red ear slider injury

Question

ouch   I found the turtle about 2 years ago so I'm unsure of the age but was told it is male. His shell is about 6 inches from head to tail. He is alone in a 20 gallon rank. There are pebbles on the bottom and a floating rock inside the tank he has an Eco-Terra heat lamp with a 120 watt bulb. His diet is zoo med natural aquatic turtle food as well as feeder goldfish on occasion. Today I filled his water up a little to high and he climbed onto his floating rock and jumped out of the tank he landed on his back about 1 foot from his tank, it was about a 2 foot fall. He appeared fine and I turned him back over and put him back in the tank. A few hours later I noticed his water is discoloured by blood. It looks like some how he ripped off one of his toenails and the tissue around it might also be damaged but he won't let me come near he snaps at me so I don't want to aggravate him anymore then he currently is. Can you help me I don't know how or if I can take care of him or what should be done.

Answer
Hi Tabatha,

A torn toenail isn't the end of the world, so don't worry.  What I would do is take him out of the tank and put him in either a cardboard box or a plastic bin on newspaper or towels for at least a few days until it heals up.  It needs to stay clean and dry.  You can put a basking light over the box (just make sure there's a cool area for him too) and soak him once a day in clean water for about 15 minutes.  After he soaks, clean the injury with a solution of Betadine diluted to the color of tea (Nolvasan is better if you have it).  If you see signs of infection you should take him to a vet, but since this isn't a deep wound I think it'll heal up just fine.

You should probably make some changes to how you're keeping him.  A 20 gallon tank is too small for anything but a hatchling RES.  He really needs more like a 75 gallon tank, with good filtration and lighting (heat and UVB); he also needs a more varied diet.  He should be eating quite a bit of greens (RES become more herbivorous as they mature).  I'm going to link some care information for you below, and then if you have any questions about it please ask.

http://redearslider.com
http://www.austinsturtlepage.com/Care/caresheet-red_ear_slider.htm
http://www.austinsturtlepage.com/Care/care.htm
http://www.austinsturtlepage.com/Care/waterquality.htm
http://www.austinsturtlepage.com/Care/housing.htm