Your turtle’s shell is a very important part of the animal’s body, not only does it protect against the elements, but the shell is fused to the animal’s spine and is the animal’s home.
So, if your turtle seems to be missing a part of the shell, you’d understandably be worried. This article looks into why a turtle may be missing a part of its shell.
Table of Contents
Turtle missing part of shell:
Your turtle’s shell is part of its body, so any damage to the shell will greatly affect the turtle.
Here is what you need to know if your turtle is missing a part of its shell:
Missing shell:
If your pet shell is suddenly missing then the animal likely suffered an injury severe enough to break a part of its shell off.
The shell coming off is a medical emergency as the shell includes bones and nerve endings that your pet needs for survival and to function.
The shell is not only made up of the outside hard carapace layer it also includes the animal’s rib cage, nerve endings, blood vessels, and spinal cord.
If your pet breaks the shell then the now broken blood vessels will cause the animal to bleed. The shell breaking and coming off is similar to removing the skin of any other animal.
Your pet’s shell may have become injured if the animal was dropped, if it fell out of the tank, if a dog bit it, or if it was stepped on or driven over by a car.
What to do:
If your pet shell is injured then taking it to the vet as soon as possible is recommended. If you can, take your pet to a reptile specialist vet or to an exotic vet.
If you can’t immediately get the animal to the vet then it is recommended that you keep it in a small enclosure so it doesn’t walk around too much.
You’d also need to drydock the animal. Dry docking is keeping the animal out of the water to keep the wound from becoming infected with bacteria that may be in the water or algae.
Fluids would still need to be given to your pet while it is dry docking.
At the vet:
The first thing that your vet will do is do a physical exam on the reptile to assess the severity of the injury. After this, the vet may take an x-ray of the animal to understand the severity of the break.
If your pet’s injury isn’t too severe then the vet may close the shell up using tape.
A more severe injury would need cement, acrylic, glue, or resins as a dressing to close the shell.
If needed, the vet may prescribe some antibiotics to get rid of any infections that your injured pet may have developed.
Shell healing:
Turtles of different sizes and species will take different amounts of time to heal their shells. Be patient, your pet eventually will heal.
If your injured turtle receives the proper attention and time during recovery it will recover just fine and will go back to living a normal life.
If you enjoyed this article then you may also be interested in other turtle/tortoise related articles. Here are some articles that you may be interested in: Why Is My Turtles Skin Red On The Sides?, Dents In Turtle Shell, Turtle Bleeding From Mouth, Turtle Shell Soft Around Edges, Deformed Turtle Shell Care, Deformed Turtle Shell, My Turtles Tail Got Bitten Off, Why Is My Turtle Losing His Shell?