General Care Discussion :: Bruiser's Rough Two Days

[mybrosteve]

Hello everyone, just thought Id share the events of the past two days so maybe I can help someone out in the future.

The Background: A few weeks ago (just before christmas-ish) I got a Fluval X5 for my 75 gallon tank. I did this mostly so i could move my now similarly-sized younger turtles in with the older turtles to reduce some energy costs and get the other 55 gal out of the way. (i know some of you are going to balk at the 1in=10gal rule but really, thats the ideal space and they have enough room and i am going to upgrade to a 125+ as soon as i can find one that i can afford). Things were going along just fine, no agression whatsoever (and i was watching them very closely) everyone was taking turns basking and the filter was keeping the water nice and clean, a little green from sunlight, but clean.

Fast forward to Monday afternoon when i noticed the smallest turtle Bruiser (the only male) in the process of passing some poo, nothing unuasual. Well next thing i know, Big Turtle has a hold of him and is pulling on him. I grab them out of the water as fast as i can and its then when i notice the gravity of the situation. Big Turtle had a hold of Bruiser's, well, male organ, and wasn't letting go. Eventually, she let go and i could see the extent of the damage. Its kind of hard to describe, but it was torn open on one side and he was unable to retract it.

After a few calls (and rather awkwardly trying to describe the situation) , I eventually got to a clinic that had an exotics Vet with experience with turtles about 20 miles away, so I gathered up Bruiser in a container with a little water in it (just to keep his tail wet) and went up.

When the Vet looked at him, the prognosis was not good. The injury itself didn't appear to be life threatening in and of itself, but infection was all but certain seeing how turtles are as dirty as they are. So basically, I had three options. 1: Have it amputated and patch him up, sounded good, until they estimated the cost at $800, now i love my turtles, but I just don't have that kind of money, so that was out. 2: Euthanize him right there just so he doesn't have to suffer through an infection, I couldnt just give up on him, espcially after all hes been through in his little life, so i opted for the third choice, which was to just let nature take its course and see if he heals himself, or can at least retract it. I got some antibiotics to give him to avoid infection which i have to give him orally, not an easy task when hes not aggressive or bitey, and the chances of him being comfortable enough to eat were very slim, but I had to at least try. So i brought him home and put him in a little tank with a little water, i didnt want him swimming too much so as not to make things worse.

Today
I got a call from the vet and she said that she spoke to another exotics vet with more turtle experience and she said that she thinks they can amputate and patch him up better than she originally thought, and they could do it cheaper to, for, get this, $50! Needless to say i was thrilled and now Bruiser has an appointment for Friday at 10am. My mom also got in touch with the director of a local zoo who got in touch with the zoo's reptile Vet who is going to call me at some point so i can get a second opinion just to be sure.

I dont know if Bruiser is going to make it through all this, but i feel good knowing that Im doing everything I can for him and maybe, just maybe, he can get through this.

And kids, the moral of the story is this: If you have males and females together WATCH FOR SEXUAL AGRESSION, in this case, i think Big Turtle was just making a grab for the poo (like turtles do, disgusting as it is) but you cant be too careful with this kind of thing. Also, know where to take your turtles in case of any kind of emergency, most vets dont have people on staff who are knowledgeable with Herps, so check out the web and make phone calls so you dont have to do it in the panic of having an injured turtle.

You can read the story of Bruiser and his brothers and sisters here

http://www.redearslider.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=7081&highlight=
http://www.redearslider.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=7119&highlight=
The first appearance of Bruiser http://www.redearslider.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=8164&highlight=
Bruiser's "Homecoming" http://www.redearslider.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=11345&highlight=
http://www.redearslider.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=15025&highlight=http://www.redearslider.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=6922&highlight=

[BullDog]

Wow! That sounds like a pretty traumatic experience for both of you! I hope bruiser pulls through! Sending good thoughts your way!

[steve]

Poor guy Was it bleeding and/or swollen? If it was severely torn, then amputation would probably be an option. I wonder if a topical antibiotic could be applied directly to the injury. A penile prolapse is sometimes treated with honey -- to assist in reducing any swelling and allowing it to retract but this is obviously a more complicated situation. Good luck and keep us up to date!

edit: this is from ATP (but does not strictly cover a bite issue) in case you haven't reviewed it:

Penile Prolapse
With clean hands (preferably sterile gloves, but not everyone has these at their home), lubricate the organ with KY Jelly, and gently attempt to assist the organ back into the turtle. If this fails, as above with the intestinal prolapse, coat the penis with dry, granulated sugar or honey to assist in reducing the swelling. If the penis does not go back in on it's own, you can GENTLY try to assist it back into the vent. If you do not feel comfortable with this, it's not working out or you think there is possibly damage to the prolapsed material, then get the turtle to a qualified vet. Some conditions need some topical medication to assist in returning the prolapse, followed by a suturing which will be removed a few days later. Waiting too long or drastically traumatized organs may require amputation, but this is a very rare case.

http://www.austinsturtlepage.com/Care/medinjuries.htm

[TheComputerGremlin]

Poor little turtle!

But on a more serious note, you put 4 adult turtles in a 75 gallon tank and didn't expect aggression? These turtles cannot be that small, let's say 4-5 inches a piece, which means you need a 160-200 gallon tank right now, not even getting started on the 400+ gallon tank you will need when they are fully grown. And I hardly doubt that she was just going for his poo. He may have made a pass at her and she decided she wanted nothing of it. It is very common for female turtles to go after the male's part when they are fed up. Honestly, I'd be ready because she may attack the other turtles as well.

[marisa]

Assuming it's necessary, with a good vet, Bruiser should get through the procedure just fine and be none the worse for it.

[Mandyb]

Omg sorry to hear about poor bruiser!!!! That's not what any male wants their penis being amputated! I hope he's okay good luck!

[mybrosteve]

Thank you all for your concern and well-wishes! Bruiser went to the Vet today and the procedure went perfectly. The Vet explained that a turtle's penis is just for reproduction and it was all muscle so all it took was to tie it off, a little snip with scissors, and push the rest back in. The Vet also said that turtles have two of them (how, im not exactly sure) and in the wild if this had happened, another turtle would have eventually just bitten it off and the other would still be fine. So again thank you all and Ill keep you updated!