help with painted turtle

[Tarantulysis]

I have had a painted turtle for about six or so years now.He was about the size of a nickle when we found him crossing the road and nearly squashed him.Figuring the next guy surely would, we adopted him for our son(dont do this its best to just let them go!!)Well now its part of our family,were all fond of him,and we cant turn him out to the wild were he truly belongs,its our responsibility to care for him.I've noticed some ulcerations on the underhalf of his shell.I've been treating it with some reptile "healing aid" but Im looking for advice on how to correct this.Are there any turtle wise people among us that can advise?Any help would be apprieciated.

 

[JColt]

Sounds like shell rot. Here is some great info. Hope it helps out the little guy!

http://www.turtlepuddle.org/health/shellrot.html

 

[Tarantulysis]

Thank you for the rapid response!Thank goodness it dosen't seem advanced.Seems likely it might have been brought on by winter in Ohio because the basking issue.He gets lots of sunlight now and I already made a few changes to his quarters that I think will help but thanks to your reply and the information I just read it might reverse well.He exibits no other ill signs and eats voratiously so mabey I caught it in time.

 

[Mushroom Spore]

He gets lots of sunlight now

Does he have a UV bulb too? A few hours outside won't give him the exposure he needs, and indoors the windows will filter out all the important stuff. (That and putting the tank in direct sunlight can turn it into an oven.)

If you have a bulb, ignore this. I'm just checking.

 

[JColt]

Glad to help out another Northeast Ohion!

 

[Tarantulysis]

Does he have a UV bulb too? A few hours outside won't give him the exposure he needs, and indoors the windows will filter out all the important stuff. (That and putting the tank in direct sunlight can turn it into an oven.)

If you have a bulb, ignore this. I'm just checking.

That could be a problem ,I usually put him outside during the summer months which is why I suspected winter to be the culprit.I will definatly get a U.V. bulb and it seems Ill be needing to do a little research on supplements and such.poor guy just needs some attention!thank you!

 

[Tarantulysis]

Glad to help out another Northeast Ohion!

rite-on J,southern portage county here!

 

[Craig]

First of all "adopted" means adopting a pet from a rescue shelter (or something similar). Not stole the animal out of the wild when it was a baby.

The necrotic areas on the shell are from poor husbuandry. If your turtle does not have a filter you need to buy one. If you tell me what size your aquarium is I can recommend a proper filter size.

What is commonly called shell rot is treated with a couple of different things.

1) A vet will need to clean the areas.

2) the turtle will need to be on SYSTEMIC antibiotics. In addition to this the turtle will need a topical antibiotic. After the antibiotic is applied the turtle will need to be "dry docked" for a few hours to let the topical medication absorb.

There are a few antibiotics that work well in reptiles. This type of infection is commonly treated with an injectable medication called Ceftazidime (Fortaz).

The injection can be given in the pectoral muscle or the front leg muscle.

If this is allowed to go on the turtle will die. Serious husbuandry changes need to be made in order to keep this animal alive.

The reptiaid or what ever it is called will not work at all. Please take him to a vet that is a member of the ARAVhttp://www.arav.org/ECOMARAV/timssnet/common/tnt_frontpage.cfm

In the future please do not remove an animal from the wild that you can not properly care for. This animal had a chance at being happy and you placed him in a cage and let him literally rot in his own filth. This also must send a poor message to your child.

 

[Tarantulysis]

First of all "adopted" means adopting a pet from a rescue shelter (or something similar). Not stole the animal out of the wild when it was a baby.

The necrotic areas on the shell are from poor husbuandry. If your turtle does not have a filter you need to buy one. If you tell me what size your aquarium is I can recommend a proper filter size.

What is commonly called shell rot is treated with a couple of different things.

1) A vet will need to clean the areas.

2) the turtle will need to be on SYSTEMIC antibiotics. In addition to this the turtle will need a topical antibiotic. After the antibiotic is applied the turtle will need to be "dry docked" for a few hours to let the topical medication absorb.

There are a few antibiotics that work well in reptiles. This type of infection is commonly treated with an injectable medication called Ceftazidime (Fortaz).

The injection can be given in the pectoral muscle or the front leg muscle.

If this is allowed to go on the turtle will die. Serious husbuandry changes need to be made in order to keep this animal alive.

The reptiaid or what ever it is called will not work at all. Please take him to a vet that is a member of the ARAVhttp://www.arav.org/ECOMARAV/timssnet/common/tnt_frontpage.cfm

In the future please do not remove an animal from the wild that you can not properly care for. This animal had a chance at being happy and you placed him in a cage and let him literally rot in his own filth. This also must send a poor message to your child.

Dear craig, thank you very much for the scolding and on that note please take my invitation to re-read my o.p. and pay perticular attention to the part where I said and I quote "don't do this". Also on behalf of the whole world I say thank you for defining 'Adopting' for us(My brother will be delighted to know this concerning his daughter!). As an update the turtle is responding well to the treatment which upon researching and medications Ive purchased,the 'dry-docking',debriding, husbandry changes,and I'm sure the U.V. light.Remember paly,hindsight is twenty-twenty and nobodys perfect!May I also point out most of these turtles end up as a tasty snack for birds and also where we found it were other flattened carcases of others who never had a chance to be happy for six or so years?Not trying to justify anything here,just saying put the gun down!

 

[Craig]

Over the counter medications will not fix the problem. Say a person gets an injury on their toe. Say that it does not get noticed for a month. Then lets pretend that the injury is now making the entire toe red, swollen, and smelly.

The person would visit the doctor and the doctor would give him a medication like Augmentin or some kind of Cephalosporin t(hese are systemic antibiotics). The doctor would not just put neosoprin on the injury or the person would die.

What has happened with your turtle is bacteria have been able to enter your turtle's body through the necrotic areas on the plastron. Your turtle needs a medication that will go though the turtle's blood stream to fight the bacteria.

At least do the animal a favor and take him to the vet so a professional can evaluate his condition. You at least owe him that much. In the long run you might be happy for doing so.

The vet will also give you better topical medications also. Sorry I was so harsh. This is just very unfair to the animal. It is a living thing. And also depending on what state you live in it is illegal to take turtles out of the wild without a valid fishing license or other kind of permit.