My pseudo expertize you say its the best I can pull out to help a person and a turtle in need under not perfect treatment circunstances with a tecnicke I used with MANY animals, from iguanas and anoles including situations I could have gone for much more sofisticated tools but insted I choose this one because I know it works. The ideal actually would be to combo this with a injectable specific antibiotic treatment but this is again the best we can come up with. Your being extremelly impractical! How do you expect that the person that has this turtle is able to practice this "surgery" under safe and etic conditions for the turtle without further endangering its situation? Its not like he should pull out a knife and cut it like that! And that considering that the turtle is actually healing itself already, the lump separating the dead tissue indicates that the turtle body is rejecting it! The fatty cream will swell up the tissue and make it easier to do that. Tryed it many times, it works like a charm, and unlike amputation it has the great advantage of you not having to cut true living tissue. The only situation I advice amputation is when infection is spreading like krazy up the limp, situation I dont see here, the body is rejecting the dead tissue. And again turtles are NOT like mammals or birds, they can survive injures much more damaging then this one, even by their own in the wild.
And now lissen here KIDO, I have 20 plus years of being a turtle, lizard, fish and small animal keeper and ocasional breeder; I have contacted literaly with hundreds of species in the wild and captivity; I have helped MANY people with problems with their animals; I treated and reabilited allot of both exotic and native wildlife; I am called to a local veterinary center when ever they get in someone with a desiased reptile; I have a 5 year marine biology degree; I am finishing my master degree in aquaculture and Im regulary invited to give presentations and workshops on my campus about reptiles, plants and other nature related themes. I dont have a wildlife reabilitation degree even to they are easily available in my area because: a) there isnt anything they can teach me that I dont already know or that I cant easily find in my many books b) I already worked in wildlife rehab as a volunter and I cant stand it, these centers are at least here managed by bunch of %&$# arrongant pseudo cientists that only do what fits their personal agendas and dont care, dont lissen and I enter easily in conflict with them so I fly solo now, but wont think twice to help wildlife in need and C) wildlife rehab centers are low bugget slave labor institutions, that doesant work for me. Plus they HATE exotic animal hobbists so yea...
Its just we are a litle short on time.