Open Topped Pyramided Scute

[nascarmw]

Duct tape? is there anything it can't do?

well ya can't fix stupid..even with duck tape!!!

 

[Yvonne G]

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.

 

[Madkins007]

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.

If this was a more recent injury, we WOULD suggest an aggressive approach, but it is old and stable. There is not much you can do at this point, kind of like a bad wound in a human that healed wrong, but is completely healed. Covering it and using antibiotic is not going to do much at this point.

The goal at this point becomes just helping the tort's overall health and immune system.

 

[Balboa]

hmmm that makes sense, and its good to know.

 

[zesty_17]

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!

 

[ALDABRAMAN]

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!

That is interesting, I have never heard that before.

 

[Zouave]

Dental cement. :nod: Have any dentist friends?

 

[zesty_17]

Here is a good site about fractures of the shell & how to repair them yourself... I do recommend a good herp vet though if you have never done this before. I have some good photos of the honey thing & other types of shell repair that deal with some extreme cases, but haven't figured out how to post photos yet... email me off forum if you would like to see what I have.

http://www.asianturtlenetwork.org/library/useful_resources/Easy_shell_repair_03_06.pdf