Urgent Care

I'm starting to dry dock her tonight as you suggested. I'd go and get a large storage container - but I thought you were suggesting just dry docking her at night, in which case I have a smaller, long but low underbed container with a lid that I was going to put her in overnight. As for putting the male in a huge container, does it make more sense to do that - or just leave them in the 75 gallon tank with the divider in place until I get a new set-up? I doubt if the prescribed TAB ointments are much different than the ones I have - which are brand new... or wouldn't Linda have mentioned that?

I'm pretty upset because as I put the betadine on tonight with a paper towel (the q-tips just weren't cutting it) I noticed that she is still freshly bleeding. That's why the dry dock seems immediately necessary. I hope the injected antibiotics are enough to keep her alive - because this wound is going to take a while to heal.
I wonder if I should even be putting her back in water during the day????? I know they both love to spend most of their time underwater, but I'm worried that the wound will never heal if it's constantly softened up again every night by the water... which is also inherently unclean and I'm sure loaded with it's own bacteria....which they can normally handle because they don't have open wounds.

I would let her have the 75 gallon and put the male in the storage container (setup as a tank). Dry docking overnight is easier for them too, though you don't need a lid. A dark, quiet room is enough and make sure the doors are closed and there are no other pets around. I've only seen TAB from a vet, I don't know if Neosporin is technically a TAB, but many turtle keepers use it (myself included).

Use cotton balls if you want to dab on some diluted betadine. She how she does with the dry docking... if it works well, you might have to do it during the day too. That's fine, just rehydrate her every few hours (to drink, eat, swim, etc).

Another reason to separate, you can do more water quality control. Get some carbon media in the filter too.

Believe me, there is carbon media and always has been in the fluval 405 trays. Unfortunately, we don't have a place in the house to keep a male in a tub away from our dog - who probably wouldn't bother him, but I'd rather get a lid on whatever tub I get. I don't know why you haven't seen TAB, because I've seen it all my life in every drug store or pharmacy - it's just an off the shelf item. It says "Triple Antibiotic Ointment" on it and it's been around so long it's sold in cheap generic form. The Fluval 405 has two trays for carbon, two for the hard ring things, and two for whatever else you want to use, and I actually use MORE carbon, plus a 'polishing pad' on top and of course two huge foam filters... The sucker is very heave with or without water in it because there is so much media in there! The lady on the other forum (Kingsnake) Linda, said I shouldn't give them live fish - they are too old to need that much protein... so again the vet came up short if she's right. So, I also think I 'might' have caught something from handling the turtle so much recently - I have had an upset stomach and diarrhea for a few days now, and I'm not sure if its from the turtles or just a coincidence...

I guess I haven't seen it before.

not a big deal :-)

I guess I'm so used to be in pharmacies since I was a kid because of allergies and so forth, and later for being BiPolar II. I could pretty much tell you about almost any medicine or over the counter item - people laugh at me.
But - I don't know how to address the issue of my own 'stomach virus' - which could have come from the turtles... I guess I have to talk to my doctor tomorrow.

Yes, turtles can and often do carry salmonella. It is not very dangerous in people with good immune systems, but you should be careful to wash your hands after handling the turtle or its water.

I will be careful... the question is... what do I do if I think I have it or is there really nothing that can be done? If it's bacterial shouldn't I be on antibiotics or is it viral? (for which nothing can really be done from what I know...)

If you have a healthy immune system, it will just run its course with no treatment (nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, gastric discomfort), just drink plenty of fluids to prevent dehydration. If you are immunosuppressed, some doctors will prescribe antibiotics to prevent it from escaping your gut into your organs.

Urgent Care :: 6" Male nearly killed 8" female: various issues

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