Hi,
I have a red eared slider, male, 3 yrs old (hatched at home), approx 3 in diameter shell with a large wound on the top of his neck. There are no vets that will be available until Monday morning to help in my area. If you have any expertise in this area your advice would be greatly appreciated!
History:
A month or two ago my turtle got a bite wound on his hand. It was treated with betadine soaks, silvadene, and antibiotics (ceftazamine or something that sounds like that : ) I could look it up if necessary). He healed up beautifully.
A week and a half ago, I noticed the skin on top of his neck was red and raw. I took him to the vet and she thought he might have a left over infection that reappeared after being off the meds. We put him back on the same antibiotic and I have been treating him with betadine(dilute) soaks. It looked like things were improving until tonight.
The skin on his neck has split open perpendicular to the neck and is deeper than any cut I have seen on a turtle. The skin layer is pushed back and muscle and possible veins? are exposed. He lost maybe .2mls of blood after I found him, could have been more in the water before. He seems very alert and still has energy. I found a way to try to get a bandage on it to pad the wound so it does not scrape the shell. Now that he is out of the water the bleeding has slowed.
What should I do? Are there any vets out there that could tell me if it is safe to apply dilute betadine or silvadene to a deep wound? Any advice for dressing it? Any idea of cause? Does this sound like septecemia?
Thanks soooo much in advanced for any help, I am really worried about the little guy. Please feel free to pass this along on any herp mailing lists and send replies to redearedhonu@aol.com or post on this board
