General Care Discussion :: Sore on front leg..self mutilation??

[mariee]

Hello, I haven't posted in quite a while, but I noticed something with Thomas that I need some other opinions on...

Just yesterday as I was feeding him I noticed that on his front leg he had a large, purple/red sore spot! The only thing I can think must have happened is he bit and grabbed on hard enough to hurt himself (I made a post over a year ago about his arm biting behavior, never quite figured out what that was about..). I haven't seen him biting himself lately but I guess it happened when I wasn't around. He was not bleeding.



Here's the best picture I could get, he wouldn't let me touch it or pull his arm out to get a better look.

I'm confused on why he's doing this...I've also noticed him biting on the plastic intake of the filter. Is he bored or agitated by something? I keep the water very clean... has anyone ever seen anything like this before or have suggestions on what I should do to help him?

[Jeremiah]

Rub some diluted Betadine on the area, and gently dab on Neosporin afterwards. Wrap him in a towel, and let him sit in a warm (not over 70F) and dark area. You don't want him thrashing around; he may agitate the area unintentionally. I would normally suspect some infection, but seeing how raw the surrounding area looks in the picture, I am leaning towards an accidental injury. Is there anything in the tank that he could injure himself on?

As for the biting, he may be craving calcium and similar minerals that can be found in cuttle bone. If you aren't using one already, please purchase one (take off the hard backing, first. There's a pinned thread somewhere on the forum that shows you how).

A description (or pictures) of your setup would be really helpful!

[steve]

My male RES has a habit of biting his claws violently, so this could also be self-inflicted. Maybe there was an infection and Thomas would bite it out of frustration?

If he does this when the lights are out, then you might want to dry dock him overnights.