Broken Yoke Sac hatchling Musk Turtle

Russian Rehab

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Jun 26, 2018
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ma
hello all
upload_2019-8-26_7-13-36.png

I have a hatchling musk turtle who is approaching 24 hours old.
The baby was born with a large yoke sac that despite my best efforts they ruptured within about 2 hours of hatching.

Below I describe what I have been doing so far PLEASE comment and let me know if their is anything else you can think of to help this little one or if you see I’m doing something I shouldn’t. I have never had to deal with a ruptured yoke before.

Right after the yoke ruptured I tied off the rest of it with plane waxed dental floss right at the belly and kept them in an 80-84degree Tupperware box with petroleum and moist paper towels on the floor. upload_2019-8-26_7-14-32.pngI also applied over the counter triple antibiotic petroleum based ointment on the stem of the yoke sac, from what I have read so far now that the baby has made it through the night the biggest issue is infection. Is there anything else I can me doing to assist this little one? Oh and I forgot to mention I have been changing out the paper towels and water every 5-6 hours and I have been thoroughly sterilizing my hands when I really antibiotic ointment. upload_2019-8-26_7-15-1.pngThis is them this morning. They still are dragging the sac from the yoke but all of the yoke has drained out
 

Turtle girl 98

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Aug 16, 2019
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768
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Sandstone mn
hello all
View attachment 279397

I have a hatchling musk turtle who is approaching 24 hours old.
The baby was born with a large yoke sac that despite my best efforts they ruptured within about 2 hours of hatching.

Below I describe what I have been doing so far PLEASE comment and let me know if their is anything else you can think of to help this little one or if you see I’m doing something I shouldn’t. I have never had to deal with a ruptured yoke before.

Right after the yoke ruptured I tied off the rest of it with plane waxed dental floss right at the belly and kept them in an 80-84degree Tupperware box with petroleum and moist paper towels on the floor. View attachment 279398I also applied over the counter triple antibiotic petroleum based ointment on the stem of the yoke sac, from what I have read so far now that the baby has made it through the night the biggest issue is infection. Is there anything else I can me doing to assist this little one? Oh and I forgot to mention I have been changing out the paper towels and water every 5-6 hours and I have been thoroughly sterilizing my hands when I really antibiotic ointment. View attachment 279399This is them this morning. They still are dragging the sac from the yoke but all of the yoke has drained out
I love your camera roll down at the bottom [emoji846] lol
 

Markw84

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Sounds like you have done all you can at this point. A ruptured yolk is fatal if there is blood loss as there is so little to begin with. Since your baby has now made it over 24 hours, I think it should be OK. I would be trying to get it to start eating ASAP as they normally live off and start growing from the nutrients in the yolk sac as it is absorbed. Most aquatics I hatch (including musk) normally stay in the shell until the yolk is mostly absorbed.

The easiest food for a first food is live blood (tubifex) worms you get at most aquarium/pet stores. The movement helps stimulate feeding and small worms are a favorite food of baby turtles. Make a small tub with water just deeper than the turtle is long (shell length). Put in some fake or live plants to hide in. while at the pet shop you could get some anachris plant as a good type for that. IF you can get a fake plastic plant that looks like that type that would be fine as well. Try to keep in a place where the water will stay in the 78°-84° range. Once your baby starts to eat, you should be well on your way to a healthy turtle.
 

Moozillion

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Lol yes he was such a cute little rascal that we gotta know [emoji38]
Actually, if things are not going well, it might be kind of hard to post about it. That's how it was for me sometimes when Jacques was sick for so long.
I think I'll back off, and hope for the best. :<3:
 

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