Turtle in Care

[mysnakesau]

About two months ago I took in an injured wild turtle with quite a nasty break to his shell. He was hit by a car in the Hat Head area but managed to survive.

Today he is still alive and his shell is finally starting to show healing. On arrival I bathed him in warm water and iodine, dried him off and carefully manipulated his shell into place and taped it. Once a week I have given him a nice sunny tub outside, and every two weeks replaced the tape. Only when I removed the old tape last weekend did I finally see some improvement in his shell. The tape does a good job holding the shell, that when I took it off over the past few times, his shell wouldn't move. But you could see that the shell was still broken and if bumped it would separate. But last weekend I finally saw evidence of the shell starting to bind back together. The edges are still very fragile but the middle of his back is holding together well now. I am so happy for him Helping hurt/sick animals like this is such a wonderful thing. I have lost patients at times but the ones that recover are always in top shape when I have released them. If I can do this, anybody can. All you need is plenty of TLC & patience.

 

[Jdsixtyone]

Wow looks simillar to my turtle he got hit right in front of my eyes by a semi tralier. He was in bad shape for about 3 years and has only just become better. I had to give him some panacilian shots i think 1 every week to help with pain. But he is healthy and happy and in my care for the rest of his life. Well done!!

 

[gonsnaken]

well done keep up the good work

 

[kensai]

Good job, I seem to remember someone using superglue to join broken shell,

 

[serpenttongue]

Pretty bad break there, Kathy. Good for you, for looking after it.

I believe fibreglass was popular for fixing broken shells.

 

[mysnakesau]

Fibreglass is now considered toxic and not to be used for repairing their shells anymore. I am not sure about glues, but at my training we were shown this particular tape that we could use. For minor breaks we are able to tape and release. The tape will eventually fall off, leaving an unscathed, happy turtle.

 

[-Peter]

The tape is 3M filament tape and contains fibreglass. It has a low to medium bond. Great stuff.
Super glue often is used to place bridges over breaks to hold the pieces in place.

 

[beefa270]

nice one !

 

[gecko-mad]

looks much better

 

[redbellybite]

Kath he is looking good ....good on ya