His toes and nails

[Helicoptermom]

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Òmras toes and nails are starting to worry me. His middle toenail on his left hand was just missing one day, no redness or what looked like infection. It seemed to be got at the root. I actually thought it was going to grow back for a while. Now his 1st finger on his left hand looks strange, like the scales are falling off maybe? It almost seems like i can see pink skin in some spots when i look very close with the flashlight. He has no tank mates, i never see him putting his mouth on his fingers and toes, his hammock is cotton, he gets vits and calcium, his uvb bulb is brand new and he gets baths like 4 times a week. In case there is infection or bound shed i was going to get him betadyne and the shed spray, unless it was going to harm him if there isnt any issue. I just don't understand what i am seeing? Does anyone else know what this is, or why it is happening? The first pictures are of his right hand, its the finger closest to his head. The very last picture is his left hand.

 

[NBGwen]

Is there any kind of netting, or mesh in his enclosure? My Charlie has lost a few nails recently from climbing his mesh doors If you have one of those mesh hammocks even - they can get their nails caught. When they pull to get them out, the nail will come off...sometimes even a toe.

 

[Helicoptermom]

His hammock is netting underneath, but i watched him sort of mistep on it so I immediately totally covered it with the cotton. The lid to his tank is metal mesh... Ive never seen him having been able to reach it, but if thats it how would fix that? Do you think his nail will grow back?

 

[EllenD]

I don't see anything at all wrong except the missing toenail, which could have happened from a number of reasons, he could have been scratching at his tank glass, a rock or piece of tank decor and ripped it out, he could have chewed it out (just because you didn't see it doesn't mean it didn't happen), etc. Usually that happens as a result of them climbing something or scratching at something. Sometimes they grow back, sometimes they don't. As long as it's closed up/healed over and there's no open flesh where the toenail was, no blood/pus, etc. then it's not a problem, he may just never have that toenail again. If you see some irritation on his other toes then that could also be from him scratching at things in his tank, or the tank itself. It's not uncommon, my year old female lost a toenail at some point a few months ago, I have no idea when or how, but it just healed up and she's fine, she's missing a toenail but she's fine.

Do you have any type of loose substrate in the bottom of the tank? If so, regardless of what it is, I suggest you dump it out, disinfect the tank, and put down paper towels until you can choose a permanent solid substrate like tiles, carpeting, etc. because that can certainly cause skin/scale infections on their feet and toenails, as ALL loose substrates are breeding grounds for bacteria, fungi, parasites, etc. Just an FYI; if you already have a solid substrate then that's great...