Urgent Care :: hole in turtle shell

[xoiluvturtlesxo]

so i just got another RES two days ago. i was fishing and he bit on to my hook gladly he did not swallow it so we named him lucky. the water he was in was really filthy and we noticed a hole in his shell with what seemed to be shell rot. so we kept him to take care of him. we didnt want to put in our other tank because of his wound maybe thinking he could have a disease. we went out and bought bedatine to treat his wound. i know when you get and abandoned or "wild" turtle they probably wont eat for a couple of days. but i also noticed we have a heat bulb he didnt want to go near it so we sad hes probably hot and put this othe uv bulb we have above him we can move it so we put it where he usualy goes and he moved so i moved it to where he went and he moved we did this back and fort for about an hour and i dont know if he does not want light or what. ill answer the questions and put a picture on for you guys.
also the wound smells really bad and is hard when i touch it.


How big is your turtle- 5 inches
How long have you had it- two days

What is the water temperature- 79.5 F
Did you use a thermometer- yes
Are you using a water heater- no
How much water is in there- about three inches
Are you using a water conditioner- no
Are you using any filtration- yes

What is the basking temperature- about 86
Is there a basking light- yes
Is there a basking platform that is easy to climb on- yes
What kind is it or what is it made out of- turtle tuff heat bulb
Is there a UVB light- yes

What have you been trying to feed it- turtle pellets, gold fish, worms,
When was the last time your turtle ate- probably at the lake im not sure

How big is the tank/pond/enclosure- we put him in a little plastic kiddie pool kind of a mini pond
Is the tank near a window- no
Is the tank in a room with a lot of activity- no

Have you read the Basic Care section- yes
Have you searched the forums for similar situations- yes

<a href="http://s86.photobucket.com/albums/k108/sweetazcandii14/turtle/?action=view&current=turtlleedit.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i86.photobucket.com/albums/k108/sweetazcandii14/turtle/turtlleedit.jpg" border="0" alt="turtle shell rot??"></a>







Is there any other unusual activity/symptoms?

[TheComputerGremlin]

Well, you really should never take animals, no matter what type, from the wild. It can be illegal to take certain animals (like turtles) from the wild in some states and other parts of the world.

Are you planning on releasing him after he's healed? I think it was good that you saved him in the sense that he was obviously injured, but he should probably go back to the wild when he's treated. That said, you should not try to acclimate him to a life in the tank and not worry about proper water conditions or lighting. You should simply get his shell healed and put him straight back in the water you found him in.

My best advice would be to find a turtle vet and bring him there. Many vets will treat wild animals so long as they are going to be released when they are healed. I know a lot of wild birds end up at vet offices to be healed and then released. There is a stinky under the Urgent Care section that helps you find herp vets. I wouldn't recommend taking him to a regular vet unless it's the last option because it sounds like the shell rot is pretty bad.

[TurtleLover_S&B]

I agree. It could be illegal where you live.

[jozzep]

I agree. It could be illegal where you live.

More than "legality" it's more of a "moral" issue.

[xoiluvturtlesxo]

yes i agree completley the reason we took him was so some one could help us cut the hook so he wouldnt swallow it other wise he would have died. then we realised the hole and calle an exotic vet etc... and after researching some we realised it might be shell rot or something in that category. all we know to do right now is to helo him get some uv/ calcium/food in his system to help it begin to heal right is what the vet told us. we have an appointment in a week from now to take him in and after that we are going to return him back where he came from.

[TheComputerGremlin]

Sounds excellent to me! You can try to soak him in some diluted Pedialyte (it's like a toddler drink I think), dilute it about 50% with water, and that will help get some electrolytes in him. Since he's wild, you can feed him the yummy bad foods, like if you can get him to eat some fish (try rosie red minnows, they are good and usually easily caught) or some tuna from a pouch. You can try cuttlebone, but I don't know if he'll take to that. You could definitely try some of the jello shots with some cuttlebone and greens in them, but I don't know if he'll go for that either.

Oh, and I didn't want to come off preachy, we just get a lot of people that come on here after catching wild turtles and we prefer people don't do that. I am always glad to see people helping out hurt animals, though. Oh, and if it's shell rot, I think you can try a sulfa dip, or the addition of salt to the water, and you can certainly try dry docking him overnight to see if it improves.

[xoiluvturtlesxo]

ok thank you for ur help t is starting to look like its healing i just wish i knew what it was exactly

[xoiluvturtlesxo]

the pedialite things sounds pretty cool we will have to try some of ur tips we go thim to eat some fish when he tried to bite lol