Help ! Rescued a 4 y.o Russian w/ a cracked shell !

[azimmer22]

Update - continuing daily cleaning with Hydrogen peroxide until Novalsan arrives - keeping her in isolation, she is eating and pooping still - posted two pictures of the wound - thanks to all for your help and concerns - I love these animals !

---

Oh the poor little thing
Have you named her Crackers?

Yes I named her Crackers -

 

[Stephanie Logan]

Thanks! Keep them coming.

Something tells me Crackers is a future TFO celebrity...

 

[azimmer22]

There is a gap, but everything looks fine. The best test to find out if anything is wrong is to get your nose in there. Just get down there and smell. If it doesn't smell bad, than everything is fine.

Danny

thanks, it does not smell, really, I mean, the tortoises smell a bit, but nothing extreme

 

[ChiKat]

Thanks! Keep them coming.

Something tells me Crackers is a future TFO celebrity...

I have to agree!

 

[azimmer22]

There is a gap, but everything looks fine. The best test to find out if anything is wrong is to get your nose in there. Just get down there and smell. If it doesn't smell bad, than everything is fine.

Danny

thanks, it does not smell, really, I mean, the tortoises smell a bit, but nothing extreme

Status update: cleansed the wound yesterday, well, with Novalsan, looks good now. She continues to eat and poop. Think we are doing Ok.

 

[ChiKat]

Yay!! Thanks for the update You should post more pictures!

 

[Maggie Cummings]

During collecting or transporting in the native country. They don't treat the tortoises very well Stephanie.

I agree that the crack is definately healing and isn't new. Though Kimber you should never "cover" a crack in the shell. The problem was that fiberglass just keeps in problems and doesn't let you fix the problem. The new thinking is to use tie wraps glued to the shell to keep it together. That way you can see the crack and keep it clean and get to any problems that come up.

Danny

Thanks Danny! I had no idea this was not still being done. I had an RES that was chewed by a raccoon many years ago. The vet cleaned the wounds and covered it with a fiberglass patch. He recovered nicely. This new method you mentioned - is it just for cracks? How do they treat a turtle/tort with a chunk of shell missing? Thanks for keeping me informed on this! (I'm always horrified when I give out bad advice!)

You didn't give out bad advice, just old advice. We used to seal cracks and injuries like that up and then we started seeing that we were sealing infection in and it wasn't healing. So now you tie it closed like shoelaces back and forth...

 

[azimmer22]

No, its not a mouthwash. It is used by surgeons and vets as a surgical scrub. You can buy it as "Nolvesan" in any drug store or pharmacy. No prescription required. I also think the crack has healed.

Hi there, so I got some Nolvasan and used it once so far, used gauze to scrub the area of concern, looks very clean now, does not really smell bad - wondering, do I need to keep cleaning it or ? Basically I have her in isolation, small enclosure, on newspaper, no substrate, feeding here regularly, she is eating, and her poops are somewhat loose. Thanks.

---

Oh the poor little thing
Have you named her Crackers?

Sorry, yes, I named her Crackers -

 

[Yvonne G]

Since I THINK that this is an old wound, and no longer weeping or raw, I think you can stop with the cleansing.

 

[azimmer22]

Since I THINK that this is an old wound, and no longer weeping or raw, I think you can stop with the cleansing.

Thank you - excellent news - I am still concerned though, that I should be doing something for the crack - even though it is clean or seems to be, again, it's the point at which the shell meets the rear right leg quarters that looks weird to me -

 

[tortoisenerd]

Cute name! Good luck with her. Just a reminder that after this issue has passed you should get a vet check up with fecal exam for parasites. Wild caught torts are especially likely to have high levels of parasites that should be treated. If you plan to have her with your other Russian after the quarantine, I'd get the other Russian tested too. Best wishes.

 

[azimmer22]

Cute name! Good luck with her. Just a reminder that after this issue has passed you should get a vet check up with fecal exam for parasites. Wild caught torts are especially likely to have high levels of parasites that should be treated. If you plan to have her with your other Russian after the quarantine, I'd get the other Russian tested too. Best wishes.

Thanks, i did not get her form the wild, got her form a pet store my best friend owns - she came in w/ a cracked shell, so I rescued her - still need the Vet ?

 

[azimmer22]

Hi azimmer22:

to the forum!!

It would be a good idea to start the tortoise on a round of Baytril injections just to be sure there isn't any infection growing inside the tortoise. They usually recover quite nicely from these types of injuries, however a slow-growing infection can cause death long after the shell has healed. What you're doing sounds fine to me. You might try flushing the wound with chlorhexidine (Nolvesan) once a day. It will heal on its own.

Hi, update, she seems to be doing well - have used the Nolvasan a few times, scrubbed the crack and injury well, even dug out some junk, tissue in the crack seems to be hardened which I think is good. She is eating and pooping, poop consistency has stabilized - have not been to a vet yet. What do you think ?