**HELP** Injured turtle

[Lori P]

Hi all-- I picked up this guy out of the road on the way home. He's been hit by a car. I called the wildlife rehabbers in my area and there is NO-ONE in our area doing reptile re-habbing!!! The nearest liscensed reptile rehabber is in Northern Va. I'm so surprised!!! I also called to see if my vet could see him but he's out of the office today.

For those of you that know turtles-- are these injuries usually fatal or do you think he has a chance?? The shell is broken just along the front in a couple of places and one front leg appears useless. He is still alive, so I'm looking for an idea of if he could be mended or if he should be put out of his misery.

He is in a small tank, on papertowels, inside of a dark blue tub with a blue heat lamp on half of the tank. So he's dark and warm, for what it's worth. I snapped these pics quick as I didn't want to disturb him more.







Any ideas would be great!!! If he survives the night, I can take him to my vet tomorrow.

[adamanteus]

Repairs to injuries like this are often done with fibreglass..... I don't know, Lori. It looks pretty grim in that second shot. Do you think there might be much internal damage?

[Zephyr]

Hmm... Seeing as the shell is part of the turtle's body, and is basically a series of bones, I'd say it can be healed. You'll have to use some sort of EXTREMELY strong bonding agent and re-connect the two pieces of shell, using some sort of siphon for drainage while reconnecting. Keep him VERY sterile. If an infection gets in their he's doomed.

[adamanteus]

I don't think 'home surgery' will work on this one. I think it's a job for a professional.

[Zephyr]

Well, if there's a lacking in professionals, there's not other choice. I believe I've seen this performed on a tortoise before... They used an upper support as well as the bonding. Is he moving or does he seem miserable?

[Lori P]

He does not move. He will relax his back legs and tail out, but then if you go near the tank he pulls them back in. On front leg moves, but the other is limp. His head cannot emerge unless we can move that broken shell.

I have no way of knowing about internal injuries.

What do you think the pain threshold is... think I should put him down or let him seet over night and get him to the vet tomorrow if he's alive... I don't want him to be in agony...

[adamanteus]

Lori, of course he must be in agony. That second picture looks as though there is some organ damage.... I know what I would do. You can't just 'glue him back together'.

[Zephyr]

Originally Posted by Lori P

He does not move. He will relax his back legs and tail out, but then if you go near the tank he pulls them back in. On front leg moves, but the other is limp. His head cannot emerge unless we can move that broken shell.

I have no way of knowing about internal injuries.

What do you think the pain threshold is... think I should put him down or let him seet over night and get him to the vet tomorrow if he's alive... I don't want him to be in agony...

IT looks pretty gruesome, but, correct me if I'm wrong, there doesn't appear to be a lot of external bleeding. This may be because it's all internal, or it's just the shell and part of the arm connected to it that's cracked.

[adamanteus]

Originally Posted by Zephyr

just the shell.

Kyle, there is no 'just' about the shell..... It's not a lizard in a box......
I don't mean to seem harsh, but to put this one right, you'd have to have a very good knowledge of medicine and Chelonian morphology. The spine is fused to the inside of the carapace...... that is clearly severed. The organs are connected by supportive tissue directly to the inside of the carapace. This guy's in a mess.

[Stefan-A]

I definitely know what I would do.