Urgent Care :: Arm In Filter

[resfl24]

When I went out today to feed my RES. I discovered that the intake tube strainer had come off, and my RES speedy had her arm stuck in the tube while it was running. I immediately turned it off, but she still could not pull herself out. I then had to force outtake water from the other filter through the other one backwards. When she finally was loose & free, I could see the damage that had been done. Her arm was swollen to the size of the tube. Other than that, It look like she has a few small cuts on her arm. I put some food in the pond & she immediately started to eat & try to swim the the swollen arm. She can move it somewhat, but she can't pull it in her shell. She seems okay but what can I do to prevent the cuts from becoming infected? I'll post some pictures as soon as I can.

[ellman605]

Take the turtle out and rub some neosporin on the arm, let it soak in for a couple minutes, then put it back. Repeat this 2 times a day (if i remember correctly). This should prevent the cuts from becoming infected.

Also, make sure the water is super clean. Hope she's okay!

[steve]

You really need to stay on top of this and get some guidance from a good herp vet. I'm more worried about the swollen tissue than the cuts (but they should be treated as well). If circulation was cut off too long, your turtle may need surgery or this injury could be fatal.

[marisa]

If she can move her arm at all, that's good. I'd be tempted to take her out of the pond and put her in a set-up that doesn't require her to move that arm a lot (i.e., one with shallower water).

Is the arm discolored at all or does any part of it look mangled (I'm thinking of someone else's post a while back and how his turtle looked, perhaps you can find it)? If not, is the swelling going down at all? If it still looks about the same in size, having your turtle checked out by a herp vet would be good.

You can prevent the cuts from getting infected by washing them with diluted Betadine, drying them, and applying Neosporin to them.