Broken limbs

Question
Hi, i have a red-eared slider male, approx 8years old in a large tank with two full grown females. The male has suddenly begun to keep one of it's front legs withdrawn and has also started to produce a mucus around his body. He will let me withdraw the leg and there are no sores or cuts on the leg. If the leg is broken, what is the best course of action. Turtle keeping is a reletivly new hobby in New Zealand and vets are not really up to date as such

Answer
A mucus around the body sounds odd to me.

Broken limbs are rare in turtles, although various strains are somewhat common.

What I would do is to check out a good care website, like http://www.redearslider.com

Make sure things are good. We usually find that when things are not going well, there is a glitch in the basic care or diet.

As for the actual injury... I am NOT a vet, but if my turtles are not acting ill, I don't sweat it much. I go to 'hospital tank' care, which means:
- Seperate him from the others. The hospital tank should also have good water quality, temps, lighting, etc. and be really easy to clean. Actually, a large plastic tub works just fine for a hospital tank.
- Keep the hospital tank a few degrees warmer than usual- but monitor the behavior. If the turtle hogs the heat, warm it a bit more. If it hides, cool it off.
- Minimise stress. Avoid noises, vibrations, handling, 'giants' staring at it, etc.
- Keep the turtle in the hospital tank several weeks, possibly over a month. As long as their is a chance it is still ill, keep it apart. Turtles heal rather slowly, but it should improve rather quickly.