dmmj said:Duct tape? is there anything it can't do?
well ya can't fix stupid..even with duck tape!!!
dmmj said:Duct tape? is there anything it can't do?
Balboa said:I'm no vet, and y'all are WAY more experienced than I am, but I'd THINK it would need to be kept hydrated in order for the scute to heal, I mean we're talking about exposed bone right? Generally speaking that sort of thing needs to be patched over and sealed up in humans. Please do correct me if I'm wrong.
emysemys said:Balboa said:I'm no vet, and y'all are WAY more experienced than I am, but I'd THINK it would need to be kept hydrated in order for the scute to heal, I mean we're talking about exposed bone right? Generally speaking that sort of thing needs to be patched over and sealed up in humans. Please do correct me if I'm wrong.
Well, it actually seems like a miracle, but new bone and keratin actually re-grow UNDER what you're seeing in the picture. I have had box turtles with old chew marks on their shells. Some years after the original injury, you can see the old, white bone sort of being raised up until it looks sort of like a scab. And it can eventually be "picked" off. New, good-looking shell underneath. I've never seen it in tortoises, but I would assume its the same.
I used to tell people who were adopting my rescues that, no, the damage would never re-grow and it would always look like that. But one day I posted a picture of a chewed box turtle here on the forum and Danny told me it looked like that damage was ready come off. Sure enough, I picked at it and it flaked off showing clean, new keratin underneath. But don't expect it to happen over night. It takes years.
zesty_17 said:I wouldn't want to seal it up with resin due to the potential risk of an infection. I have used honey & seen several studies of honey & the comb healing turtle shells very quickly. My suggestion would be to carefully file or peel down/off the dead layers of shell & coat with honey on a daily basis until you notice significant healing. The honey has healing properties similar to hydrogen peroxide, without the harmful effects on the living tissue. Good Luck!