reptiles is 6 hours away so unless home treatment doesn't work seeing a vet just isn't possible.

You did say seeing a vet wouldnt be possible, but maybe it was a typo.

[Ellie_A]

I feel like I am being attacked for no reason right now. I saw someone giving away a sick skink on kijiji, took her into my home and am treating her wounds and removing retained shed. I stated above that right now taking her to a vet is not possible, however, if home care doesn't seem to be helping her then she will definitely go to a vet. I also think that spending 12 hours in a vehicle and a night in a hotel would not be beneficial to an already stressed skink so I don't think that it should be the first course of action.
At this point I am really considering removing myself from this forum permanently because I am getting slammed for simply asking for advice.

[Rhianimal]

I feel like I am being attacked for no reason right now. I saw someone giving away a sick skink on kijiji, took her into my home and am treating her wounds and removing retained shed. I stated above that right now taking her to a vet is not possible, however, if home care doesn't seem to be helping her then she will definitely go to a vet. I also think that spending 12 hours in a vehicle and a night in a hotel would not be beneficial to an already stressed skink so I don't think that it should be the first course of action.
At this point I am really considering removing myself from this forum permanently because I am getting slammed for simply asking for advice.

I think you're being confused for another person, at least by Sapphire. There was a thread about a sick bluey who had its eye poked. That was not you. I hope Sapphire can see this and redact it. it was this thread and the attacks on you seem very confusing and uncalled for.

that said, your new skink friend needs a clean cage with easy to clean/replace substrate like paper towels. If you wanted a humid hide box, I imagine a clean box with an unused, cleaner-free moistened bit of sponge inside could be good. I've read the humidifying mechanisms in humidors are great for keeping up humidity in a clean way.

Keeping the toes clean... is peroxide advised for reptiles? I used diluted hydrogen peroxide in my rat first aid kit for little scrapes and cuts.

Good luck in helping your skink recover! My skink needed a really big nail trim when I got him, and he did bleed a little bit. Just kept it as clean as I could and he did OK.

[iLoveMyLizard]

I feel like I am being attacked for no reason right now. I saw someone giving away a sick skink on kijiji, took her into my home and am treating her wounds and removing retained shed. I stated above that right now taking her to a vet is not possible, however, if home care doesn't seem to be helping her then she will definitely go to a vet. I also think that spending 12 hours in a vehicle and a night in a hotel would not be beneficial to an already stressed skink so I don't think that it should be the first course of action.
At this point I am really considering removing myself from this forum permanently because I am getting slammed for simply asking for advice.

As said previously, it is obviously a misunderstanding and a confusion between threads and you are far from being attacked. Something needs to be done about the open wounds on the toes. Try some betadine or tamodine, or other solution similar, and dab on once a day for a few days and keep an eye on them. As said, more infection can occur from open wounds, my skink being an example, who has septicemia and needs to be administered antibiotics twice weekly via injections. Although my care was very good, as I am sure yours is, sometimes these things happen and I hope you can appreciate that is what what is being aimed at. Im sure other members will be able to input their views as and when they see the thread, but unless somebody recognises some of the issues your having (possibly, some great and experienced people on here), then visiting a vet will probably be the same response.

[Spindown]

oops so sorry
not attacking you...pretty upset about the skink who got stuck in the eye though...

[Krippschick]

I would use betadine, not peroxide. I know they are not humans, but at work we rarely use peroxide for any wound anymore, we use betadine. Just my opinion...I have not had a reptile with an open wound before.

[Rachael t]

I think it's great that you are willing to take care of this poor little girl! My Lizzie had a bad history too, she was rescued from bad owners. With the feet being that bad just make sure that they stay clean. Everything else in your initial post sounds like you are doing good by her

[Rachael t]

And Betadine will probably clear up the sore on the back, just keep an eye on it for signs of infection.

[Ellie_A]

We made a lot of progress last night. When I got home after work I checked on her and it appeared that some of the shed on her feet had come off by itself, also a little around her ears was coming off, I hadn't even noticed that she had any there. After supper she bathed for about 15 minutes and then had mineral oil rubbed onto her toes. I let this soak in for a few minutes and then worked on removing the retained sheds. I would estimate that I removed about 90% of the sheds. We then trimmed her remaining nails and put iodine on any open wounds, including the sore on her back. She then had another bath and I applied polysporin.
Her feet are looking much better but they will always be deformed. She pooped twice in her baths so that's a great sign. She hasn't eaten yet but I'm sure that she is very stressed. We will repeat this process again tonight and probably daily for a few more days. I will take progress pictures in a couple of days.

[Krippschick]

Sounds like your doing and awesome job, thanks for keeping us posted.

[kripp_keeper]

Anytime you get a new reptile, especially sick/injured ones they should be put in a quarantine set-up away from other animals. As other suggested paper towel for substrate, a hide, a water dish, and a basking spot. Make sure you wash your hands after touching her, so if she has anything it wont spread. Mites can go unnoticed for quite awhile. You will need to get a fecal check which requires a vet visit. I understand 12 hours is a long drive, and you felt pressured when multiple people said go to the vet, but remember taking in an animal means you are accepting the responsibility and that includes money for vet visits.

That's great that a lot of the shed came off her feet, and they should start healing up soon. How is the sore on her back? Could you please try to put your camera on macro setting and take a clearer picture.






Sorry if I sound rude. I'm not intending to and have been often told I come off that way. Remember tone can't be heard through words, and most of us are concerned not angered.

[Katrina]

Welcome to the forum Ellie!

You sound quite defensive, I promise that everyone here is only trying to help and isn't trying to be mean at all.

The problems look to be mostly with the feet, this thread may help: viewtopic.php?f=19&t=17987

I can't tell completely from the pics, but the wounds seem to be mostly healed, so a vet visit likely isn't necessary unless anything worsens. Good luck and please keep us updated!