General Care Discussion :: my turtle is wounded... (pic might be disturbing)

[somerandomname]

I recently found out that one of my turtles' neck is wounded. Since my dad's the usual caretaker/cleaner of the turtles, he is far-sighted so he didn't know.
The wound is pretty big.
What is this wound on his neck? What can I do to help heal it? Is this wound contagious that my other turtles and I can get from also?



Sorry, I couldn't get a better picture due to the movement of the turtle.



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[Starchick]

You will not get sick from it as long as you wash your hands after handling him. You might want to quarantine him from your other turtles, for his safety as much as theirs. You'll want to clean the area with something like betadine (i've heard of people using neosporin but i can't vouch for that) to keep it from getting infected. It's tough to tell what's going on there. I'd recommend a trip to the vet just to be safe.

[grey goose]

Thats a pretty nasty wound. Was he bitten? It also looks infected to me.....I would seperate him and keep him in very clean, warm water while I made an appointment with a vet.

[SpotsMama]

I agree a trip to the vet is in order. He probably needs an antibiotic. I wasn't there, of course, but if I had to guess I'd bet he was bitten by another turtle. How many turtles are there and what is their setup like? It's very common for turtles housed together to fight. They may not fight when they are little - it usually starts when they grow up. Most of the time they have to be separated to keep them from hurting each other.

Poor little turtle. I hope it all turns out ok.

[marisa]

One of your turtles? How many do you have together? That looks like a nasty bite wound. What does it look like with the neck out? I'd clean it with Nolvasan or diluted Betadine and put some Neosporin on it if the wound isn't really deep. Keep him out of the water overnight to let the medication work. If it doesn't start to show improvement quickly, I'd see a herp vet.

It would be good to separate him from the others.

[somerandomname]

One of your turtles? How many do you have together? That looks like a nasty bite wound. What does it look like with the neck out? I'd clean it with Nolvasan or diluted Betadine and put some Neosporin on it if the wound isn't really deep. Keep him out of the water overnight to let the medication work. If it doesn't start to show improvement quickly, I'd see a herp vet.

It would be good to separate him from the others.

the wound is pretty big... It wouldnt let me get a shot of the wound's length.


I dont know if it's a bite wound or not. They never fought before so I wouldn't say so.

[somerandomname]

also, how would I disinfect his neck with the medicine since he's always shy with me around??

[SpotsMama]

You'll have to entice him to stick his head out. Sometimes they stick their heads out to bite. If you hold a towel or something to his face he might bite at it and you could put some salve on the wound at that time.

Nolvasan and betadine are very fluid. Try wetting a q tip with the solution and drizzeling it on the wound.

Keep him dry most of the time until you can get him to a vet.

You may not see them fighting. When you're in the room you may draw their attention. Some people on here have been surprised to walk into a room quietly and unnoticed and find one turtle bullying another.

[steve]

I'd get some cotton balls and try to get the betadine solution in there. As others have mentioned, I think a vet visit is in order. The surrounding area looks very raw, so it's possible there is an infection.

[marisa]

Believe me, it's a bite wound.

I'm currently using Nolvasan on a wound that's isn't nearly as bad as that one. I saturate a q-tip with it and wait for the turtle to stick his neck out. If you have the turtle more at an angle than flat (so that the shell is aimed more upward), he should get curious and stick his neck out. Then just gently wipe the wound with the solution or let it drip on it (get the area wet with the stuff). Since the wound is on the lower side of the neck (and below?), you might try holding him more to the side. You can do this with diluted betadine as well. If you can't get this to work, put him down and try holding a bit of food near his nose. If he starts to sniff at it, move the food away so that his neck comes out.

I'd keep him out of the water at night to let the air get at it, and keep him in really clean water when you hydrate him.

This is until you get him to a vet. Since you said the wound is big and you couldn't even get a complete shot of it (and it looks deep), you really should have him seen by a herp vet.

I'd check the other turtles for signs that they've been bitten as well.