Urgent Care :: what do i do with this?

[kc]

i just bought this little creature today, and i spotted a white-ish thing on his neck. maybe you guys can take a look and tell me the best way to treat this. i know many of you is probably going to say "go see a vet", but the reason i'm posting here is that i want to know if this is treat-able on my own. like is there anythin i can do with water temp? basking time or medications i can buy. i thank you guys in advance.
also, can anyone tell me what specie is this?

http://i135.photobucket.com/albums/q127 ... G_0960.jpg
http://i135.photobucket.com/albums/q127 ... G_0955.jpg
http://i135.photobucket.com/albums/q127 ... G_0954.jpg

[marisa]

Interesting markings on the head. Some kind of map turtle comes to mind offhand looking at the shell. They didn't know what kind of turtle it is where you bought it?

The bump could be a small abcess or it could be an injury. Does it ooze anything at all?

[kc]

i bought the little thing in a small pet shop where those little turtles were kept very poorly. the fish tank was small, with only about half inch of water, and it was cold in there. maybe it is some kind of injury because there were many little turtles clawing up against each other. the wound does not ooze anything.
i've put the turtle in a separate tank from my big turtle(which i had for a few years), and put the little one on a dry area and having it bask. seems like this is the first time my little one ever exposed to warmth. it looks really comfortable and more alert than i first bought it. the wound seems to be smaller and drying up.
now my question is, IF it's just an injury, will bask alone help? should i put some table salt in the water as a precaution? how worry should i be?

[urbancleopatra]

it wouldn't hurt to clean the spot a little bit and then dry docking the turtle for a little bit. if it's clearing up than it could possibly be a symptom of the conditions it was living in especially not being able to dry out and keeping it's wet little head in its shell most of the time because of so many being in one spot. it doesn't look horrendous but i'd keep an eye on it for a few days. if there isn't any improvement then go to the vet. on the species... the markings kinda remind me of kevin's (tenodera) serra so my guess is cooter?

[steve]

NO TABLE SALT. NO. NEVER.

If it is an injury and not infected you should be able to treat it by disinfecting the area and applying and antibiotic. You can use diluted betadine or diluted hibiclens (chlorhexidine sp?) to disinfect and neosporin or polysporin for a topical antibiotic. You can get better, stronger, more effective medication from a vet, Silvadene (Silver Sulfadiazine) for instance. If it gets worse, larger or there is a change in behavior then I would see a vet ASAP.

and NO TABLE SALT. NO. NEVER.

[kc]

okay now regarding the cleaning of the wound, do i just apply antibiotic or do i hav to physically remove the white stuff then apply antibiotic?
i am experienced on removing human tissue and/or cleaning up pus but i'm not sure how much pain the little thing can take if i undergo some minor surgery.

[untsmurf]

Don't pull it off. Just apply the antibiotic on top.

[steve]

and use a different q-tip for each application.

[kc]

now regarding dry docking, i remember i read about it somewhere on this website a long long time ago when my first turtle was sick, but now i can't seem to find the article.
how long do i expose the little guy in the basking light without water? and how many times do i have to do it a day? should i do it in natural sun light or in artificial basking light?

[kc]

now in just a week, the wound is completely healed!

[SpotsMama]

Good news! Thanks for letting us know.

[kc]

mississippi map? i have mind currently identified by many experienced turtle keepers as a false map. how do you know yours is a mississippi map?