Swollen foot - Mary River Turtle

by Sam
(Sunshine coast)

My turtle has a swollen back foot. He is approx 6 months old and it looks like my other turtle has bitten his foot. It is fairly swollen but he is still eating and moving freely. I put bettadine on it last night. The vet's not open until Tues so is there anything else I can do before then?

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Nov 19, 2011
 Buy a mary river turtle
by: Panayiotis Spanos

Hello,
I currently live in the United States and know about the threat to the survival of the Mary River turtle in Australia. I was wondering if this turtle is available for sale as part of the ongoing conservation effort? Are there any private breeding programs? I work part time at an animal rehabilitation center in western New York and was thinking that this would be a really cool side project to get a breeding pair and perhaps breed to help strengthen the population so that such a unique turtle has a better chance of remaining on this planet. Thank you for any comments and questions are always appreciated.
May 03, 2011
 Swollen foot - Mary River Turtle
by: Sam

Thanks. I took him to the vet yesterday and she gave him antibiotics by injection. He has to have 2 more injections and then should be ok. The vet said the bettadine had been good as it had kept it nice and clean. I also took a water sample in and the amonia in my water was too high due to me buying a new filter system and the bacteria building up so I bought something from the pet shop to add healthy bacteria to the water. Thanks everyone for your comments.
May 03, 2011
 Swollen Foot
by: Shelly

Hello Sam,

It sounds like you are doing what you can. I agree that it's great that you are going to get a vet involved.

Keep us updated on what happens.

Keep it slow and steady.
May 01, 2011
 Swollen foot - Mary River Turtle
by: Sam

Thanks. I appreciate your response. It's hard to get a really good look but there is a small open site. I bathed his foot in a bettadine solution about 4 times yesterday and kept him out of the tank for a while as I was cleaning it again. He seems destressed out of the water though so I left him in for the rest of the day. I'm hoping the vet can give some antibiotics which will work quickly for the poor little thing.
May 01, 2011
 waiting for the vet
by: Anonymous

First of all, I'm really glad you mentioned going to the vet. That's the main thing.

In the mean time, be sure the turtle is in really clean water. You want to reduce the number of germs as much as possible.

If it's possible, examine the foot. Can you see a puncture wound or any other sign of trauma? Is it open or closed over? Sometimes a soak (foot only, not whole animal) in a saline solution will help to open a wound. That will allow any infection to drain.

Let us know what happens.

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