Urgent Care :: Kiwi's field trip

[KIWIsMem]

Hi everyone 2 concerns, I am new to the forum, our RES is 3 years old-ish named Kiwi (adopted), his skin is getting lighter (head & legs, shell looks great). I've read that males tend to lose their red patch or it may become discolored as they age but was wondering your thoughts on that.

Well today while we were out at family 4th festivites, Kiwi decided to take a field trip. He climbed out of his ENCLOSED tank down 2 sections of stairs (carpeted) where he would later be found under the couch. We have an aquarium lid that I THOUGHT he would never be able to open WRONG so I clamped it for now with woodworking clamps. I know he must have either bumped his head or burned himself on the light, there is a reddish bruise on his head that we found after the escape any idea what it is? He also coughed up a mucus-like blob when returning to water any clue what that is? We are going to the vet today to make sure he's ok, but just wanted to have some peace of mind before the vet visit.

Kiwi seems ok, just glad I found him before the shih tzu's did.

[SpotsMama]

Hi and Welcome to the Forum,

How long have you had Kiwi? When did his skin start turning pale?

I assume Kiwi is the turtle in your avatar. Is his skin really as pale as it appears in the photo, or is the pale color just a trick of the light?

Does his skin appear to have a whitish coating on it? Does he seem to be shedding skin (thin whisps that show up when he's under water) all he time?

I'm glad to hear you planned to take him to see a vet. What did the vet have to say? Was the vet experienced with treating turtles?

On the head lesion, if you weren't going to see a vet I'd suggest cleaning it off with a little betadine on a q tip, then rubbing on a little Neosporin or triple antibiotic ointment with another q tip, then keeping him out of the water for an hour to give the medicine a chance to soak in, and repeating the process daily until the wound seems to have healed.

On the mucus-like blob, I don't know what it could have been. What did the vet have to say?

[KIWIsMem]

The vet said he is very lucky & has no damage the reddish bruise went away. She said Kiwi looks very healthy & sometimes they change color ie lighten/darken with the seasons. We had the Dr. clip his nails to show us how to do at home (it's recommended 1x/yr). It was pretty funny to witness, took 3 staff members to clip his nails since he's sucha pistol & has a freakishly long neck haha. She added at the end that he may not eat very well in the next couple of days from all the excitement of escaping & his 1st vet visit.

[SpotsMama]

I'm glad to hear he's ok. I don't agree with clipping his nails, though. In the wild, the nails don't get clipped. Would you let us know when his color starts darkening again? My turtle has never gotten lighter with changes in season.

[TheComputerGremlin]

I agree with the nail clipping. It's not natural or recommended unless there are underlying problems (like the turtle accidentally scratching himself often or nibbling on his nails or they get so freakishly long that it could harm him). If you continue to clip his nails, they will just continue to grow, but if you leave them alone, they will naturally file down and remain at a constant length.

[industrial_girl_2000]

Nail clipping is NOT needed for any RES. DON'T clip the nails! They don't need this! extra-long nails is a sign that your RES is a healthy BOY. The girls have short front nails (which also never need clipping).

I've had turtles for 19 yrs, and the nails never grow "too long." Turtle nails will grow to the appropriate length and then stop. They aren't like people or dogs in this regard.

Also, what kind of UVB light do you have? It is true that a turtle's skin color can change over time, but UVB will brighten the skin color considerably regardless of gender.

[marisa]

Why in the world would the vet clip your turtle's nails and say that it's recommended once a year?????

The long nails on male RES are a secondary sex characteristic and should be left as is unless they're truly impeding mobility (and I've never seen this happen). Seems very strange to me...No clipping and certainly no yearly procedure.