General Care Discussion :: Foot Burn?

[Jeremiah]

My sliders were out basking yesterday, and one of them managed to burn the bottoms of both his back feet on a thin, dark piece of slate (which has been promptly removed).
However, he's still walking around normally--and is even try to bask some more, today (on a piece of wood, no more slate). Should I be looking for some medication, or is it safer to wait and see if the burns take care of themselves? (They're quite small; I could only see them when I flipped him completely upside-down).

[AlexisAwesome]

If he is swimming normal, he will be fine.

[steve]

Is the skin intact?

[Jeremiah]

Yes--it looks like it does normally, with the exception that the burned part is a reddish-brown color. There's a really small amount of peeling around the corners of the burn, but there are no obvious places where skin is falling off/separated from the body. I tried to take a picture, but he wouldn't hold still, so it would just look blurry and unhelpful...

[steve]

Is it a thick callous?

[Jeremiah]

I'm not sure if this can be classified as a callous, but here's a picture--he finally calmed down. This is the larger burn.

[steve]

Doesn't look too bad. Is it protruding or depressed?

[Jeremiah]

By Protruded/Depressed, I assume you're talking about the burn in relation to the other skin areas? If so, it's a little depressed--no kind of callous, etc., (as of yet). His swimming was also a little awkward at first (he kicked the burned leg out farther/harder than before), but it's getting better.

The YBS (who happened to get injured by the same rock) has begun to form what looks like a callous (she didn't have any awkward swimming--she's just acting normally).

Is there any major problem with either scenario?

[steve]

I don't know of any major problems, though I can't really say with out personally examining them. If there are healing well since the accident, then I probably wouldn't change much aside from making sure the water quality is top notch. In some cases, some disinfecting though Betadine and the application of Neosporin is a good idea.

[Jeremiah]

I've been doing daily Neosporin applications, but heard that Betadine makes it harder for skin cells to recover/multiply. Is that true?

[steve]

Betadine might be a bit harsher, but it works well and is easily available. It's also easier to apply... you can use chlorhexidine like Hibiclens but it's a bit sudsy.

[Jeremiah]

Thanks for the information, I just got some Betadine! Is there any kind of dilution required when treating turtles with it? Mine has the generic 10% concentration.

[steve]

People usually dilute it until it's tea colored. It will also stain your clothes, so be careful when handling it. I'd apply the solution, let it dry, then the neosporin. Give that time to absorb, wipe off any residue and put him back into the tank. Turtles also like to target other's injuries, I would make sure that's not happening in your tank.

[Jeremiah]

I will be sure to monitor the aggression factor. Thanks again!