cracked/injured turtle shell

Question

turtle with injured sh   My dog bite and injured my red-eye turtle (12 years old male) while I was away. It happen two days ago. Right now, there is a small hole/cracked on the top shell of my turtle and I could see her soft-tissue but there are no bleeding. I try to put her dry but she prefer to emerge under water. She could swim and eat fish. As I could not afford the treatment fees, what can I do?

Answer
Hi Poly,

As you now know, dogs are very dangerous to turtles.  If the shell was punctured, there is a significant risk of infection which would need to be treated with antibiotics.  You can clean any injures daily with diluted Betadine (dilute to the color of tea) and then keep the turtle dry for two to three hours.  If you can find antibiotic ointment, use that, too, but don't seal up the injuries.  With luck, they aren't too severe and the turtle will recover just fine.