Urgent Care :: Tail bitten or fell off? now red Urgent!!

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Post Posted: Fri Jul 08, 2016 7:28 pm   Tail bitten or fell off? now red Urgent!!

I'm going to cry. I'm two seconds away from it. I cant even look at them. Please help me Idk what happened.

Background
In April I got 3 Diamondback terrapins. They are in a 10 gallon tank with UVA, UVB, a 20 gallon filter I change weekly with ATBA. they were supposed to be upgraded to a larger tank when I upgraded my RES and Rio Grande RES to a 55 that I am buying from a coworker but the last 2 weeks we both canceled delivery for various reasons.

They are now ranging from almost 4 to just under 3 in carpace length. The littlest one, Remy, wouldn't eat originally. I had to soak the pellets and place them in front of him or pick him up and place him directly in front of the food to eat. He in the last month has been eating on his own but he is terribly aggressive. He spends long periods of time attempting to bite the glass, the sealant in the corners and the tank. I have not seen them fight aside from the occasional you took my pellet bite. Only Remy does this. Harley, the middle sized one, I noticed two days ago is tail was half white. I mean hospital white while his skin is naturally a charcoal gray. Today half his tail is missing and the tip is red.

Did crazy Remy bite off Harley's tail? Is it something else? Please help. He's acting fine but his tail looks so bad. I don't want anything to happen to my babies. I separated Remy for now. Please Help!!
Atticus -RES
Arianna -Rio Grande RES
Jean, Harley and Remy -DBT
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sirenlove
 
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Post Posted: Sat Jul 09, 2016 3:59 am   Re: Tail bitten or fell off? now red Urgent!!

You might want to dry dock so it might heal faster. Take the opportunity to examine and clean the area (diluted Betadine) and maybe apply some antibiotic ointment. Now... if the cloaca is still there, then that's good. If that area is injured, then you will need to take him to a vet ASAP.

10 gallons is absolutely tiny. You have not invested in a proper habitat for them and you have not separated them sooner when you first noticed aggression. You will need to make those changes and hopefully the tail injury is not serious.
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Post Posted: Sat Jul 09, 2016 9:18 am   Re: Tail bitten or fell off? now red Urgent!!

Thank you! The cloaca is intact, thank God. I over estimated the size the biggest is 3 inches. And like I said I was expecting a bigger tank to have arrived 2-3 weeks ago.

Remy attacking the tank should have been my signal to upgrade? I always thought they were talking about aggressive behavior between the turtles not just in general in any of the stuff I read.
Atticus -RES
Arianna -Rio Grande RES
Jean, Harley and Remy -DBT
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sirenlove
 
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Post Posted: Sat Jul 09, 2016 9:31 am   Re: Tail bitten or fell off? now red Urgent!!

the other two weren't aggressive at all by the way. Only Remy. I was starting to thing something was wrong with him lol. He's the smallest too just barely 2 inches.
Atticus -RES
Arianna -Rio Grande RES
Jean, Harley and Remy -DBT
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Post Posted: Sun Jul 10, 2016 4:14 am   Re: Tail bitten or fell off? now red Urgent!!

I'm guessing there were signs missed... the aggressive attacks don't usually happen suddenly. You're having the tank delivered?
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Post Posted: Sun Jul 10, 2016 10:42 am   Re: Tail bitten or fell off? now red Urgent!!

Yeah a coworker is selling me a 55 gallon, w/ stand, filter, lights, hoods, screen top and gravel for $100. The babies will upgrade to a 30 long. my eldest gets the 55 to himself and the 2nd eldest gets a 40 long. We've had issues making the actual delivery happen.
Atticus -RES
Arianna -Rio Grande RES
Jean, Harley and Remy -DBT
#turtlemom
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Post Posted: Tue Jul 12, 2016 8:41 am   Re: Tail bitten or fell off? now red Urgent!!

Depending on the filter, it might not be a great deal. New tanks up to 55 gallons can be had for $55 when on sale. The screen and gravel should not be used with turtles. What kind of lights and fixtures will come with it?
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Post Posted: Tue Jul 12, 2016 7:48 pm   Re: Tail bitten or fell off? now red Urgent!!

I know about the dollar gallon sales but a wooden stand for the 55 is around 100 by itself. 2 100-gallon filters? Why not a screentop? I think its just the typical light hoods but I can get my own lights that's nothing.
Atticus -RES
Arianna -Rio Grande RES
Jean, Harley and Remy -DBT
#turtlemom
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sirenlove
 
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Post Posted: Wed Jul 13, 2016 12:29 am   Re: Tail bitten or fell off? now red Urgent!!

Wooden stands can vary in quality. Several examples of homemade wooden stands on the forum, they're cheaper and stronger than what they commercially offer.

What brand filters? What type are they? You'll probably have to replace all the media in there as well. Screens can block UVB rays, so the standard kind isn't usually the best kind to use.
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Post Posted: Wed Jul 13, 2016 3:36 pm   Re: Tail bitten or fell off? now red Urgent!!

I live in a apartment where would I build a stand lol. seriously and not everyone is handy enough to build things from scratch like that. The ATBA setup will probably be my biggest handy work. Regardless of variation in quality of the stand the price is still the same. Fluvia I believe is the brand he told me before and I verified at the time that the total filtration would be over a 100. This is like a month ago so I don't remember anymore exactly which ones they were. I have filter media left over from when I broke my canister and bought a new one with new media. Sreens may inhibit some of the rays but cant block them all not that i plan on using a screen i just listed it as an item of value coming with my little deal.
Atticus -RES
Arianna -Rio Grande RES
Jean, Harley and Remy -DBT
#turtlemom
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sirenlove
 
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Post Posted: Wed Jul 13, 2016 6:16 pm   Re: Tail bitten or fell off? now red Urgent!!

I mentioned a stand build only because it's probably the easiest aquarium-related project to do but I understand your hesitation.
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Post Posted: Thu Jul 14, 2016 9:57 am   Re: Tail bitten or fell off? now red Urgent!!

New problem! ! So someone blessed me with a 29 long. So now that it's been 2.5 days since I dry docked Harley. I introduced all 3 at the same time to the tank. I sat down on my couch and watched them from my peripheral so they would act normal and i see Remy take a snap at Harley's tail again. I took Remy out now and he's in the 10 alone while I'm at work. I don't know what to do with him now! He's crazy!
Atticus -RES
Arianna -Rio Grande RES
Jean, Harley and Remy -DBT
#turtlemom
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sirenlove
 
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Post Posted: Thu Jul 14, 2016 10:03 am   Re: Tail bitten or fell off? now red Urgent!!

He stays permanently away... either with a separate tank/setup or he is rehomed.
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steve
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Post Posted: Thu Jul 14, 2016 10:29 am   Re: Tail bitten or fell off? now red Urgent!!

Damn. Ok thanks Steve.
Atticus -RES
Arianna -Rio Grande RES
Jean, Harley and Remy -DBT
#turtlemom
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sirenlove
 
Posts: 29
Joined: Aug 23, 2015
Location: Queens, NY
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Post Posted: Thu Jul 14, 2016 10:33 am   Re: Tail bitten or fell off? now red Urgent!!

Yeah it sucks. I had to do the same :(
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