Urgent Care :: Help! I think the tip of my turtle's tail is gone!

[Turtlelover123]

I was cleaning out her tank and my brother just wanted to see the turtles for the heck of it and when he got a closer look, the tip of my turtles tail is gone! I took a picture but you can barly see the tip. The tip is pink right now! Help! I'm so scared. Climber is acting normal.

[Turtlelover123]

[DavidY]

(edit: Oh, I didn't see the picture before I posted this. It doesn't look too bad. A wound that small should heal fairly quickly. Go ahead and try the following and he should be fine...)

You will need to separate your turtles. Once that kind of aggression starts it will probably keep happening. Take the injured turtle out and rinse his tail under some clean water, preferably cool water to help the blood vessels contract and slow down any bleeding. Then try to gently dab it dry with a clean paper towel, q-tip or cotton ball. When it's dried off, apply some neosporin to the wound and then keep him out of the water for 20 to 30 minutes (or longer if you can). The air will help the wound scab over and there will be less chance for infection from the dirty tank water. Speaking of which you will need to setup a new clean tank or tub for him to live in. Make sure the water is clean.

You should probably repeat this a few more times over the next day or two and if it starts to puss up or looks infected you'll need to take him to a vet.

[Turtlelover123]

Thanks Soooooooooo Much DavidY!! but where do you get neosporin from?

[SpotsMama]

Neosporin is an antiseptic salve for people. It's not expensive and you can get it over-the-counter at places like Walgreen's or Walmart's or any drug store. It's very good for people too - when you get a small cut or scratch.

[Turtlelover123]

ok! I would go now and get some but it's sorta late LOL. At least Climber is going to be ok.

[Turtlelover123]

But I sorta doubt Skippy was the one that took the tip of the tail. It has always been a bit bent up since the beginning. Should I still separte them?

[marisa]

How else could your turtle have lost the tip? If you think it's remotely possible that it was bit off by the other one, then I'd separate them. I'd still separate them to give the tip a chance to heal (the other turtle could be attracted by the scent of the open wound and try to bite it).

If you have any betadine, I'd dilute a little and wash the wound with that. Let it dry and apply some antibiotic ointment (Neosporin or Polysporin if you can't find the Neosporin). Keep your turtle out of the water a bit to give the ointment a chance to soak in. Keep the water clean so that the wound has less of a chance of getting infected.