Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi all,
Here's the deal. We had emailed back and forth. When she said she needed to turn them into a pet store I said I would put them in my newly formed turtle pond. I felt sorry for them. We just met in a parking lot and when she handed them to me she THEN told me that one of them has an injured neck. I couldn't very well hand them back. So, looking at them, a) they are bumpy and have grown too fast. B) the smaller of the two has damaged, dry, torn up looking skin on the top of her neck. It looks like it's being cut by her shell. Is it possible that her shell does not properly fit? Taking her to the vet HAS to be a last possible option. As I said, I did not know ahead of time. The wound also looks like it's been around quite awhile.
So, what can I do? Is there an ointment I can apply? vitamins?
Any advice will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
T

Hello,

You could go to the pet store and see if they have any ointments. If the shell is cutting the neck because the turtle is too fat then you should feed it a low fat diet of lettuce, carrots and other veggies. You can try to take a clean paper towel and wet it with FRESH BOTTLED WATER and see if that helps it heal. You should really try to take it to the vet because there is only so much that you can do.

Hope this helps!

It really is not possible to give you 100% definitive answer what is going on with the turtle's neck. However with my experience with sliders I would have to say that wound you are describing sounds quite like it was inflicted by the other turtle. This type of aggression can been seen with animals trying to be terrritorial or looking for food or even an aggressive male trying to grab hold of a reluctant female or rival male.
Their are some good creams out that can help the healing process but many are prescription and so a vet trip would be necessary.

Thanks you guys. I can't tell you how much I appreciate this site. I have learned so much just reading the posts.
Worry not. If this doesn't get better I will take her to the vet.
T

Yes, sounds very much like it could be a bite wound inflicted by another turtle. With a wound on the back of the neck I'd keep the turtle in a tub or tank with an inch or so of water (inch is about right for a large turtle, less to a small turtle). The wound will heal better if kept dry other than ointment. In deeper water the wound could get debre and feces in it. My rehab vet says ointments like Neosporin are safe for turtles. Daily cleaning of the wound and a couple applications of ointment can be tried but if oozing continues or starts or any bad odors develop or the wound doesn't look better in a few days, get the turtle to the vet. That points to infection and it may need antibiotic injections. Most turtles I have had to confine this way go ahead and eat in the tub of shallow water. Large turtles may need about 1 1/2 to 2 inches of water to be able to swallow food. After feeding, lower the water level back to where if it turned over it wouldn't drown. Turtles don't like this method of confinement but it does not hurt them. It's like being in the hospital, no one likes it but sometime it's necessary. Guard against flies laying eggs in an oozy wound and don't put the turtle outside exposed if this is the case. Keep it warm too. About 88 degrees day and night. Since the turtle has a deformed shell that usually points to deficiencies in UVB leading to calcium deficiencies. The vet may even want to give it injections of vitamins or minerals to help it get back on track. Wouldn't hurt to take a fecal sample and let him check it for parasites too. Ill cared for pet turtles quite often have multiple problems to deal with and are best seen by a good vet. My advice doesn't take the place of a vet. Get it to the vet in a few days if things don't noticibly improve.

Thank you so much!

One word of warning. If this is a large female, I've seen then develop shell bruising on the plastron if kept in very shallow water. They are just so heavy that the constant banging on the bottom of an enclosure can bruise the shell. The same happens if the water is too shallow for the basking spot - turtle dives off of basking spot and bumps the bottom too hard. If you give her dry dock time, make sure to use a thick layer of towels so that she doesn't damage the plastron.

The wound on the neck does sound similar to aggression from another turtle (mainly a male trying to breed with a female). HOWEVER, I did just get in a painted turtle with a bad head wound that was being agrivated by a very sharp cervical scute. I actually saw the top layer of healed flesh get scraped off by the shell. A quick trip to the vet and a Dremmel tool took care of the sharp shell - we put a role of surgical tape over the head to keep her in the shell (her head didn't fit through the hole in the role), lowered the edge of the role just a little so the Dremmel could sand down the edge of the shell. It didn't take much to smooth it out, and took almost no time. The wound has almost healed in three weeks. This was the first turtle I've seen with this problem.

Katrina