Undiluted betadine?

[Janet Douglas]

Need to have some advice, a friend told me that undiluted betadine is best to use for the sores zippy has on his skin, is it save as I've always treat with betadine diluted to a light tea color. She said that i should drastically up the dose as the sores will not heal otherwise. Please help

Janet

 

[SarahChelonoidis]

Betadine should only be used initially to clean a fresh wound but should not be continually applied as it will actually impede wound healing.

 

[Yvonne G]

What caused the wounds? I would not use betadine more than the initial cleaning. After that you can just apply a first aid ointment.

 

[Janet Douglas]

Thank you so much; the poor chap lived close to a farm road and desided to cross the road when a car went over him. The shell is cracked at the top but not at the bottom. He had small sores on his hind close to the shell that was coverd in maggets. My brother inlaws kids saw the car going over him and took him home. They left him in a outside in closure with birds, ducks and rabbits, but didn't take care of his diet needs or the wounds. The mother brougt him to me as she new i have such a soft hart. I removed the maggets as soon as possible, got his diet worked out so he gets all the nutrients needed, used betadine soaks and honey on the hind sores. The shell don't seem to be cracked through, no exposed flesh. But the worms seem to have made it to under the skin. So after every soak we remove maggets, its getting less but he will pull in so tight that i will only have a small window to work. Currently he is still eating, drinking and walking around. Also passing the chalk like liquid now and then. Its a male leopard tortoise, can't tell the age though but he was 1.2kg on 5 march, and 1.7 kg on 25 march
30.5 cm from head to tail and 28cm from side to side(took from the bottom side left to botton right)

 

[ZEROPILOT]

I wonder if the maggots are actually doing him a favor?
They don't eat living flesh and anything that is necrotic should be removed.

 

[Janet Douglas]

Please do explain a bit more on the above mentioned; do you maybe think that he is dying from the inside even though he's picking up weight we try to remove the maggets when possible. My heart is broken for this poor chap. The shell injury doesn't seem mager but the inside makes my heart skip a beat in fear. Can't find a vet that is willing to treat him and i can't stand the thougt that he has to be in pain or wouldn't make it to recovery. Please if your able to give advice i would be overwhelmingly great full. Got antibiotic ointment for reptiles today but don't know how to deal with both the maggets and sores at the same time. Seems the maggets ate on the side of the neck also and i don't know if there is under the shell or just the ones that i am able to see. Even though i don't know if i would be able to help him recover or what happens when he's recovered, or if he gets to stay with me or placed somewhere; my heart is just breaking that before they brought him to me no care was taken, and no concern was given to what he needs or anything. I don't even know if i am helping him right but i am trying my best on what i read, and that I've been doing every moment i am able to

 

[Yvonne G]

Let's try drowning out the maggots. Place the tortoise in water deep enough to cover the maggot-infested areas and leave him there for a long time. Maggots breathe through spiracles on their rear ends, so if you make sure to cover up the rear ends, they'll eventually need to come up for air.