# Turtle got bitten by rat and lost his front paws, need advice



## Onee indah (Nov 8, 2017)

We have this turtle living in our back yard for 23 years, and never really taken care properly. 3 days a go it got bitten by rat, and lost it's front paws and some flesh got ripped off on back paws. There's no vet here that really understood about turtle, but the one I came to, told me to clean the wounds with revanol and put on some antibiotic ointment. He gave antibiotic shot for the turtle too. I did what he told and what I've learned from the net, but I'm still a little bit unsure of what I'm doing and am I doing the right thing or not, because it started to smell like rotten fish, and got me really worried. So far, I had feed it with raw chicken meat, cooked fish and papaya. It doesn't move much, and sleep a lot now. Should I be worry? I


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## MyersTortoise (Nov 9, 2017)

Onee indah said:


> We have this turtle living in our back yard for 23 years, and never really taken care properly. 3 days a go it got bitten by rat, and lost it's front paws and some flesh got ripped off on back paws. There's no vet here that really understood about turtle, but the one I came to, told me to clean the wounds with revanol and put on some antibiotic ointment. He gave antibiotic shot for the turtle too. I did what he told and what I've learned from the net, but I'm still a little bit unsure of what I'm doing and am I doing the right thing or not, because it started to smell like rotten fish, and got me really worried. So far, I had feed it with raw chicken meat, cooked fish and papaya. It doesn't move much, and sleep a lot now. Should I be worry? I



The first thing that you need to do is to get rid of the rat problem. Trap them, poison them, or do whatever you need to do to eradicate them from your property.


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## Onee indah (Nov 9, 2017)

MyersTortoise said:


> The first thing that you need to do is to get rid of the rat problem. Trap them, poison them, or do whatever you need to do to eradicate them from your property.


Well, I did put some poison for them after that...


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## Yvonne G (Nov 9, 2017)

It's important that the turtle gets antibiotic . The thing that kills them after a rat or dog attack isn't the attack, but rather the infection that sets in afterwards.


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## Onee indah (Nov 9, 2017)

Yvonne G said:


> It's important that the turtle gets antibiotic . The thing that kills them after a rat or dog attack isn't the attack, but rather the infection that sets in afterwards.


That's my concern too... With the nasty look of the wounds, I'm so worry that it will got infection. It already got antibiotic shot from the vet when I took it there 2 days ago. The vet prescribed me with antibiotic cream and powder. He said to clean it with antiseptic fluid and apply the medication twice a day, so I did. But I'm not really sure if it gets better or not. It doesn't want to eat, doesn't move much and sleep a lot now. I wonder if there's anything more I can do, like should I put a light in it's tank? Or should I give it specific food to help improve it's condition?


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## TammyJ (Nov 9, 2017)

Make sure the turtle does not get at the rat poison OR that a poisoned rat does not end up in the turtle's pond and the turtle eats it. Turtles will eat dead rats or mice.
This turtle looks like he can recover, I think, with proper care and antibiotics. Keep him clean and do your best, keep checking with the vet, and keep us informed.
He looks like he is grateful for your help! But after 23 years in your home, he deserves all the help you can give him right now! Thank you.


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## Onee indah (Nov 9, 2017)

TammyJ said:


> Make sure the turtle does not get at the rat poison OR that a poisoned rat does not end up in the turtle's pond and the turtle eats it. Turtles will eat dead rats or mice.
> This turtle looks like he can recover, I think, with proper care and antibiotics. Keep him clean and do your best, keep checking with the vet, and keep us informed.
> He looks like he is grateful for your help! But after 23 years in your home, he deserves all the help you can give him right now! Thank you.


Thank you... You have settled our long time question, is it a male or female... All these years we have assumed that he was female... And named him Molly...
I don't put him back in our back yard now.. I put him in a bucket with old t-shirt to soften the surface like in the picture I send. I want to keep him dry and clean until his wound gets better... But I give him water in a bowl when I clean him to cool him, and he would plunge his head in the water but not getting his wounds wet. But I wonder is it ok to clean him with water first before I clean him with antiseptic. He smell terrible...


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## Markw84 (Nov 9, 2017)

Be sure your turtle can keep warm while healing. Preferably around 80°f (27°C). Need the metabolism up to help with the process. Just keep it clean and give her a chance to eat in some water every day. Then reapply some of the antibiotic ointment.

And... sure looks like a very nice old female _Cuora amboinensis_


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## Onee indah (Nov 9, 2017)

Markw84 said:


> Be sure your turtle can keep warm while healing. Preferably around 80°f (27°C). Need the metabolism up to help with the process. Just keep it clean and give her a chance to eat in some water every day. Then reapply some of the antibiotic ointment.
> 
> And... sure looks like a very nice old female _Cuora amboinensis_


Oh, so it is female then? Should I put a lamp to keep her warm? I bask her in the morning for 15 min, but at night I don't put a lamp in her bucket. I did put uv light for insect the night before, in hoping it will killed germ and bacteria to sterilized the wound... But I'm not really sure it will work with that... She has foam coming out from her mouth sometimes... Should I put her in the water for a while?


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## Carol S (Nov 9, 2017)

The problem with using rat poison is that if another animal eats the dying or dead rat they can die from the rat poison. The neighbor's small dog almost died after eating a poisoned rat. We used to see a lot of owls, but not any longer, which is most likely related to the owls eating a poisoned rat.


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## Onee indah (Nov 10, 2017)

Carol S said:


> The problem with using rat poison is that if another animal eats the dying or dead rat they can die from the rat poison. The neighbor's small dog almost died after eating a poisoned rat. We used to see a lot of owls, but not any longer, which is most likely related to the owls eating a poisoned rat.


I guess you got your point there... But we did try to trap them way back then, but didn't seems to work... Them rats were so smart... They took the bait but didn't trigger the trap... That's why we tried the poison later. Feel bad for the owl though ...


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