Does anyone know what's wrong with my Hermanns tortoise tail?

[LisaReptileLover]

I'm wondering if anyone knows what is going on with my Hermanns tortoise's tail. I took her out for a bath the other day and discovered her tail looks terribly wrong. I don't know exactly what I'm looking at. It looks like either the skin has come off the end of her tail and the bone is exposed, or there's bone or something now poking out the end of her tail. She's 3 years old and has not had any issues until now. I'm very concerned, I have an appointment for her to see a reptile vet, but it's a couple days away.

 

[nickolasanastasiou]

Either she shed the terminal scale for some reason and there is new scale tissue beneath or an injury occurred that resulted in some excoriation. It will probably self-resolve if left alone as long as no deep infection has set in. I might dip it in povidone iodine the first time and then dip it in chlorhexidine once or twice a day on subsequent days for up to a week. Try to keep it clean (which is tough with a tortoise) during the healing process. She could lose the tail tip or it could recover fully. These types of injuries usually heal very well on tortoises.

 

[LisaReptileLover]

Thank you very much, your response is appreciated I have Chlorhexidine so I will use that as you recommended until my vet appointment.