Asked on the Turtle Forum by yatoumajk on 4/5/2005, 7:19 pm
Q: Florida Softshell issue with shell
I have two florida softshells. They have been in the same aquiriam since I purchased them, about 6 months ago. Sometimes the fight, but nothing too big. I was away last weekend, and I noticed that one of the softshells had piece of his shell scraped. I looks as if it were bit off. A little red was showing, but it wasn't gushing blood. Over the last couple of days it appears to be heeling. The red is gone. Is there anything I can do to prevent infection? Make the healing process increase? Is it normal for turtles to fight once in a while? Should I seperate the two?
Answered by John E Dove on 4/6/2005, 7:08 am
A: Florida Softshell issue with shell
> I have two florida softshells. They have been in the same
> aquiriam since I purchased them, about 6 months ago.
> Sometimes the fight, but nothing too big. I was away last
> weekend, and I noticed that one of the softshells had piece
> of his shell scraped. I looks as if it were bit off. A
> little red was showing, but it wasn't gushing blood. Over
> the last couple of days it appears to be heeling. The red
> is gone. Is there anything I can do to prevent infection?
> Make the healing process increase? Is it normal for turtles
> to fight once in a while? Should I seperate the two?
>
The first thing you should do is seperate these turtles. Soft Shells are VERY aggressivly territorial in nature and need their own space. They also need lots of space which is one reason I do not recommend you keep them in aquariums. If you have babies you may be getting away with it for now but in the future you will need at least something the size of a childs wading pool for each of them.
As for the injury since I cannot see it the best I can do is to suggest that you take them in for an examination by a qualified vet trianed specifiaclly to work with turtles. General small animals vets do not meet this requirement.
John E Dove
