Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi. How can I fix a turtle's broken shell?

I found a male res about five inches in diameter in a nearby river. It has a broken shell at the upper part of its bottom carapace, and is an almost completely severed part of its shell. The piece is only two inches or so in length and one inch in width. But it seems at a very vunerable and vital area, as it's right next to its left front leg and it can't heal properly.

How can I get this shell piece to heal before it completely falls off or becomes rotten? Need advice ASAP.

I responded to you at another forum too. I'm a turtle rehabber and below is a link to my page at the Gulf Coast Turtle Society to tell you how to care for an injured turtle until you can get it to a qualified vet or rehabber. It does not give instuctions on repair. Shell repair is something that should be done by a knowledgeable vet or rehabber. Most of the time there is more to it than just sticking the pieces back together. This turtle will need antibiotic injections to prevent bacterial infection. Bacteria has entered the wound and you don't want to seal them inside. The turtle would eventually die. Sometimes the wound is deep enough to go into the body cavity. You can't always see that. Another thing, this turtle should be cared for throughout the winter and not sealed up and then released. Seal and release is a risky business. Many times the repairs need partial redo's later. Also the turtle may need more antibiotics in the future. Depending on the severity of the injury. Shells can take months and even years to heal. So if you aren't prepared to care for this turtle long term, (which I really don't recommend you do) you'd better get it to a rescue organization. Native aquatic species can usually be returned to the wild after healing and re-exam.

Try these other websites for names of herp groups and vet lists:

http://www.anapsid.org/societies/index.html
http://www.anapsid.org/vets/index.html
http://www.herpvetconnection.com/

Let me know if I can help further.
Anita
GCTTS What to do if you find an injured or ill turtle.

You can try having the vet wire the plate back in place and then patch over with fiberglass, but my experience is that when sections of plate are disconnected from the main shell like that (as opposed to just cracked/fractured) the broken section will not mend back ...the blood supply to the broken section has been disrupted beyond repair. Better then to have the vet just cut the broken shell section off from the skin flap and if needed stitch the skin area up and let it heal. The turtle can do fine if an area of shell is missing from around the periphial.
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Wyvern