All devoted turtle owners, including you, want the best for your turtle, and you also want the animal to be as happy and healthy as possible.
So, if you notice some unusual changes in your pet, if it has a swollen foot, then you’d understandably be worried.
This article looks into why your turtle has a swollen foot
Table of Contents
Turtle swollen foot:
Your pet’s appearance and behavior are an indication of what going on with the animal, a swollen foot is a big sign that there is something going on with the animal.
Turtles are generally quite hardy animals so swelling at the animal’s foot can also be quite alarming
Here is why your turtle may have a swollen foot:
Trauma:
While turtles are quite hardy animals they can become injured and these injuries can cause swelling, this may be what’s going on with your pet turtle foot:
What to do:
You’d have to take a closer look at your pet’s foot for signs of trauma, look for injuries like a cut or a bruise on the animal’s foot, and look for redness or discharge.
Discharge on this animal will look like a cottage cheese material.
If you see signs of injury on your pet’s foot you can clean it using a gauze soaked in a diluted antiseptic solution.
A diluted povidone-iodine solution or diluted chlorhexidine is an antiseptic solution that can be used to clean the wound. Clean tap or bottled water can be used to dilute the antiseptic solution.
If you’re using betadine to clean the wound then dilute it until it is the color of weak tea, if you’re using chlorhexidine then dilute it till it is a light sky blue color.
If the foot is swollen, but there is no visible wound, then you can treat your pet by giving the animal a soak in warm water at first and then soaking the animal in an antiseptic solution.
A diluted iodine solution will work in this case.
Pour the water into a container big enough to hold your pet then warm the water up to a temperature of around 80 degrees Fahrenheit, once ready place your pet in a container and leave it to soak for 5 minutes.
Only add enough water so that the feet are covered but the head is not submerged.
After the 5 minutes add some iodine solution turning the mixture to the color or a weak tea.
Let your pet soak in this for 20 minutes. Make sure that the water that your pet is soaking in does not drop below 75 degrees Fahrenheit. Do not rinse this water off your pet’s body after the soak.
If your pet doesn’t get better after a few days, if the animal’s foot stays swollen, if it can’t use its foot properly, and if you start to see discoloration then take your pet to the vet.
Illness:
Another reason why your pet’s foot may be swollen may be because the animal has an illness.
A variety of illnesses can cause your pet to develop a swollen foot including kidney disease, gout, and metabolic bone disease.
What to do:
Trying to diagnose and treat your pet at home will take time, time that your pet likely does not have, for this reason, it is recommended that you take your pet to the vet as soon as you can.
If you enjoyed this article then you may also be interested in other turtle/tortoise related articles. Here are some articles that you may be interested in: Why Does My Turtle Stretch His Neck And Open His Mouth, Why Is My Turtle Weak?, Why Is My Turtle Whining, Why Is My Turtle Mean?, Why Is My Turtle Water Brown, Why Is My Turtle Water Red?, Why Is My Turtle Water Yellow?, Why Is My Turtle Wheezing?, Why Is My Turtle Walking In Circles