General Care Discussion :: Broken nail and related care

[agentartair]

Hi everyone! I stumbled upon this forum while looking up on information about my turtle's broken nail. Male, around 1.5 years old, broke one of his hind feet nail the day before. Didn't notice but saw blood in the water, panicked a little. Saw the broken nail the next morning. It was dangling around, then I was cleaning him and it torn off completely.

I started dabbing betadine (with a cotton bud/q tip, I hope this is okay) on his missing toe area and then letting him bask for around an hour or two (we have quite strong sunlight, but I do have a bulb if necessary). I was applying the betadine for the second time today when I noticed that there was some blood on the q tip. Did I dab on his feet too hard? Should I get a vet to do some wound care? We can't get antibiotics cream here, so I use betadine. Should I have dry docked him instead?

I'm now changing his waters twice a day, is this also sufficient to keep the water clean?

thanks a lot!

[steve]

Do you have a nice, large area to dry dock him? Can you get a basic, over the counter antibiotic ointment?

[agentartair]

Yup, I have a large basin to dry dock him. I took him out of the waters this morning and dry dock him.

Sadly no, antibiotics cream are not available OTC here. only thing I have is antiseptic creams.

[steve]

If it's not bleeding, then you don't need to dry dock anymore.

[markform]

Hello everyone! I have just joined this forum and I would love to hear your inputs regarding my concern.

I have two Malayan Box Turtles in my care for half a year now. I guess they are male and female. But I'm curious of their behavior when it comes to biting. The one which I think is the male, and also the more active of the two, is always biting the other one, which I think is the female. The female MBT, even before it got to me was already missing a nail on its right back leg. Last night when I got home, I just notice the female with now a missing nail or should I say a finger on its right front leg maybe caused by bite of the other and I can't find the missing nail/finger in the tank (10 Gallons). I can't tell for sure because I am not that knowledgeable on their anatomy. As you can see in the picture on the encircled area. If anyone could tell me if its just the nail that has been torn off or the whole finger. I didn't see any blood around the torn area. Will it grow back? Thank you very much. I appreciate your feedback.

[steve]

Your turtle should have 5 claws on the each front limb. If the nail bed is intact, it should grow back but if it's damaged then probably not. Biting is always a sign you should separate them and 10 gallons is pretty small. You should upgrade but also remember that they still probably should not be kept together.

I would also see how fresh the injury is. Your turtle might need some dry docking to ensure that it heals properly.