BLUE TONGUE SKINKS

Hello everyone! I'm very sorry if there is some other thread on this, but trying to use the search function simply logs me out and throws an error. I looked around the best I could but could not find my problem.

For some history, I think I posted here once before, when I first got my big boy, Doodle. He had a myriad of issues we worked through from his breeder, such as scale mites (the topic of my thread I believe), stuck shed, poor diet, etc. He's been doing well since then - a big 2' long chunky boy. (I think he's a boy anyway!) He is 3 1/2 now!

Recently, when I cleaned out his terrarium and was looking at him closely, I noticed that he had an issue in between his little toe and the one next to it (the two exterior-most toes). The scales seemed to be parting from each other where the toe pad meets the scute-looking scales, leaving a whiteish gap. Nothing flaked off when I rubbed it nor when I washed it. Since I just cleaned his terrarium, I thought he might've had a hidden poo I didn't see that he was getting irritated from stepping in. I resolved to keep an eye on it and put him back.

Now, about a week or so later, I looked at his toes again and it appears to be getting worse. His other toes are now showing signs of these parting scales, and almost looks as if the black outer portions are flaking off.

None of his other scales are exhibiting this, his terrarium is clean and kept at mid-70s on the cool end, and 90s-100 around his basking spot (he tends to lounge on the hotter part, but moves around on his mood). His diet hasn't changed and his stools are healthy looking. My only thought is the humidity, as it is the winter months, it's very dry in my house. We moved this past February and this is the first super dry winter I've had to deal with. I have a humidifier with a meter that keeps his terrarium at 60% humidity, but it runs so much I have to refill the thing quite a lot, and I do miss it sometimes. I'm considering a humid hide, but I've never set one up before.

I did read the damaged/flaky scales section on the care sheet and I feel this post is a bit different as it has come up out of the blue, is actively getting worse, and is centered only on his feet/toes.

Below are some pictures of his feet.



Any help would be greatly appreciated. <3 Thank you so much in advance for your time!

Edit: The issue appears on both of his front feet, and might be starting to occur on one of his hind feet, to clarify.

Hi there. It is a little hard for me to see what you mean from the pictures. Are we sure this isn't left over stuck shed on his toes? Also a humid hide is always a really good thing. I would recommend one.

Was thinking the same.

I really don't think it is - I first noticed this after giving him a long bath to help get any leftover shed off and I always pay very close attention to his toes. It wouldn't come off and appears to be between the scales more than anything.

I pulled out my good camera and took some hopefully clearer pictures. It's very hard to describe.

sorry, buy I don't see anything
Anyone else?

I can't see an issue either.

Hmm, maybe I'm overreacting? It's sort of hard to point out without having seen him before, as well, I guess. I drew out what I'm trying to point out to hopefully get my point across. If it's nothing, then it's nothing, but I just want to be sure nothing's getting to my little guy!

One last shot - I tried drawing out the issue. The left is how his foot normally looks - pure black and smooth. The right is sort of what's going on - in between the top and bottom parts of his toes, his scales are being pushed up/apart by this white coloration that looks like some sort of damage.

Hmm, I see now what you are talking about. I am honestly not a 100% sure what is going on in this case. I would have a vet check just to make sure. I am sorry I can't be of more help.

I don’t know all that much in the grand scheme of if yet, but I wonder... what’s the substrate? Could it be substrate stuck in between the scales?

I had a friend's sister (who is a veterinarian) look at the photographs and some other clips I sent. She mentioned it looked very dry, and could just need a good soak. I decided to wait until his next shed to just see what happened, and if it was really shed.

He had a good shed (yay!), though with some bits on his toes. I gave him a nice warm soak and rubbed at his toes to pull the stuck bits off. In doing so, I noticed his scales aren't getting.. worse, per se, but definitely aren't better. I took some more pictures, just in case anyone can see something better from these.

My friend's sister recommends an antibiotic/antifungal cream, so I'm going to try that now. I'll try to remember to keep this updated for anyone who might have this issue in the future to find.

My own sister checked his pulse and breathing (she's a vet, but not a specialist for reptiles) and all seems normal there, as well as his overall behavior. He had a HUGE appetite right after shed, so that's also good!

These images show the deteriorated scales a lot clearer.


The arrow on this one points to a red spot between his scales that actually looked like blood/a split in the skin. Very hard to see in images.


To lighten the mood, here's him zonked out on his log. (This is right before his tank got cleaned, don't mind the mess!)

These are much better pictures. I do think it could be an infection or a fungal issue as well. I would recommend your lizard checked out by a reptile specialist and verify the best form of treatment.

Hi all! Final update here on this issue.

I did end up going to the vet, we had an appointment for today. My sister helped me out in the meantime by providing chlorohexidine from her work, which is an antifungal and antiseptic. His feet were bathed in a 20% solution twice a day until we got to the vet.

The veterinarian said that it is a bacterial infection underneath old shed. At some point, I must've missed some shed on his toes and over time, it got infected. I was given a sulfur-based antibiotic meant for burn treatments (name escapes me) to rub on his toes until they look normal again as well as continuing the chlorohex baths (once a day instead of twice).

For anyone else with this issue in the future that finds this thread, I hope this helps out. Thanks everyone here for your suggestions and looking into it. Sometimes things are just best solved by a vet!

Thank you for the update! I was wondering what ever was found or happened. Thank you for posting.