Reptile & Amphibian Forums

This may be a complex question, but i've had a small colony of eastern box turtles for quite a few years now. Two summers ago One of my largest females cracked the front park of her shell, and needless to say the crack got infected, After numerous visits to the vet and advice of others on forums it was fixed.
To my dismay I was checking their pen this morning to see the shell to be exposed and fleshy. I'm just curious how this infection can respark on this turtle, and have no effect on any of my others, i can send pictures if anyone can help. Advice i have been givin is applying ointment to the open wounds, but this seems to be doing very little...any help would be greatly appreciated...plus the female appears to gravid, and i feel like this stress may cause infertility in her clutch with has been very regular over the years.

I am curious, how big is the crack and has it ever been repaired? It seems to me if a shell is cracked it should be repaired to keep out dirt and bugs that might cause reinfection after the treatment cleared the original infection.

Taz

well, it was more or less a chip in the front of the shell, which was about half an inch, i clean it regularly...

I suspect that the chip may be the result of an aggressive suitor pecking at her: it may be flairing up because a male has been after her again, when it hadn't healed 100%.

In any case, the first thing I would do if I were you would be to isolate her from others. This would be to keep others from
a)biting her
b)picking up an infection too.

Then, get yourself some Novalsan (chlorexidine, a disinfectant), dilute as directed, and flush the wound regularly, then apply Neosporin (triple antibiotic ointment) to the area.

Then, watch your herd as carefully as possible to see who the culprit may be: he may be the one who needs to be kept in solitary for the long term.

Good luck,
Stephanie

There has been a lot of mating between her and the dominant male, i guess i'll try seperating them for a while. thanks for the advice

Many female turtles I've rehabbed have to be kept from males indefinitely, depending on how their wounds have healed. If a crack or broken shell heals so healed tissue is exposed in certain areas, then those are never allowed with males. Ideally you should have at least 2 males per female to give all the females a break from mating pressures. Do you have lots of hiding places? Has this injured turtle ever had injectable antibiotics or just local treatment? Most injuries I deal with get a round of injectable antibiotics along with local treatment. Of course, you have to get injectables from a vet. Any bad smell is a sign of infection and should be seen by a good turtle vet. If she has fresh wounds, keep her where flies won't lay eggs on her.
GCTTS

I meant to say you should have at least 2 FEMALES per male! sorry

I meant to say you should have at least 2 FEMALES per male! sorry