Hi,
See photos in this folder: https://docs.google.com/folder/d/0B-w7K ... sp=sharing. Please read below about the injuries my turtle sustained, how I responded and how he is behaving. Please give your feedback on if my care routine is correct and if he should be treated by a professional.
I have two male yellow belly sliders, Tippy and Sebastian. They were sharing a tank and I was keeping an eye out for aggression. They've been fine living together for six years but recently I moved and temporarily had them in a bucket that was too small and they got into a fight. In this fight, Sebastian bit off a chip of Tippy's shell. This occured two weeks ago from today when the photos were taken.
This was my care plan for that injury:
1. Remove injured turtle do a dry, clear plastic container situated on a heat pad set to medium.
2. Rinsed the injured location and cleansed liberally with a 1% iodine solution 2x a day.
3. Soaked him in clean water for at last 30 minutes 2x a day.
He was in these conditions for about a week when I went away for a few days. My mother put him back in with the other turtle without telling me (she was just supposed to stick to the care regimen. She thought it was OK because I set up the big tank and they had never fought in there). The day I came back, the turtles fought again and Tippy sustained another injury.
This is the injury I'm most concerned about and it just occurred last night.
Sebastian bit into Tippy's hand, holding his "index finger" nail and part of the hand beneath it completely in his mouth. He did not readily let go so I removed both turtles gently and watched and waited for him to let go. After about two minutes he let go and Tippy was clearly injured. At the time, his nail appeared to be about half coming off at the base, with some damage to the skin including minor bleeding. Today, the nail came off completely.
This was my care plan:
1. Immediately rinse the injury, allow to dry and rinse liberally with a 1% iodine solution.
2. Kept the injured turtle in a dry, clear plastic container situated on top of a heat pad set on medium.
3. Next morning treated with iodine again, let sit, then soaked in clean water for 2 hours before treating with iodine again.
**Shortly after this time, the nail came off**
About his behavior: He is acting quite normal except he hasn't been eating much. He is using the injured hand as he usually would, but protects it by pulling it into his shell any time I approach or he is otherwise spooked.
From what I have read, his nail might not grow back, or may grow back deformed but when it heals he should be able to function normally. My primary concern is avoiding infection and preventing further injury (foremost by keeping the turtles in separate tanks).
