Injured Crustacean

[vicanic]

Does anyone have any resources for caring for an injured Crustacean? I don't have high hopes for her but we will see.

She jumped out of the tank while I wasn't home and my dog ripped off 2 of her legs and punched a hole clean through her back, I'm pretty sure there is organ tissue visible.

She is still eating, which is a good sign.

 

[James M]

Welcome to reef2reef !!!
What type of crustacean is it

 

[vicanic]

So she is actually a freshwater crayfish from the sinkhole behind my house, I just figured it wouldn't be a far leap to treatment protocols for a crab or lobster with a compromised shell. She's huge, about 7 inches long.

 

[Maacc]

The biggest danger for any crustacean is bleeding out losing limb is generally ok. The biggest threat is carapace puncture. If he makes it a few days and continues to eat, he may be ok.

 

[vicanic]

Well, her carapace is definitely punctured. There is some yellow flesh sticking out of the hole. Are there any antibiotics I can/should administer, temperature adjustments that promote healing, resources on this subject I can read? I looked around on Google and here using all the relevant keyword combos I could think of but came up short.

 

[Maacc]

#reefsquad , I am out of my depth here. Please don't do this without someone more experienced than me for advice, but if he hasn't bled out, maybe some gel superglue to hope for the best to seal the hole and wait for the next molt?

 

[wareagle]

I've seen repairs on turtle shells with epoxy, but we eat crayfish around here. A quick google of "crustacean shell repair epoxy" brought up some interesting results.

 

[vicanic]

Oh boy, sure hope someone chimes in on this epoxy thing soon, I was just reading about use on turtles, seems like the kind of thing I am most likely thinking would be useful.

 

[vicanic]

So, I've been doing a lot of reading. I found r/crayfish, and the University of Texas has a couple publications on fish and invertebrate lifesaving operations. I think I am going to attempt the super glue suggestion, however I have to answer a single question, and I am hoping you guys can help.

Do you think this yellowish tissue is some sort of clotting, or is it organ meat just hanging out?

If it's organ meat I am fairly certain I need to get it back inside of her before I glue her up, which could be rough

 

[Maacc]

I honestly am not an expert, but I would guess clotting, because if not it would have already bled out, but again I am not a crayfish expert.

 

[vicanic]

@Maacc Guessing is the second best thing we can get.

UPDATE: I was going to super glue her shell, however my research ended up taking so long that I got a chance to observe her more, and I've instead opted not to do much. We are now 34 hours since the incident, she is still eating and seems strong. I am instead just going to hit her antibiotics to prevent infections and see what happens.