I agree with everything you said. Except I don't understand why they have lived so well for so many years with NO basking light or basking area whatsoever - it's always sort of a paradox that people say what 'must' be done when you've literally gone through years of NOT doing exactly that and there is no difference.

Until he started biting her neck skin off down to the flesh, nothing whatsoever would have changed... I wouldn't have separated them. They would still have nothing but the suction-cupped on single turtle dock that they used to share together - -but absolutely no basking lamp...

Why does something 'work' that isn't supposed to work. Now, just because I have new 'information' I have to make radical changes. Well... really the radical change will be to get a second 75 gallon tank (nobody EVER answered me about whether it's better to get a breeder style geometry or a standard aquarium) and separate them.

I suppose I'll set up a basking light over the dock in each tank. But I still don't get why they never seemed to need it before... apparently the answer is that I 'got lucky.'

I'm going to do it properly. Despite the fact that the vet, who allegedly specializes in reptiles to whatever degree she really does... didn't mention adding basking lights or doing the betadine bath you recommend.

She did, however, have me make a betadine dilution (I used 1:100) and put it on the wound itself while she was out getting her antibiotic injection anyway.

Someone on another forum - I think the admin at redearedslider.com (who is VERY nice) suggested dry docking her overnight.

So there are a lot of suggestions and actions to immediately take I suppose. I think this dry docking idea is a good one. I think your basking light idea is probably the conservative way to go, esp. since HER shell when we started peeling off layers and layers had this black-ish gunk I managed to get all off... so her shell was obviously teetering on the brink of disaster (right)?

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