Urgent Care :: Hit by car.

[windowskiller987]

Long story. but we picked up a florida box turtle from someone who found him on a busy local road. there is a huge crack running down the front half of his shell & it's bleding. The local herp vet is closed. I'll post pictures as soon as I can. Please Help

[windowskiller987]

here's a link to some photo's
http://gallery.mac.com/dylanbyrnes#100028&

[Tenodera]

ooh that looks bad...try to keep him in a warm place and take him to the vet as soon as possible.

[windowskiller987]

I'm gonna try to tape him up with surgical tape.

[Tenodera]

wait you sure that's good? What if some shell fragments are stuck inside? Have you tried searching on what to do with a turtle with a cracked shell?

[Safdar]

Ya, are u sure that wont cause him pain
When is the earliest you can get him to the vet

[windowskiller987]

I called the vet before they closed & that's what they told me. I'm trying to get ahold of some friends from our local reptile rescue.

[Safdar]

Call up another vet and ask them what u should do

[megcornell]

I worked at a wildlife rehab last summer. A few times we had turtles come in from road accidents. We never taped them up because without xrays you never know if your mending things correctly. I think the best thing to do would be to keep her warm and dry and wait for the vets who can better assess the damage and where to "set" the shell and or broken bones.
Does the vet's have weekend hours? If not, at the very least you can start washing the wounds to help avoid infections. But I'd be very hesitant to put any sort of force on the shell in terms of binding it for fear that you'd do more harm than good. I'd also keep trying that reptile rescue, that sounds like a good option.

[SpotsMama]

Meg, would you suggest washing the wound with a disinfectant like Hibiclense or Betadine? Would such solutions add to the pain? Would hydrogen peroxide be a less painful alternative?

[SpotsMama]

Window, what Meg suggests about the reptile rescue sounds like your best bet. If you can't get ahold of anyone there, and it may be difficult over Labor Day weekend, here's another suggestion. Around here there are certain veterinary clinics that are open 24 hours a day 7 days a week for after hours emergencies. They are either listed in the phone book or when you get the after hours message at a regular clinic they will refer to it. Have you checked for such a thing? I can't imagine that they would have a reptile specialist but there would probably a vet able to deal with trauma.

[steve]

Check the vet listings in your area. This happens frequently in FL, so you should call around. Also check the Florida Wildlife Hospital. I'll see if I can find the name of a good exotics vet down there too.

[windowskiller987]

alright, i"m afraid to put any disinfectant on it because it's pretty deep. If I do should I then rinse it out. I'll call the vet tomorrow. I can't even tell if he's alive right now. He's in my garage.

[windowskiller987]

Dr. Rossi is the best local herp vet that everyone here goes to is closed now. It was closed when I got this turtle home. I want to see if he makes it through the morning. if he does i'll take him or her to the vet. If he or she doesn't

[megcornell]

I agree to just wash the wound with warm clean water for now to get debris and dirt out. Good luck with him, I hope he makes it.