That's a nice lookin' boxie, is it an ornate?



It took a while for Patches to start showing any signs of healing, but after all, turtles are slow healers. For about four or five months I had to keep the massive wound cleaned out, sterilized, and medicated. I would have to do this at least once every day to keep infection out and yeah, it's stomach-turning work! Once I would clean it out and medicate it, I would place a large gall bandage over his shattered plastron then wrap him up with medical tape. He was always a good sport about it, though every now and then he would hiss at me, I know the peroxide had to be unpleasant!



It took about three months before I began to see any improvement, but even the slightest change for the better was well-welcomed and a victory for me. A yellowish tissue started to form in the places where shell was missing. I've had him a little over a year now and though his plastron is not 100% healed, he's well out of the danger zone. I don't think he'll ever be 100% , though the thick tissue formed in the place where there's missing plastron and protecting his organs, he still has the jagged, rough edges and I was fearful that he would get snagged on things. That's why he got a fiberglass patch.



If he were to go back out into the wild, he would surly be a setting duck for a predator because his hinge was also damaged. There's no way that I would even attempt to send my guy back out into the harshness of the wild, we've been through so much together and I've gotten very attached to him. ~Christy~

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