Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have a Russian tortoise who has a tendency to push all her substrate aside and lay on the tank, where the heater is. She has a large scab on her leg that fell off today, and it's really red and raw underneath... not sure if it was a burn or infection of some kind, but I'm wondering if anyone knows how I could treat it to help it heal... I've been googling to no avail and I don't know if I need to try to put a bandage on it or something.

I am not a tortoise enthusiast whatsoever-- got the tortoise in college, and we've had no health problems to speak of until now. I'd appreciate any advice!

I don't know about your tort's scab, but to prevent serious injury in the future, you need a thermostat or rheostat for your heat mat. If unregulated, heat mats can and do get up to 120-130F- easily enough to burn anyone laying on it. So just get an inexpensive thermostat like the Zoomed 500R and a reliable thermometer and get your heat mat under control. Plus you'll save a bunch on electricity since it won't be running all the time. Big Apple Herp also has a nice inexpensive thermostat, as well as nice digital probed thermometers.

Nanci
-----
*****
1.0 Classic Corn, 0.1 Lavender, 0.0.1 Cali King, 0.1 Nelson's Milk
1.0 Tricolor Hog, 0.1 Eastern Hog, 1.0 Florida King
0.1 Eastern Box Turtle, 1.0 Florida Box Turtle
0.0.2 Desert Torts, 2.0 Feral Pigeons