Urgent Care :: Young RES got his tail nibbled on.

[mkga14]

Long time reader, first time poster. I'm a new turtle owner (1y) and I'm a bit concerned about the smallest of my RES. Before I ask questions I'd like to give some basic info on my turtle/set up.

2 RES (3.5 inches and 5 inches)
I've had both for a little under a year.
I'm almost certain they're males as they always wave their claws at each other.
Water temp away from basking area is around 80.5ºF with an in water heater. Basking area is at 92.3ºF
20G set up with a Fluval 205 filter with a splash of Nutrafin Turtle Clean

I had just cleaned the tank and changed the water. I feed them in a smaller container so the tank water doesn't get dirty quickly. I left for work and came home to a pinkish quality of water with what looks like skin floating around. I later saw the bigger RES take a nice bite at the smaller turtle's tail. Skin was hanging off and he probably thought it was food. I moved the injured RES to a smaller tank, fed him and gave him about a week to recover and placed him back into the main tank, after about a month the same thing happened again, this time far worse. Pictures makes it look way worse than I think it really is, looks like his skin was just ripped off, but with that yellowish marks on his skin I'm leaning towards infection. Now when ever he’s in the main tank, all he would do is bask. The smaller RES oddly has a longer tail than the bigger one and is much darker than the bigger RES.

Should I take this poor guy to see a vet?
What are my options for treating him?
Since this has happened twice, is it safe to assume that these two won't get along and will have to be separated?
Any experienced owners had this problem before? What was the end result?

Thanks in advance!

http://i1126.photobucket.com/albums/l61 ... s/res1.jpg
http://i1126.photobucket.com/albums/l61 ... s/res2.jpg
http://i1126.photobucket.com/albums/l61 ... s/res3.jpg

[steve]

Yes, you would need to keep the permanently separated, and don't try keeping the bigger one with another turtle.

From those pics, I can't tell if there's been injury to the cloaca or the penis, both of which should have immediate veterinary consultation. Given the discoloration, please have him seen as soon as possible.

[marisa]

It looks like the area of the tail near/around the cloaca has been chewed up rather badly. A vet visit would be good, in the meantime (not meant as a substitute), I'd start applying a little neorporin on the area with a q-tip.

Since this has happened more than once, you now know that it will most likely happen again; the turtle should be given his own set-up.

[mkga14]

Won't the cream just come off once he hops in the water? Yeah, I ended up giving him his own set up. Spoiled brat

Do you think I should lower the pH to around 6.4 in an attempt to repel any bacterial infections?

What should the water temp be? Right now his personal condo is set at 80ºF water.

Thanks in advance.

[steve]

Have him dry docked, preferably overnight to let the area absorb the ointment and heal. But again, I'd rather consult with a vet on this one.

[marisa]

If you leave him out of the water for a while, some will be absorbed. As I said, this is not meant as a substitute for seeing a herp vet.

I would keep his water at his normal temp. Water that's too warm can encourage bacteria as well.

[mkga14]

Took the little guy to a vet, he told me to soak him in betadine and water. I ended up increasing the water temp to 79-80 and lowering the ph to 6.5. He actually seems a lot better now. Although all he really does is hug the heater and nap all day. I haven't seen him eat anything. Before I leave for work I drop in a few food pellets and when I get back, most of them are chewed up and on the bottom of the tank. Usually he's able to gobble a whole pellet without leaving anything behind. I'm going to try soaking them in tuna water to see if that perks him up, then again... who would want to eat after getting your bum got nibbled on?

[mkga14]

So the RES that got his tail nibbled on healed up pretty well. But now this guy has another problem... Last night I woke up and decided to check up on them, the same turtle looked like it was having problems staying afloat. He was hugging a power chord and also making a bubbling noise, using my cellphone as a flash light it seems like he was drowning. So I picked him up and took him to the bathroom for an inspection, tail was healing up and I didn't see any major defects. Once in the light he seem to have perked up and was moving around more. I left him on his basking dock and watched him for a bit, he ran into the water a few minutes later and I called it a night.

This morning I came out and he seems fine, then all of a sudden i heard rapid splashing and he was at the bottom, inactive. I picked him up and usually he'll stick his limbs in but this time everything was limp, including his neck/head. Didn't seem to be breathing (as you can tell sometimes by looking at their arm pits and seeing movement). Fearing the worse I placed him in 80ºF water and made sure his head was out of the water, placed a basking lamp on him and hope he would move or at lease show some signs of life, nothing. I assumed he had passed on and called my gf to inform her of the lost, she cried. Suddenly the turtle picked up his head for about 2 seconds and placed it back down. Hes been doing that for the past hour. The only reaction I can get out of this guy is either picking him up or dunking him in water for a second to keep his skin moist. The tank information is the same as my way earlier post above.

What the heck is wrong with my little dude? Its saturday and my local vet is closed.

[steve]

It's really hard to say what's going on... erratic behavior is not easy to diagnose or can even be given an explanation. If he's having difficulty swimming, the best thing that can be done is to take him out of the water and evaluate the situation.