Nefti, the recently de-oiled Med Spur Thighed, has a circular crack in his shell, which I could see pink through when I was was scrubbing him.

Now it weeps a little bit, but it doesn't seem to distress / hurt him when I press it.

Given that even the doctors here in Azerbaijan are terrible, the vets are not worth talking about.

Is there anything I can do to help Nefti's shell heal itself? Maybe an antiseptic cream or clean it with alcohol?

Cheers
Steve

hi again Steve sorry i read your post's in the wrong order and have just seen what a great job you are doing de-oiling him/her,im not sure what products are available to clean his wound but feel it should be cleaned as best you can with alcohol and then clean water ,the biggest danger to an open wound in warm climates is fly strike and even in the UK is a danger in summer. if you clean the area and keep it dry even possibly cover it while it dries up ,difficult i know but flystrike in any wound is horrible and can even be fatal in the long term.
terry

An antibiotic cream such as Neosporin on the wound wound would be good. Alcohol isn't needed and may be hardful and irratating. If flies are a problem, cover the wound with surgical tape. If kept clean, shell wounds heal well.

This post was last modified: 05-25-2008 04:16 AM by Itort.

Thanks Larry, I'll get some Neosprin from the pharmacy and keep you posted

This reminds me of a story. What's that you say? Not another story!!!

Once upon a time, about 35 years ago, the dad of one of my son's co-workers was discing between his grape vines and accidentally disced a desert tortoise, causing a deep slice across the carapace. Not knowing what to do, and having no extra money for a vet, the guy washed off the tortoise, dried it and packed the wound with a clean piece of Play-doh. (I'm not condoning the use of Play-doh for wound repair, just relating the story.) They knew of my sons love of all things turtle, so they asked him if he would take it. He named her Mi-shell, and gave her to me a couple years later when he got a rottweiller pup who thought she was a great chew toy. Mi-shell was my first tortoise, and I still have her today. She still has the gash across her carapace, and she's a healthy normal tortoise. She was full grown at that time, so I'm guessing her age to be over 50.

Yvonne

Is there any way you can get some Keflex (Cefalexine) capsules? I worked for an exotics vet & still rehab Gopher torts & box turtles for him. Their cracked shells are usually from getting hit by a car. We always cleaned the wounds with Chlorhex scrub, and spread a capsule of Keflex on it, then cover it with a non-stick pad and water proof tape. Every 3 or 4 days remove the bandages, clean with the scrub, put new Keflex on & rebandage. You may have to do this for several weeks til the new shell grows back in.

Please do not use alcohol. You can use peroxide just one time before cleaning it with Chlorhex. You can get Chlorhex from a pharmacy.

Do you have pictures of him since you got him clean?

I commend you for rescuing this guy/gal.
Good luck
Patsy

Thanks Everyone

OK, I'll post the "before" and "after" pics in a separate thread.

Steve