All Turtles Message Board

Dino3533 · Guest Joined: 19 Jun 2007 Posts: 1

Hello all my first post, a few minutes ago I saw a Black Crow picking at something on my property...needless to say it was a baby turtle, he has right eye damage (eye closed/swollen) his left front foot is a bit bloody, his other foot is swollen like a little balloon. He did finally poke his head out of shell, I have him in a shoe box...any suggestions what I can do or apply to his wounds? thanks for any advice.

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Yes thats lettuce in the box, wife thought he/she might eat it:)

Linzlou83 · Posted: Tue Jun 19, 2007 9:56 am Post subject:

If you want to take the ultimate approach to rehabing the little baby, you can take him to a vet to dress the wounds and apply antiseptic. He'll need to be kept clean and dry for a few days in special conditions and ample food to heal. Depending on the injuries, it could be a very simple procedure or an extensive one. You'd have to be sure to take him to a vet specializing in reptiles and/or wildlife.

There are some good tips online too if you're looking to do what you can from home. There's eye rinse available at the pet store to help rinse out his swollen eye and there are betadine solutions to clean the wounds on his feet and legs. Look at the Care Sheets section of this website under Turtle First Aid. It goes into detail about what do with bites and scatches. There's also a care sheet for land turtles to let you know how the little guy should be housed and fed.

Here's a good site with some tips too.

www.austinsturtlepage.com/Care/emergencies.htm

http://www.austinsturtlepage.com/Care/cs-easternboxie.htm

Good luck! He's lucky you came a long, but don't feel obligated to go through all these steps if you're not totally committed as it is a wild animal and would have most likely died if left alone.
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I brake for turtles!