Very ill 3-toed box turtle

Eric Phillips

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I was just going to ask the same thing Yvonne. Hopefully there's been improvement with the leg also
 

Tidgy's Dad

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Just came upon this thread.
Thanks for taking the poor little guy in and doing your best for him.
Really hope he makes it.
Beret is gorgeous.
 

Pond_Lilly

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> His right rear leg is edematous and basically non-functional with little to no pain sensation

I am not the expert on box turtles, but this line kind of worries me, because it could be some sort of infection. If it spreads it would be even harder (if not impossible) to treat. Have you tried any antibiotics injections and anti-inflammatory like Metacam, etc? I do not think infection will show on x-ray unless it got to his bone.
 
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Sorry I haven't gotten back to you guys sooner, work's been crazy and I developed the cold of DOOM, which I'm still battling. Beret has also eaten a snail, so things are looking really up on that front. Regarding his leg, due to our concern over his likely having a kidney tumor that is causing the swelling in the limb, I've been waffling about the amputation and probably won't do it. It seems like a lot to put him through when truthfully it doesn't seem to bother him at all and I don't know how long he'll continue to have a good quality of life. I'll be discussing this with his vet at length tomorrow. If he decides Beret might have a few years left in him, then I will proceed with my original plan of amputation and giving to the lady with her herd of turtles. If he's only got a few months, he can be a grouchy turtle on my porch until such time as humane euthanasia is the correct choice.

It's definitely not an infection at this point, which is good, and the swelling has decreased in the proximal aspect of his limb but it's still pretty swollen around his ankle. He still moves around a lot, burrows into the eco-earth that is the 'dirt' in his tub and hisses at me every single time he sees me. The ferns in his habitat are all cranky over his digging shenanigans, but the strawberries are having the time of their lives. He uses his half log to sleep in most nights, which makes me happy. I'll have to take some updated pictures of him tomorrow. And hopefully find some more snails.
 
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I offered Beret a large night crawler. He stared at it suspiciously for a minute, then grabbed it and quite literally ran away with it! Only just managed to snap a single photo. The worm is longer than he is, but that isn't stopping him!
cbwmVb.jpg
 

leigti

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I offered Beret a large night crawler. He stared at it suspiciously for a minute, then grabbed it and quite literally ran away with it! Only just managed to snap a single photo. The worm is longer than he is, but that isn't stopping him!
cbwmVb.jpg
I love it. Isn't it great when they're happy about their food?
 
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Beret update! We went to the vet today aaaaand....

The Good: Beret is walking on his affected limb and can completely retract it into his shell now! There is no more edema. This means it's not a kidney tumor! And there's a *very* good chance he gets to keep his leg!

The Bad: There's a decent chunk of dead tissue and muscle on the lateral aspect of his leg. It's not infected and the tissue around it seems to be attempting to heal/is healing quite well, and the area seems fairly shallow. He may lose a toe however.

The My Turtle Is Now Become Immortal That He May Hate Me For All Eternity: Because I'm trying a conservative treatment (considering how well he's been healing up to this point) it means that I can no longer keep Beret outside in his enclosure that he loves so much. No, instead of nice damp eco-earth to dig in, and strawberries and ferns to hide under... he gets a dry towel in a glass tank with his soaking dish. We're going to be soaking his leg daily in saline or epsom salts and applying SSD ointment and I'll be 'picking' at the dead tissue gently to help the body remove it. I'm sure you can imagine how utterly *thrilled* Beret is with this.

Maybe he'll forgive me when he finally gets to go outside again and will have new, sturdier ferns to hide under?

No, you're right. He'll never forgive me, for he is the Turtle That Hates.
 

terryo

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Nope! He will forgive and forget. I had to give my old box turtle injections for 14 days and as she got better, when she saw me she would pull into her shell and try to walk away half pulled it. I felt so bad. After I put her outside she was fine and in a few days loved me again.....well not loved me, but came when she saw me bringing the food. I think you're doing a fine thing!!
 
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Nope! He will forgive and forget.

I seriously doubt it. XD He has hissed and ducked into his shell every single time he sees me, no matter if I'm offering food, changing his water, or just walking onto my porch. He's a cranky cranky old man and he thinks humans in general are poopyheads and that I, in particular, am the worst of the worst. It amuses me to think that there is a small chance he will outlive me (especially if he's more towards 50 instead of 70) and that my 'memory' will live on in my cranky turtle. Being hated by a hundred year old turtle even after you've keeled over is something of an achievement, I figure.
 

johnsonnboswell

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When you go back to being the source of goodness he'll forgive and forget this interlude.
 
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Beret is a very pragmatic turtle. He may utterly loathe my very existence, but he has learned that I provide him with food. Next time I'll bring the camera for the *first* worm instead of the 5th and I'll get some awesome photos of him grabbing them out of the air. He lets me hand feed him!

He's also gorgeous, and he knows it. My super handsome cranky Hate Turtle.


"Maaaaaybe I'll eat it."
o2UgaL.jpg



Forgive me the dried up lettuce; I was cleaning his cage up and feeding him at the same time. Beret, by the way, does not consider waxworms to be food.

cHhTOw.jpg



"Okay, fine, I'll eat it."

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"I'm... too sexy for my shell. Too sexy for my shell. Too sexy, yeah!"

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You can actually see the scarring on the cranial surface of his leg, and the dead tissue along the lateral/caudal aspect. It's starting to peel up at the bend of his knee, so things are looking good!
 
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