General Care Discussion :: Money has a NASTY looking sore..HELP!!

[Money-Green Rocks!!]

Ok, so about a month ago my boyfriend took me out to a fresh water river to play and collect some river rocks. I got a couple and boiled them in water and let them cool before I put them in Money's tank. About a week later is when I noticed this thing on his front left "hand" and now it has gotten a little BIGGER!! I have also seen him nipping at it a couple of times. I don't have the money to take him to a vet so can anyone help me PLEASE!!!

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[Kemul]

I'm not sure if it's caused by the rocks. You can try cleaning the wounded area
with betadine and then apply Neosporin. You may want to dry dock Money so the
wound can close quicker.

Meanwhile, keep the water very clean to avoid infection. Let Money go into the
water for feeding and about twice a day about an hour each for drinking.

Keep us posted. I hope Money gets well soon. Good luck!

[TheComputerGremlin]

Hmm, if you boiled the rocks and cooled them completely back down, there shouldn't be anything that could have came off them, esp. if they were completely smooth.

It almost looks like it may be a result of him nipping at it. (Which I might add that if your turtle is over 3.5-4", you may have a "she".) I would check your water, you can buy test strips at Walmart or a pet store, or I believe both PetCo and PetSmart and some smaller pet stores will test your water for free. If there is something in the water making the skin itchy, the nipping will damage it. If you can do that asap, that is your best first action. Once you know what's in your water, you can try posting it on here. You can also try changing out 25% of your water today (after the testing, though!) and again tomorrow or later in the week.

Are you using a water conditioner? Dechlorinater? You can also put a little bit of neosporin or other antibiotic cream on the spot and rub it in and make sure it completely soaks in and dries before putting him back in the tank. That should heal it over time.

[mike hill]

Neosporin or a triple anti-biotic would be good. If you dry dock them make sure he is kept warm. 85 to 90 degrees would be good. I use a card board box with a light and a thermometer to make sure I don't over heat him. m.

[Money-Green Rocks!!]

thanx u guys and don't yell at me when i tell u his living arangement! i have had money for about 4 1/2 yrs and he doesn't live in an "adaquete" tank. it is just a gass tank with the tank rocks and a few river rocks (i took the majority or the rocks out earlier cause i thought it is the cause of this). a few of the rockis were not smooth and kept "sheding dirt" those were taken out.
dry docking - as in completely out of the water. would it work if in the morning when i get up, he comes out of the water and goes back in in the afternoon when i leave for work and out again the next morning.
ointment - put it on while dry docking??
and according to the anatomy section of this site, he is a he and not a "she". but thanx!

[Money-Green Rocks!!]

oh yeah, i manually clean his water every other day or so

[SpotsMama]

The skin itself looks distinctly odd. Here's a photo of a turtle with healthy skin:



Is your turtle's skin the same all over - yellowish and thickened - or is it just the arm where the wound is?

I know it's not what you want to hear but I think you'd better get him to a vet right away. Could be a skin infection of some sort or vitamin deficiency - I just don't know - but it does look odd.

[mike hill]

You can dry dock them several hour per day. I have drydocked mine up to and including 8 hours. While he is recuperating keep your water super clean. Just make sure you keep him warm and do not over heat.

[Money-Green Rocks!!]

this is wat he looks like. wat do u think. i took this one today right before his first dry docking.

[SpotsMama]

The skin in this new photo looks better though I can't really see his foot. Does the skin on the leg with the injury look thickened and yellow compared to the skin on the other leg?

[Money-Green Rocks!!]

the skin looks the same on both legs and feet. after today's dry docking and ointment thing, i already see a change in the nasty thing. at first it was a light pinkish color, now it is white...a healing white. thank u guys so much!! hopefully this is what he needs and everything will be ok. but back to the skin thing, does money's really look abnormal??!

[SpotsMama]

Compare the skin on your turtle's leg to the skin on the legs of the turtle in the photo I posted. See a difference? The yellowish color doesn't concern me as much (could just be from the photo) as the thickened appearance.

[Money-Green Rocks!!]

i just looked at him (dry docking right now) and it isn't that thick, it's smooth. it could be just from the picture, i used a major zoom so his foot could really be seen. but he is a bright yellow, always has been

[SpotsMama]

Ok. I'm glad to hear it was just the photo. And the yellow really isn't a problem in and of itself - turtles come in differing shades, like we do.

[marisa]

Just from looking at the pic, it looks like perhaps a scab was there and was bitten(?) off? What's the underside of the paw look like? I'd get some chlorohexidine and clean the area daily, then apply some Neosporin (you can dry-dock for a while). Keep the water clean with changes.