Urgent Care :: RES foot problems

[Randi]

I have three RES and one of them recently has been swimming with his hind legs tucked into his shell. I took a closer look and noticed that on both of his hind feet there are cuts, or raw areas. I cannot tell if a claws has been pulled out. He is eating normal and as active as normal. But he seems very sensitive when he touches something with his hind legs, any suggestions? should we take him to a vet?

[TexasJagsFan]

Do you have anything else in the tank besides the RES? What kind of tank do you have? It's possible that one of the other RES could be aggressive.

If it was me, I would probably call a vet to see if he needs to be brought in. Watch you tank to see if any of them are aggressive.

[cam722]

What sort of setup do you have? Could he possibly be cutting it on say the basking area, rocks or something else in the tank??

[steve]

First, separate him from the others. You'll have to keep them separate until he heals and you find out the cause of the injuries.

How big are your turts and how big is your tank? Do you know their sex? Small tanks will have more aggressive turtles.

Also, unprotected heaters, decorations, low water levels and the basking area are all potential causes of injuries.

[steve]

Couple of more things, make sure the water is clean and if the wounds don't start healing immediately, consider taking him to a vet.

Some might suggest to use a disinfectant for the wounds, I would check to make sure its safe for turts before you try anything. You'll need to search for that info.

[marisa]

A vet is always good. In the meantime, I'd gently rinse the wounds and apply some Neosporin on the raw areas. Keep the turtle out of the water for a bit (about an hour) to let it be absorbed.

Are the wounds/raw areas uniform in size and location?