Urgent Care :: found a hurt turtle

[arch_nikki]

I found a hurt RES in the road this morning. (Very STRANGE, I live in Colorado). He seems to be injured but still doing OK. He looks like he was either hit by a car or chomped down on by a dog on the rear section of his shell. His shell is cracked (the crack goes in for about one and a half inches right above his tail). He was oozing blood a bit, but not much. After I put him in some warm water he seemed to perk up quite a bit. He is moving and swimming fine and he has passed some feces that weren't bloody. I intend to take him to see a vet, but I am wondering what the likelyhood of him being OK is with a cracked shell? I already own a Russian Desert Tortise and I know that they can be all right as long as they don't have internal injuries and as long as too much of the shell isn't damaged. I am concerned that there might be problems with bacterial infections or something with cracked shells because RES are aquatic reptiles. My daughter is going crazy because she is really excited to have a turtle...but I am worried that it will die with even a smallish crack in it's shell.
Also-He is not eating anything yet...which is not suprising since I'm sure he is still in shock. But when should I start being concerned if he doesn't eat?

[steve]

sounds like there are extensve injuries and you need to get him to a vet right away. if you explain to the vet that it's wild, they might treat it for free but they will take it from you too.

i received an email from someone yesterday about a found turtle in CO. i added links to help find treatment and re-homing, here it is:

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also, if the water is too cold (below 75) or too warm (above 82) then I would not put the RES in there. hopefully these links can help:

and you might try a vet and tell them that its an injured wild animal. they might treat it for free, however they will also take it away.

http://www.anapsid.org/vets/colorado.html


this is some info on what to do:
http://www.tortoisetrust.org/articles/found.htm


here are some agencies that deal in relocating turtles...
http://www.corhs.org

http://www.animalconcerns.org/resource. ... 89&catid=5

http://www.coloherp.org

http://www.turtlehomes.org/

http://www.kingsnake.com/adoption.html

http://www.coloradohumane.org/links.html

http://www.petsmart.com/adoptions/partner_a_d.shtml

http://www.shelters.theanimalnet.com/Coloradopets.htm

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[jenaero]

I haven't read the links so I may be repeating a few things but here goes. Rinse the wound with warm, clean water. Apply neosporin and put him in a dry container for about an hour. You can do this a few times a day until you get him to the vet.

Where is the crack? Can he move all his legs? If he's moving around alright and the bleeding has stopped, and there is no blood in the feces, there's a very good chance he'll be ok after a trip to the vet to patch him up.

Good luck, and let us know what happens.

[lydia_lady_fla]

ok this will sound gross it still makes my tummy turn to this day and this has been years ago so read with warning just wanted to inform on one other thing you need to watch out for


Found a turtle (gopher) that had been hit by a car and the shell was cracked, by the time we found him this was an old injury, no blood at all but futher examing the crack was full of maggots, we did take him to the vet he was taken and treated and we can only hope made it just fine the point is plz be sure not only of infections but flies are kept away from the little guy too.

stressed turts may not eat for several days to help encourage it to eat try smelly foods such as water packed tuna/sardines rinsed off boiled chicken boiled egg shrimp etc. keep us informed and good luck

[jenaero]

lydia, there's a good chance the maggots did the tortoise more good than harm. They're used in hospitals to remove decaying tissue and prevent infection. That was one lucky tortoise. It probably kept him from getting very sick.

[lydia_lady_fla]

wow thats a relief for my mental pictures (lol) it was gross looking though. I guess I should have known this caz I do know they r used medical its just well ugh .

[arch_nikki]

The RES that I found is at least six and a half inches long so why would the vet take him from me?
The crack is on it's rear end-right above it's tail. It can move all of it's legs and tail. And there is no blood in the feces. He is moving around and active, (extremely shy) and he is not bleeding but I still intend to take him to a vet in the morning. Thank you for all of the helpful advice. I will keep you posted.

[lydia_lady_fla]

if you tell em it is from the wild they will treat it for free but will not let you become the owner of this wild animal. Laws I think? plus I guess people would take their pets in claim em wild so they dont get billed and still have the pet ?

[marisa]

If it's a wild turtle it would be treated and given to a wildlife rehabber to be cared for until it could released into the wild (or if the turtle couldn't be rehabilitated it would be placed in an appropriate facility). I've had to bring a wild injured turtle to the vet's--I didn't have to pay, but they kept the turtle.

[arch_nikki]

The vet said that the RES I found was not a wild turtle, but that most likely someone had gotten tired of their pet and decided to dump it into one of the many ponds that are around where I live. She thought the turtle was confused about the sudden habitat change and was wandering around when it got hit. Apparently his condition suggests that he was a pet until very recently, as well as the fact that he isn't extremely alarmed by human contact. He is active and he doen't hide at all now when he sees me. I asked all of my neighbors but no one "lost" a turtle. I guess that RES are not common at all this close to the Rockies, they are not native here, which is another indication that the poor baby was dumped.
Luckily, he isn't hurt too badly, and he doesn't have internal injuries, so the vet thinks that he will pull through his ordeal as long as all of his needs are met.

[marisa]

Good news on the turtle's prognosis! Was any kind of medication prescribed? I assume you will be keeping him? How big is he? If you have any questions on his care, just post.

[arch_nikki]

I believe that "Lucky Fire" got a dose of some antibiotics and some vitamin A (?). He also got his shell taped up with some strong waterproof tape after the wound site was looked over and cleaned. I guess that the tape is just for a while until the site underneath has a chance to heal well.
He is 6 inches long (length of shell).

[jenaero]

Lucky turtle! Are you going to keep him? I bet after caring for him thru this trauma that you won't be able to give him up!

[lydia_lady_fla]

gr8 job! nice to see someone actually going to the vet. some owners wont even do that for their loved pets. so I assume the vet allowed u to have the turt right? did she charge u with the care that was provided?enjoy and post again real soon, BTW...I love the name u gave the turt. keep him warm and safe.

[arch_nikki]

Yes, the vet said we could keep him. The vet only charged us for the antibiotic and the vitamin shot. She was very helpful, and a lot of her advice was about the same as what you guys tell me. So thank you for all of your advice and help. We are definately going to keep Lucky, we are a reptile family, so I feel almost like he needed help and I was supposed to find him. Our Russian Desert Tortise, "Professor Jones" is extremely curious about the new shelled creature. "Jonesy" has never been this curious and excited about something before, it is really cracking me up. So thanks again for all of your help.