Another new rescue.. RES

[Nay]

Hi all, I am now fostering a wild RES(I hope that's what he is!!) I just wanted some opinions. He was hit and has a hole in his bridge. The vets say now they do NOT try to apply any hole repair to them any longer (Like fiberglass, bondo) he is really active so far. I have him in one of my tort tables, since my guys are outside till winter. He is supposed to be dry docked to heal. I have to clean and flush him with chlorohex 3-4 times daily. Since he is getting wet from cleaning, I set up a paint tray to let him get some worms etc. He hasn't appeared to have eaten, but is pretty frantic when I hang over the edge and spreads stuff all around. He doesn't try to bite at all, like many my son has picked up, they seem intent on nailing you.
Questions, would you do anything else for the wounds? I know I had him at the vet, but really hate to see it open. I am going to try to add the pictures from another resizing site, hope it works, other wise I will post them the way I have done it before in another post. Thanks.
And I will probably find other things to feed him by perusing this part of the tort forum.
Thanks
NA

 

[Rhyno47]

Actually that is a male Painted Turtle. Ive seen many turtles recover from horrific wounds. Their immune system is amazing, much better than ours.

 

[Maggie Cummings]

But he can only eat in water. I have healed many many water turtles just the way you are, but for an hour a day you have to put him in clean warm water and feed him and let him drink. You might also want to put an antibiotic ointment over the wound after you flush with the chlorhexadine...
and he's not a RES but a painted. And if you are going to release him then you need to keep him away from any of your own turtles and turtle equipment and except for flushing his wound don't handle him. Are you keeping him in a box with a light so he can stay warm? Temperature is important now also so he doesn't get cold. I'd just use a 100 watt bulb and a clamp light fixture. I read you have him in a tort table, but I would keep him in a small box with the light and cover it so he doesn't move much and stays quiet. A small box, he shouldn't be in your tort table or around any of your equipment, you don't want to take the chance on exchanging pathogens and him carrying something back to the wild population.
I don't mean to be bossing you around, but I have healed many a wound like that so I just thought I would offer some advice. I mean no disrespect. If you don't do anything else I said, please put him in the water for a bit a night so he can eat and drink...Thanks for doing that for him...

 

[Nay]

Maggie, no I want to do the right thing by him.Tell me, tell me!!!
Yes I wondered if for sure he was a painted. And yes I thought he should be in water little. I do have him in my table under lights and he moved the hay around to get under it. He only scurries when I go to check on him and think he might get more frantic with no room to run away.He can get away from the lights, should I try to keep him under them?I wonder if the antibiotic is fine to put right inside the hole? You certainly can see insides breathing in and out. I thought twice about usuing the tort table, but I have a thick pond liner lining it and figured I would bleach the heck out of it when we are done with rehab.
I actually have the woman's name who found it and will call her when he is healed to release back to where he came from, well maybe off the road where he came from. Any estimate as to when this hole could possibly fill in? (weeks? months? I know they will all be different, but how about a guess.?) and no absolutely not am I handling him any more than I have to. I DO NOT want a turtle that came from the wild, or an aquatic turtle to have to mess with filters and dirty water, etc. (Only if I HAVE to, like ,um of course Terry, taking in a 9 year ol RES!!!
Thanks na

 

[Maggie Cummings]

He needs to be in a situation with no substrate and no hay. The wound MUST stay clean and as sterile as you can get it. I would flush the wound with Chlorhexadine and pack it with an antibiotic ointment. I would dry dock him in a box /tort table without any substrate. Right now I'd put ointment around the edges of the wound, and flush several times during the day. Keeping it clean and sterile is super important. It will take a couple of months to heal and close. The pictures of the actual wound are too small for me to see. The wound will close sooner if you don't use the ointment. So that is your call. If you don't think it's getting infected then don't use any ointment. Are you giving antibiotic injections to prevent infection? When I treat an animal like your's I use a box with a 100 watt bulb and I put a towel over the top so he is closed in and your moving around doesn't scare him, I believe temperature is important. He needs to stay warm and IMHO if he can move away from the light he can get cold. So there again, that's your call. Can he stay warm away from the light? But if you have hay and a substrate you need to move him out of that to a box.
You might use a betadine wash once a day too, but as well as killing germs it also kills the white blood cells needed to heal so you shouldn't use it more then once a day. Feel free to email me if you think you need to...

[email protected]...

 

[dmmj]

LOL maggie people don't believe me when I tell them water turtles don't eat on land only underwater

 

[Yvonne G]

Just to add to the great instructions Maggie gave you...you dry dock the turtle for 23 hours a day, putting the turtle in clean water for an hour to eat and drink.

Yvonne

 

[Nay]

Thanks all. I will change what I have him in and offer worms, floating pellets. what else?? He hasn't been interested in going in the paint tray so I haven;t seen him eat.
Na

 

[Maggie Cummings]

he is not going to go into something as small as a roller pan to eat. He's going to want to put his whole body under the water, so you need to set up a large sweater box or rubbermaid tub for him to swim in. Then he'll eat I promise. But if you're thinking he's just going to put his head in a paint tray, he won't.