Urgent Care :: tail problem, shell bleeding... any help?

[p_aul]

i adopted two of these sliders and one of them seems to be going downhill fast.




this shell problem is my biggest concern, i noticed it this morning. yesterday it seemed to be whiter and almost looked chipped, now i am seeing bleeding. also there is a little cut on his "foot". they seem to have these mystery wounds showing up out of nowhere...



his tail is also ugly, it seemed cottony like fungus the other day, now it is looking black and painful. my poor turtle!



i was all excited about my custom tank, but now i think i would have been better off not getting it divided. and i think that ramp might be the cause of my problem. i will probably try to remove it sometime today. plus the plywood has been recently covered over by that cabinet liner which has anti bacterial qualities, i dont know if this is bad or not. they like to jump off the filter and clunk on the bottom of the tank. i am going to create some kind of divider so they are forced to use the ramp to go in and out of the water.

any other suggestions? i almost feel like i bit off more than i can chew with these little guys! i was trying to give them a better home from the swamp of a tiny tank i rescued them from, but it seems like leaving them there would almost have been better

a friend of mine is a vet so i will definately be taking him in, but i think its due to my tank setup that they keep hurting themselves...

How big is your turtle? 7 inches?
How long have you had it? a month (they are 15 years apparently)

What is the water temperature? 72 ( i need to buy a bigger heater)
Did you use a thermometer? yes
Are you using a water heater? yes
How much water is in there? 30-40 gallons?
Are you using a water conditioner? i dont know
Are you using any filtration? yes

What is the basking temperature? dont have thermometer, 85 i would guess
Is there a basking light? yes
Is there a basking platform that is easy to climb on? yes
What kind is it or what is it made out of? it is probably the cause of the cuts, it is glass with not so smooth edges
Is there a UVB light? yes

What have you been trying to feed it? pellets
When was the last time your turtle ate? daily

How big is the tank/pond/enclosure? big
Is the tank near a window? not in direct sunlight
Is the tank in a room with a lot of activity? no

[marisa]

Given the size of the tank (just saying "big" doesn't sound that big to me---exactly how many gallons is it?) and size of at least one of the turtles (7 inches), those "mystery wounds" could very well be bites, especially on the tail. Having them seen by your vet friend (who hopefully is familiar with turtles) would be good. If they are biting each other, they might need to be separated.

For now, I'd clean the wounds (if you can, use some chlorohexidine, which you should be able to get from your friend---if it's not diluted, make sure you find out what strength to dilute it to) and apply some Neosporin on them.

From what I see of the shell, it looks like there may be some problems there as well. What brand of UVB light do they have?

If they "clunk" on the bottom of the tank when they go in the water, it sounds like the water depth should be raised. (Could be chipping the shell.)

If they're 15 years old and healthy, they should do fine with a water temp of 72F. You do need to check the basking area temp, though. If there's no real difference between the water and basking area temps, they won't want to bask.

I hope by glass you mean plexiglass. You can smooth any raw edges with a file or even sandpaper.

Besides pellets, offer other foods as well. Look at the feeding section on the site for what you can offer to give more variety.

It would be good to do some reading on the basics of caring for your new RES.

[bradmeisel]

I agree with everything Marisa said. It sounds like there is not enough water for these turtles. Even though your set up looks pretty sleek and cool.

Good luck.

[p_aul]

the tank is 2 feet wide and 4 feet long but there is a divider which limits the water area to 2 feet by 2.75 feet with a max depth of 7 inches. which is approx 20 gallons approx. the water level is at its max, but i have solved them banging off the bottom by putting some glass blocks which force them to use the ramp.

and no its not plexiglass, its glass. its not sharp, but its definately not smooth to the touch. in my ignorance i figured a turtles shell was tough enough but after doing a bit of researching, i realized that is not the case. i have also found a better cover for the ramp, a piece of flexible plastic.

the uvb light is a 26W repti glow 5.0. i also have a 75 W plain old bulb for warmth which are 9 inches from the basking area. i'll have to check the temp when i find another thermometer.

and i went to the pharmacy today looking for Hibiclens/Betadine but found nothing. Maybe those are more american products ( i live in canada), but i found a few types of anti bacterial medications intended for cleaning wounds/cuts ect. is there a certain chemical i should avoid or look for in particular? i assume hibiclens is a brand name for chlorhexidine, but is it safe to buy a human cut/scrape medication with chlorhexidine in it, or do i want pure chlorehexidine.

[TheComputerGremlin]

Okay, so first, for two 7 inch turtles, you are looking at needing a minimum of 105 gallons of water and a recommended 140 gallons of water. So 20-30 gallons won't sufficed. It may seem like a mansion compared to what they were in, but it's a recipe for aggression and fighting if you can't get them enough resources. The tank looks beautiful, but that's not a good indication of if it's functional or not. You may need to supplement the tank with a larger 100 gallon normal aquarium, you can connect the two with a ramp.

Glass is not good for turtle shells, neither is rock. If the edges are still sharp, though, go out and get some aquarium silicone (you can get it at some pet stores, most hardware stores, you want ones that are labeled as non-toxic when it sets) and just goo it along the sharp edges and smooth them out. I had to do this with my plexiglass basking area, it's not hard and takes about 24 hours to set.

With those two bulbs at that distance, I'm going to guess without a thermometer that you are running around 85-100 degrees. If you go to Amazon, they have a small IR thermometer that's about $25 (or you can go with a better model if funds are available). I have the small one and they work very well for measuring the basking area. You can set up a thermometer to read constantly, but I don't find that it varies much.

Last one, I think hibiclens is chlorhexidine, it's just a liquid. I think as long as it's safe for human skin and you dilute it, it will be okay for the turtle. You just let them soak for a few minutes and I'd imagine make sure they don't drink it. You can also apply things like Neosporin to the shell, just rub it on, let it dry completely, and then put them back in the water.

[p_aul]

i have heard soaking the turtle in a salt water solution is also beneficial for cuts or whatnot, has anyone had any luck with this type of treatment?

[marisa]

Salt water will help wounds heal, but it would be good to use something that's antimicrobial as well. Hibiclens is a form of chlorohexidine and can be used, but since you're going to have your turtle seen by a vet, you should be able to get chlorohexidine from him (brand name is Nolvasan). It should not suds like the Hibiclens you'd buy in a pharmacy.

You should be able to also get chlorohexidine intended for human use as well at a pharmacy. Did you ask one of the staff or a pharmacist? If not, do so. The product might not be called Hibiclens, but it should start with Hibi---. I used to buy the stuff when I lived abroad and it was called something like Hibidil (sp.). I don't know the strength of whatever is sold in Canada, but Hibiclens is 4% chlorohexidine and should be diluted 50/50 with water (to 2%).

In either case, I wouldn't soak the turtle in it, I'd apply the liquid to the wounds. If it makes suds (like Hibiclens does), rinse it off. Then let the skin/shell dry and apply a little Neosporin/Polysporin. Keep the turtle out of the water about 20-30 min to let some get absorbed before putting the turtle back in the water.

[p_aul]

thanks marisa, hopefully he is on the road to recovery!