Lost toes?

[superfirepython]

Hi everyone. I'm a long time lurker, first time poster. I have a 1.5 yr old bts named Alister who I'm worried about. A couple of months ago he had a very dry shed in which his feet ended up bloody and he lost a couple of toes. I put him on plain paper towel while he healed (he's usually on aspen) and put Polysporin (without lidocaine) on his toes. He seemed okay for a while after, but during his next shed his toes turned slightly bloody again. I'm really worried and am wondering if this will eventually stop? Should I change his substrate? Does anyone have experience/advice with this kind of situation?

this is when he was still healing

this is a picture I took just now

this is another one of his other foot, which looks worse

[Susann]

You need to raise his humidity. Easiest way is to change the substrate to something that holds humidity better, aspen is awful for that; orchid bark or repti bark are just two options. For now you can spray his tank down several times each day, or give him a humid hide.
Check temperatures as well, make sure he has a good temperature gradient.

[superfirepython]

Thank you Susann for the fast response. I've been less than impressed with aspen lately (I have it with my snakes too), I'll definitely grab something more humid today.

[saisaac]

Aspen mulch is readily available and holds moisture well too.

[superfirepython]

I ended up buying the reptibark, but since his toes are a bit raw today I replaced all his substrate with toilet paper. I did make him a "bean bag" by putting a bunch of the reptibark in a tied cloth bag to help get the humidity up in the mean time.

[Richard.C]

I keep my northerns pretty dry,some on newspaper,some on fake grass carpet,some on sand and some on sugar cane mulch,thru all normally shed quite well with no need to up humidity or anything

When they have had shed issues on feer that get bloody or open sore looking they tend to struggle shedding that area for quite a few sheds and may need assistance,the scarred areas tend to want to retain shed until it fully heals,so think your guy may need assistance for a few sheds until he can do it himself

[superfirepython]

Thank you, thats exactly the info I was looking for. I'll definitely keep that in mind next time he sheds

[kl]

I'd immediately give him a warm bath. Put some luke warm water in a plastic tub and let him soak for about 20 to 30 minutes and repeat it again over the next few days. Make sure the water is just high enough to cover the legs and never leave the lizard unattended while doing this. Gently try working some of that shed off without accidently pulling off a toe or toe nail after a couple days. The other suggestions for humid hides, increasing humidity, and changes in substrates are great ideas but when there's already long established retained sheds I think you need to be a little more proactive at getting it off while that other stuff will encourage better sheds going forward.

KL

[dsteamn]

Go to the health food store and get a small bottle of pure emu oil. Work a drop in to each if his feet. You can rub the excess on the rest of his scales. Works wonders.

[hydra and sandis]

give him/her a bath in warm but not hot water

[Richard.C]