I was able to lessen the behavior, (see my earlier post), so that at least there is no longer a threat of open wounds on his hand, which were treated with silvadene, prescribed by a vet, (although I think it can be purchased over the counter). What has changed since my last post:
- Bigger environment, so more space to retreat. Allowing him to fan rocks and not pulling everything out of the water that "bothers" him. (Although he and my other turtle tend to fixate on smaller rocks, 2" in size.) No major changes to the environment in one shot.
- Reducing the force of the (Fluval 407) filter and turning it off during the night.
- A "night light" in the water at night. It's very low lighting and he has a number of places to retreat into darkness which he does to sleep until daylight. He's in a tub, so the (led) light is actually outside the tub, against the side and covered, so a dim amount of light shines through the tub. He still gets a red bulb for the first hour before "bed time", then it turns off. (My other turtle does not like this setup and prefers a red light all night with no light in the water.)
To schedule turning things on and off, I have a Geeni power strip. Any auto timers would do, Coralife has one that looks nice and doesn't require wifi.
I would rather he not bite at all, but he's always been active (in comparison). Now, the few times that he does, he'll bite his nail and let go if put your hand in the water. Still, if anyone has any information on this, please post. Thanks.
Note: Until the hand healed, he would be removed from the water 1-2 hours a day to have the silvadene applied for 1-2 weeks.
