Urgent Care :: RES Fell - Cracked Shell. Help.

[OverRide]

Hi,
My 8 year old male RES, 11 Inches or so in size managed to pull him self out of the feeding tank and fell to the floor making a crack from the top down to bottom parts of his shell. Its about a 3 inch crack running up the side, no chunks are missing and he seems to be all in once piece. His eyes are bright and he is still being active, walking about and trying to bite me, etc. I have cleaned the wound as per the instructions on this site.
My question is regarding having him put back into the water. One Vet (Over the phone) told me not too have him swimming for 6 weeks, which seems a little much. Everything i have read suggest small periods of swimming and dry docking.
I am taking him to a reptile vet tomorrow, but need to know how long he can stay out of water and if i should get him in so he can eat and drink?
Thanks a lot.
Aaron.

[jenaero]

I would suggest leaving him be for now. Make sure the water is really clean and he'll be fine til he sees a good, experienced vet tomorrow.

[blulite]

i think six weeks is quite a lengthy period. but i would have thought seeing as turtles need water to swallow then you could put just enough water in a spare tank so he can sit in it and drink/swallow food etc..

i personally would say a small anount of water probably wouldnt hurt as long as it is fresh and clean and covers no more than the unbroken shell below the crack. maybe an inch or two if allowable.

also plenty of cuttlebone in the water and/or disolved calciulm tablets may help for the time being.

i say this only as an oppinion and hope other forum members can elaborate.

[marisa]

Welcome. Not seeing exactly what the crack looks like makes suggesting a course of action a little difficult, but you could put him into clean water, let him get hydrated (and perhaps eat) and then keep him out of the water overnight before taking him to the vet. I think the 6-week period would include his being able to get hydrated and eat in clean water once or twice a day.

[OverRide]

Quick update.
I took Gumby to the vet today.

The Dr. was pleased with the crack and the way it is healing. She was happy to see there were no chunks out of the shell, she said he was looking healthy otherwise.
Basically her suggestion was to give Gumby some water time, 2 to 3 times a day for 15 mins and dry dock the rest of the time. She gave him a cream to put on the crack before putting him in the water. The cream is called "Flamazine" (Silver Sulfadiazine Cream). She also gave me some tuna flavored Baytril (Antibiotic) to try and put on his food.


Thanks for all your help.
Aaron.

[SpotsMama]

Excellent. Silver sulfadiazine is a miracle drug - it's used on human burn victims. Hope all continues to go well.

[TheComputerGremlin]

Sounds like you had a clean crack and everything will be fine. Your vet's suggestions are exactly on track. The turtle doesn't need water 24/7, and can stay out of the water with periodic dips for the next several weeks. It's best to keep the wound clean. If you can keep the water you let him swim in super clean, it will be even better.