Urgent Care :: MY TURTLE HAS BEEN BITTEN!

[windowskiller987]

My turtle jaws somehow escaped while we were at dinner. My dog must've attacked him because he has some open shell wounds. he's seem to be acting fine. he is eating but there are scabs of blood. I've attached a link to some photo's of him. We just put on some neosporin on the wounds sealed with duck-tape . I hope this is not something we shouldn't have done. I AM SO WORRIED ABOUT HIM. HE IS MY FIRST TURTLE & I DON'T KNOW WHAT I WOULD DO WITHOUT HIM.


Here are some photos of him
http://web.mac.com/dylanbyrnes/iWeb/Site/Photos.html

[steve]

Well, he first needs to be separated from any other turtles. I don't think he should be in water with open wounds, but people may have different opinions. Water/basking temps should be raised 5 degrees. You may want to search for other sites regarding this type of injury because it has happened to other people.

Next, find a vet. You are responsible for your pets and you will need to get him the right care. He is looking at a long and expensive recovery process.

[RESCHIU]

ouch, that looks really painful , do you have disinfectant such as betadine? might be good idea to put some over the plastron area before you apply neosporin, but the best way would be take your turtle to the vet as soon as possible

and make sure you put him only in clean water...

*did this happen today? or quite sometimes ago?

[cam722]

My goodnes that poor baby. I'd definitely seek medical attention for that sort of wound. Puncture wounds can get infected very fast. If it were a person that was bitten, you'd more than likely seek medical attention, so why not for your turtle?

I did some research and found this site on first aid for Turtles... I hope this helps!!

Turtle First Aid

[windowskiller987]

He has always been alone in his tank. I cleaned the water 2 days ago. We put Neosporn on the wounds & we covered them with Duct-Tape. This just happened Last Night while we were out to dinner. were not sure if my dog went into the tank & got him or if he escaped & then my dog found him.

[Giddy]

That is very bad and these are not superficial. Neosporin is for tiny cuts, not gaping holes and wounds. You need to find a vet now.

[marisa]

I would take him to a vet as well. Regular duct tape? I don't think you want to cover those open wounds. I'd clean them with betadine (chlorohexidine is better if you can get it), and dry tank him, letting him get hydrated periodically during the day. Can you find nolvasan ointment?

Please get him to a vet.

[Giddy]

How is the turtle?

[windowskiller987]

He is doing much better I talked to the vet & he told us to put on some betadine & he looks much better now. Here's the link to my turtles website. I have them in order by date so you can see when he was just bitten & now.
http://web.mac.com/dylanbyrnes/iWeb/Jaw ... hotos.html

[ellarn]

Ouch!!

[jn]

oh wow that got to hurt, your baby turtles are soooo pretty