Need some advice! (mouth injury)

Colinpv

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My western box turtle has these weird slits on the sides of her mouth, and when she eats they seem to bleed a little. i see no signs of mouth rot and just looked inside her mouth less than a half hour ago, but its definitely frightening. it got better with some peroxideneosporin but every time i give her food they seem to reopen. any advice would be highly appreciated!

she has a large past of injury with her previous owner. im just trying to get her back to health
 

Moozillion

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My western box turtle has these weird slits on the sides of her mouth, and when she eats they seem to bleed a little. i see no signs of mouth rot and just looked inside her mouth less than a half hour ago, but its definitely frightening. it got better with some peroxideneosporin but every time i give her food they seem to reopen. any advice would be highly appreciated!

she has a large past of injury with her previous owner. im just trying to get her back to health

Photos would be very helpful.
 

PJay

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I commend you for trying to help resolve its previous mistreatment, Some photos would be helpful so we can see what what is happening with these slits and offer advise to resolve this issue.
 

Colinpv

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Photos would be very helpful.
Next time i feed her i definitely will get some pictures! they only are visible after she eats in the mornings. I've ruled out anything she has eaten (Staining from berries and all that)
sorry for the late reply i got extremely sick and couldnt make it to my computer long enough to respond. thank you!
 

Colinpv

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I commend you for trying to help resolve its previous mistreatment, Some photos would be helpful so we can see what what is happening with these slits and offer advise to resolve this issue.
thank you for the kind words <3 I'll post some pictures next time i feed her which will be in the morning. they only are visible after she eats in the mornings. I've ruled out anything she has eaten (Staining from berries and all that)
sorry for the late reply i got extremely sick and couldnt make it to my computer long enough to respond.
 

Yvonne G

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It looks like you'll need to cut up her food into very tiny pieces in order to give that a chance to heal. This is a pretty common injury, caused by the mouth opening wider than normal. When she's finished eating, clean the wounds well then dab on a little Neosporin.
 

orv

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Could these tears or cuts be related to dry skin? Even Western Box Turtles require a moderate amount of humidity. The H2O2 and Neosporin are fine for the imediate cure, but prevension is important too.
 

Yvonne G

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It could very well be, Orv. I've seen it a lot of times due to the turtle/tortoise sliding down from climbing the wall, having his beak get caught and his falling weight making the mouth open too wide. Could very well be that if he were well hydrated this wouldn't cause it to tear in the corners.
 

PJay

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@Colinpv Could you post some pictures of your turtles enclosure? Orv makes a good point about general humidity. If we can see how your turtle is set up and any temperature and humidity readings you collect that could eliminate concerns in that regard.
 

Colinpv

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It looks like you'll need to cut up her food into very tiny pieces in order to give that a chance to heal. This is a pretty common injury, caused by the mouth opening wider than normal. When she's finished eating, clean the wounds well then dab on a little Neosporin.
thats what i was thinking it was, ill definitely cut it up smaller and see if that makes a improvement. thank you :)
 

Colinpv

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@Colinpv Could you post some pictures of your turtles enclosure? Orv makes a good point about general humidity. If we can see how your turtle is set up and any temperature and humidity readings you collect that could eliminate concerns in that regard.
there you go! Jamie (injured one) lives on the left and her brother lives on the right. he has no problems that i can see, she just seems to have the problem. I use a room heater to keep it at a steady 70-75 at night unless the infrared lights are sufficient (weather can be hot one day and freezing the next where i live) and during the day it gets from 90-100, and then at that point i turn the heat lights off or i crack a window\turn the fan on. I never got humidity readers as i was told it wasnt to important, but maybe i should if thats the issue. i also am getting some bigger water dishes but couldnt find anything that didnt look dangerous in any pet stores. any idea's?
 

daniellenc

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Just go to Home Depot and get plant saucers. You can bury them in the substrate so it’s flush and they come in many sizes.
 

PJay

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there you go! Jamie (injured one) lives on the left and her brother lives on the right. he has no problems that i can see, she just seems to have the problem. I use a room heater to keep it at a steady 70-75 at night unless the infrared lights are sufficient (weather can be hot one day and freezing the next where i live) and during the day it gets from 90-100, and then at that point i turn the heat lights off or i crack a window\turn the fan on. I never got humidity readers as i was told it wasnt to important, but maybe i should if thats the issue. i also am getting some bigger water dishes but couldnt find anything that didnt look dangerous in any pet stores. any idea's?
Temperature as well as humidity is very important for box turtles. Try to keep adults between 75-85F temps and 60-80% humidity. Temps up to 100F and lower humidity will result in dry, cracking skin and shell growth problems in the long run. If you can, invest in a cheap temp and humidity gauge such as: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0013BKDO8/?tag=exoticpetnetw-20
 

Colinpv

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Temperature as well as humidity is very important for box turtles. Try to keep adults between 75-85F temps and 60-80% humidity. Temps up to 100F and lower humidity will result in dry, cracking skin and shell growth problems in the long run. If you can, invest in a cheap temp and humidity gauge such as: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0013BKDO8/?tag=exoticpetnetw-20
That may be a huge part of the problem then... I'll definitely be investing in some guages then. On to my next question, what is the best way to keep the humidity up? They have their own room so would it be best to just buy a humidifier and keep the whole room up, or best for their tanks? My problem with keeping it humid in their tanks is the open screened lids. If the whole room is humid though then I don't have to worry. What do you think?
 

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