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#151254
Shy
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New here - I rescued a painted turtle - a little advice? 
Hi. I’m new to this forum and new to turtles! I found this turtle on the road the other day, must have been hit by a car. His shell is cracked. At first he had a hard time moving his back legs, but now is getting around fine. He is still bleeding a bit, more of an ooze than a bleed. Anyway, I’ve contacted the ony rehab place in my area and they haven’t gotten back to - mostly because they seem to specialize in mammls, especially deer. Paying for a vet right now isn’t an option - my husband will not go for it. I’ve got neosporin on the cracks and have made him a place to live for now. I’d actually like to keep him (after my husband gets attached we can find a vet) - but need some help w/his recovery. Thanks in advance for any help! Here are soe pics of the temporary house and of the turtle:
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09/29/04 11:06am
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#151444
TeriS4
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Message To: Shy In reference to Message Id: 151254
New here - I rescued a painted turtle - a little advice?
Oh that poor little guy!!!! There is NO way you could somehow take him to the vet NOW??? He really needs to go NOW. THe neosporin is good, make sure when he gets out of the water there is still neo on it and keep his water VERY clean. Just tell your husband that he really needs to go he could have internal injuries also. How long have you had him? Is he eating? Is that light a uva/uvb bulb? He will need specially uvb for the calcium for his shell. Hmmm I can’t think of anything else right now, goood luck.
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09/29/04 5:19pm
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#151465
LittleMusk
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Message To: TeriS4 In reference to Message Id: 151444
New here - I rescued a painted turtle - a little advice?
Oh my god, that poor thing! Well I agree with TeriS4 you really should take him to a herp vet ASAP, but if that is out of the question then maybe you can contact this turtle rebhab center and see what they say. http://www.turtleshelltortue.org/rehabphotos.htm
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09/29/04 5:54pm
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#151538
Elfomatic
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Message To: LittleMusk In reference to Message Id: 151465
New here - I rescued a painted turtle - a little advice?
What you have there is an Eastern Painted. Thanks for picking the little guy off the road. That was very compassionate. The good news is that most shell breaks are not nearly as bad as they look. With the proper care this little guy is perfectly capable of making a full recovery. In addition to what you are doing see if you can’t also regularly disinfect the wounds with a mild betadine solution to prevent infection. They need to be washed out entirely a couple times a day. The ooze might be pus which means that he currently has an infection he is trying to fight so the wounds will need to be completely flushed to help. The fact that he is up and moving is a great sign ... if he has made it this far the chances that any internal organs are damaged is minimum. He probably couldn’t move his back legs in the beginning due to shock. If he has made it past that stage then he has a fighting chance. The biggest issue with cracked shells -- especially in aquatic turtles -- is that if the shell heals with an infection inside then there is no way to get rid of it -- so the disinfecting is very important ... keep the entire area around the wound neat and keep the enclosure as sterile as you possibly can. Once the area starts to close up enough so there isn’t any bleeding it will be okay to reintroduce him to an aquatic environment. This will be necessary since aquatic turtles are incapable of eating outside of water (they need pressure on their diaphram so swallow). The shell will take a long time to heal completely. See if you can’t take him to the vet anyway. Since this is an emergency and this isn’t your pet-it is a wild animal-they probably won’t charge you for it’s care. Most emergency vets love turtles and aren’t going to turn them down -- speak to the vet directly not the tech.
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09/29/04 7:13pm
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#151568
Shy
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Message To: Elfomatic In reference to Message Id: 151538
New here - I rescued a painted turtle - a little advice?
Hi - thanks you all so much for your replies! I have been changing his water dish every morning, and just today started filling a dishpan for him to swim in a little - which he seemed to like. I am a bit worried that he might not be eating? I do know that he can urinate - he did it on the floor yesterday when I let him out for a bit of exercise - but I’m not sure if he’s able to poop (sorry, can’t think of the technical expression). I’ll try contacting some local vets to see about having him looked at (it’s just got to be free - my husband would freak!! - we’ve tried to rescue other animals in the past - baby rabbits, a skunk, a woodchuck hit by a car - and have had bad luck, I think he just doesn’t want to be let down again). I’ve been rinsing out the cracks in his shell every day, and re-applying the neosporin. I’ll go get some betadine tomorrow to flush it out better. I’m just wondering about his recuperation time - it’s getting to be fall up here (Northern Catskills, NY) and winter can hit fast and furious. I really don’t want to release him until I’m sure he’s OK, and I’m betting that’s going to be way beyond the winter point. Is there something I should be doing to prepare to over-winter him inside? For spring and summer time I have a little water garden I especially set up to attract frogs and turtles (which now does have some frogs who took up residence) - but I have no experience with housing turtles during the winter.
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09/29/04 7:56pm
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#151844
Scubafrog
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Message To: Shy In reference to Message Id: 151568
New here - I rescued a painted turtle - a little advice?
just f.y.i. the medical term for "peeing" is "void." however most people understand "urinate." the medical term for "pooping" is "defecate." however most people understand "to have a bowel movement." trust me on this one, i know. it’s been drilled into my head during patient care class.
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09/30/04 1:15am
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#151915
JEFF QUARLES
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Message To: Scubafrog In reference to Message Id: 151844
New here - I rescued a painted turtle - a little advice?
GO TO ADVANCED AUTO AND GET SOME BONDO. WILL WORK GREAT AND LAST’S FOR LIFE.
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09/30/04 8:06am
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#151930
Scarletsnake
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Message To: JEFF In reference to Message Id: 151915
New here - I rescued a painted turtle - a little advice?
I’m a wildlife rehabber and am on an e-mail list w/ other rehabbers from all over the country. I will tell them about this turtle and find out what options you have in your area. There are many individuals with permits who may be able to help you, even if only via e-mail. You can contact me at alison@rcpinc.com and I will let you know anything I find out.
The previous post about the danger of infection was SO true! We had a baby RES who’s shell had healed with an infection and even after multiple procedures to help him, the poor little guy didn’t make it. Your turtle needs help ASAP. Keep up the loving care you’ve been giving him so far!
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09/30/04 9:49am
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#152063
Elfomatic
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Message To: Scarletsnake In reference to Message Id: 151930
New here - I rescued a painted turtle - a little advice?
Don’t worry at this point if he isn’t eating ... he probably doesn’t have much of an apppetite ... and that’s okay because turtles can go for a long time without eating so it isn’t exactly high on the priority list of things to take care of for him. Besides, if he is wild caught he probably isn’t going to recognize turtle pellets and lettuces as food right off the bat. Keep trying though. The good thing about living in NY is that there are a lot of reptile enthusuiasts -- mostly around the NYC area. Granted, that isn’t extremely close to you but if things get rough with him you can always find someone relatively close by who is willing to help. You might want to contact the NY Turtle and Tortoise Society -- http://nytts.org Certainly if there is any sort of turtle rehabber close to you they will know of it. It’s a great society. As to Jeff’s bondo suggestion, I wouldn’t do it. Yes, you can seal cracks in shells with superglue and other adhesives but you don’t want to do so unless you are positive there is no infection to be trapped inside -- best to have a vet make that judgement call.
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09/30/04 2:26pm
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#161145
Wildkat
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Message To: Elfomatic In reference to Message Id: 152063
New here - I rescued a painted turtle - a little advice?
Try feeding him small minnows or worms if he aint eating turtle food.
It can take up to or more then a year for the shell to heal. He cannt be released with a cracked shell because animals can rip open the shell and kill him.
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10/13/04 11:34pm
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