All Turtles Message Board

kyunlau · Guest Joined: 28 May 2007 Posts: 2

A raccoon tore off / mangled my RES's hind legs. After 18 hours, we finally got the bleeding to stop. But it did bleed quite a bit. My poor baby's traumatized. We have been cleaning the wound with hydrogen peroxide once every 8 hours, although we have missed the last 8 hour mark because it was asleep and it was the first time it seemed to rest since the attack, and we didn't want to disturb it.

We are having trouble getting it to eat/drink. So far, we have been able to get him to bite off a little shrimp (he thought it was the enemy) twice today, and drip some water to its mouth with a wet cloth (which he thought was the enemy again). He drank no more than a few drops of water since the incident.

Is there any way to get it to drink more water? Is it fatal if he doesn't drink more? We can't put the RES back in water yet because his legs need rest.

We also can't move him to see the vet because he gets very frightened now after the attack and will struggle and lose a lot of blood when he's struggling. He'll die on his way to the vet if we try to move him.

ryanandsuzyro · Level 3 Joined: 19 Nov 2006 Posts: 207

I think you HAVE to get him to a vet. Anyway you can move him onto some kind of plank or "stretcher" and carry that, rather than him directly? I mean you have to get this bleeding stopped. Maybe there's a vet who can do a house call.

turtle_grl77 · Level 4 Joined: 18 Nov 2005 Posts: 985 Location: Florida

You need to get him to a vet. ASAP

deesygirl · Moderator Joined: 12 Sep 2002 Posts: 1232

My neighbor cats have damaged a few of my turtles. There is not much you can do but stabalize them.

Are the legs still attached? If so then a vet may need to remove them.

To stabilize your baby you need a soft comfortable place for him, a warm spot out of direct sun and preferably in a darker area so he is not so stressed. For a little while UV rays are the least of your worries. You will need to soak him in water three times a day for 20-30 minutes to prevent dehydration. RES don't drink, they absorb water through their skin. This is also when I give them their doses of sunshine.
He won't eat for a while but offer it when he soaks. RES can't swallow out of water. Try smelly foods like tuna or some fresh fish. Mine go nuts over fresh trout and salmon. After he soaks take and very gently dry him. This can be done simply by placing him on an absorbent towell. Clean the wound with betadine, not peroxide. You can get this at most phamacies, even Wal Mart. Let the betadine dry by itself.
If the wound is still bleeding you need to get some septic powder to put on it. In an emergency you can use cornstarch but you should grab the septic powder when you get the betadine. This causes the blood to clot. Try to leave him alone as much as you can.

Wounds take a long time to heal. My one baby took 4 months. You can start putting him back in his regular pond once the wound is sealed. I would suggest a medical tank for a while. Clean tank, nothing but a basking area and let him swim in that for 2-3 hours at a time. Drying off good between each time you put him in, but this is way down the road.
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Linzlou83 · Posted: Wed May 30, 2007 12:15 pm Post subject:

How did you make out so far? Are things improving? The poor thing!
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kyunlau · Guest Joined: 28 May 2007 Posts: 2

My baby's alive and well Smile

I don't think he'll be able to do the mating dance anymore, but at least he is alive. He is eating well and appears to be fine! Thank you very much for your suggestions deesygirl, I did exactly what you said.

The only thing that does concern me is that one of the wounded part seems to have skin flaring out in the water, and the other turtles sometimes try to bite it. My baby doesn't seem to notice, and my dad is convinced that it's a good thing because the dead skin's being pulled off. I'm not so sure...

Either way, he is well. His front paws seem to have been damaged by the incident too and he is missing a few claws. I'm saving up to buy him a bigger, more accessible habitat.

Thank you!

deesygirl · Moderator Joined: 12 Sep 2002 Posts: 1232

I am glad to hear he is doing better.
If it is dead skin it will sluff off eventually. I would try to keep a very close eye on the other turtles they can get aggressive toward him if htey start thinking he is a food source.
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Jamie · Level 1 Joined: 08 Aug 2007 Posts: 22 Location: Minnesota

That is really sad, do you keep your turtle outdoors? If so, you should have something around the pond to keep predators out... and possibly even locked because i heard racoons can figure how to open doors and such (not REAL doors, but like to animal cages)

im glad its alive, hope all goes good

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