General Care Discussion :: Cut and possible infection

[Ronaldo10]

Hey everyone,

I had a question which I'm hoping someone might be able to help me with. My turtle has a cut on his hand that doesn't seem to be healing and may be infected. He's cut his hand before and it's healed on its own, but it doesn't look like it's getting there this time. The only vet nearby that deals with turtles has a reputation for robbing customers by making them get unnecessary services and products. I am wondering:

1. If, based on the pictures, you can tell if this is an infection or something that I need to do something for, other than just giving it time
2. If yes, is it something I can help by myself by getting ointment or something else, without a vet
3. If I do need to go to the vet, any idea what I would likely be asking them to do, to avoid the additional unnecessary charges.

Sorry for all the questions and I really appreciate any help!

[steve]

Hard to tell how bad the cut is. Usually some dry docking and a bit of antibiotic ointment is all thats needed for small cuts/wounds.

[Ronaldo10]

Thanks a lot for the quick reply!

In terms of antibiotic, I tried to read up on this and it seemed to say iodine or betadine to disinfect and silvadene or neosporin antibiotic. Does that sound right?
As for dry docking, how long should/can a red eared slider be dry docked, particularly when there's a cut to treat?

Sorry for all of the questions

[steve]

I use diluted Betadine to clean the area, then apply some Neosporin. Silvadene requires a prescription but is excellent stuff. The dry docking should take as long as necessary, though cuts usually heal quickly when the turtles is out of water. It's give it at least 2 days and note the progress. The discoloration might mean it's infected and that would require a vet visit.

[Ronaldo10]

Thanks a lot for the answer! I was able to get the Betadine, but I tried a few pharmacies and none carry neosporin. I read that polysporin isn't good, but is there another antibiotic that is okay for them?

I likely will end up taking him to a vet to be safe, once I find one in the area who won't rip me off.

Sorry for all of the questions!

[steve]

Polysporin is fine, I think Neosporin is just the US/version. As for vets, whereabouts are you located?

[ytse411]

My herp vet told me years ago to use liquid bandaid (aka New Skin) because it's waterproof. Sylvia had rubbed her chinny chin chin raw once while hanging out in the bathtub and this stuff worked great - I dry docked her every other day or so to reapply it. Good luck!

[steve]

Interesting idea! I've never used it before or even considered it.

[Ronaldo10]

Thank you for the ideas!

Just to confirm based on what you've said and what I've read online:

-I'll dry dock him in a a fairly large rubbermaid (seems like I should put a towel or something along the bottom, or leave it bare plastic?) It's large enough that i can use the cage top off my tank and lamps as well on top of the container. I'll dry dock him for about 23 hours a day, giving him about an hour each day to soak/eat/go to the bathroom/drink
-Once he is dry, I'll apply the Betadine and the polysporin. How diluted is the Betadine? How often should I do this, once a day?

-If there's no progress, I'll take him to the vet.

I'm up in Toronto, Canada. The only vet I know of around downtown Toronto has a pretty terrible reputation and my one experience with them wasn't great. I'm hoping to find something else, but will take him back there if there's nothing else.

[steve]

I've found for day-time docking works best by letting them roam in an empty room (or maybe a sectioned off area). They know somethings up and won't like it but if they have a bit of freedom and can explore, they will be a bit happier. Don't forget the basking light. You might want to try night-time docking though, especially if you think the injury is minor and not bleeding.

My suggestion, take the turtle out of the tank and use a towel to dry him down. You can do the betadine then (half with water is OK... but the stuff can cause stains to be careful). Let that dry then polysporin.

If you looking for a vet in the GTA, you might want to shoot an email to http://littleresq.net/ as they should know who to go to.