Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I just got a injured malayan box turtle his shell is kinda beat up although it seems to have healed. It doesnt seem to cause him any pain curently i am treating it with vita shell. Is this the best way? Or is there a better way or treatment?

I have never had a turtle before though i have had many reptiles. So i have him ina 20 gallon long tank with cypress mulch for substrate. A basking area wich is 80 to 85 degrees. I ahve a ceramic plant dish under it for basking and wearinga way nails. On the other side of his tank i have a aluminum foil dish used for cooking filled with water a light ground covering of gravel. the dish measures 11.5 inches wide by 9 inches long by 2.5 inches tall. Is this a sutible home? Or atleast a good temp home? Or is just everything wrong lol? please feel free to criticize. he deserves a good home after his tough life.

I am curently tying to feed him vegtables wich i pace in a dish freshely a couple times a day. So far he seems to not notice or care or it. I read somewhere that when turtle are hurt or ssick they crave meat so yesterday i oferred him canned tuna fish which he ignored un til i started picking it up and hand feeding him. He ate alot yay!!! So whatr kinda diet shoiuld i give him? Should i force him to eat his veggies or should i just give him what he wants and as he gets better slowly make eat more veggies and less meat? also sjhould i try feeding him more in his water? also he soends alot of time buried under the mulch is this normal or a sign of illness or even poor housing?

And finally if what i am doing is completely wrong describe in detail what you would do. Thanks alot i adavnce. Plaease help me save this little guy he has really grown on me.

you never said about how big he is. but unless he is 2 years old or less, I would say a 20 galloon is ok for temp, but not permanent. a 40 gal. is a good standard size to start with for a turtle that has more than a couple years on him. or keep him outside in an enclosure.

what do you mean the shell is dented? was there a break/crack or is it an abrasion on the surface?

if there is any fracture of the carapace (top shell)this is a serious matter and he needs to see a reptile vet. no debate.
if it's just a surface abrasion you can treat it with a rinse of saline then betadine solution diluted 50/50 with saline on a q-tip liberally enough to cover area. repeat saline rinse after letting it sit a minute. betadine can be found at any wal-mart where the first aid supplies are. and for saline you can use what's on the shelf in the contact lens supply isle. you may follow up with a VERY LIGHT application of an off the shelf antibiotic cream.

vet prescribed antibiotics may need to be given also if the wound is anything more than very superficial, like a scrape.
you will also need a light that specifically puts out UV-"B"
if you don't already have one. this will aid in healing, but turtles can take a long time even in the best care to completely heal a wound.

discontinue administering vitashell on the wound. it's not meant for that. give vitamin/calcium supplements with food instead, and/or provide foods high in calcium and low phosphorous. I use plenty of collard greens. if he's disinterested, chop and mix it with nightcrawler worms or something else he likes, but that is good for him also.
beware, just because he likes it doesn't mean it's good for him. my female 2 year old box turtle likes rocky road ice cream. found that out when I left my lid a little too close to her. but that doesn't mean they should have it.

the rest sounds ok, or is a simple judgement call.
I don't know much specifically about this species, but box turtles in general like to burrow a lot.
they do this to sleep, thermoregulate ( may be too hot ), the humidity may not be to his satisfaction on the surface and he's looking for more humidity below, or he could just be uncomfortable right now with his new surroundings. it's open to debate, but not a seriuos issue if he's coming up sometime of the day for a drink, swim, or food, and he's eating.

oh, last thing...lay off the tuna! feeding by hand is a good idea though. that will get him bonded to you and socialized to not be frightened.

Mick

Thanks mick for your help. And the marks on his shell are deep scratches and gashes. None are even remotly close to being deep enough to reach fleshy parts.

deep gashes may require the antibiotic prescriptions. the shell of the turtle is in fact part of it's bone structure. it is porous and can get infected. keeping it free from debris with saline irrigation and possibly covering with a cotton mesh dressing to prevent foriegn material may be adviseable. can you provide any pictures of the wound(s)?

If i knew how to post a pic i would. If you would like to try an explain how to u can. lol Or if u want i can email you a pic. Its up to You.

ok, go to the photo gallery & in the upper right of the page select "upload photo". follow instructions to upload to the gallery. once you do that you can then go back to the forum and type a response. when finished typing, just above the post message button, click "select image from gallery". the gallery pictures you uploaded will show up from here to post to attach to the message. or, if you don't want to mess with it just yet,
you can email it to me and I'll put it up for you.

Mick
fireside3@hotmail.com