# My tortoise lost his feet :(



## netosols (Jan 7, 2014)

Hi! something happened to my baby tortoise back feet they just fell off. I need help !!!!

Im scared and dont know what to do.


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## bouaboua (Jan 7, 2014)

Nothing you can do at this time. Is there other older tortoise in the same enclosure? Is this a red foot tortoise? I'm sorry for what happen? How old is the baby torts?


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## sissyofone (Jan 7, 2014)

Omg, I don't know what to say, But I called another TFO to take a look. Is it frostbite? Did it get cold? I'm at a loss for words here. Help is on the way. I'm so sorry and I hope its OK.


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## sibi (Jan 7, 2014)

OMG!!! What was the baby doing before you discovered his feet? I mean, is there an animal in the house that could have got to him? Do you have a cat, dog, or other animal?


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## sissyofone (Jan 7, 2014)

It looks like maybe frost bite to me,but I'm no expert.


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## sibi (Jan 7, 2014)

It's important that you give your baby a warm soak now, then put him in a warm place alone and let him be safe in his hide. Tomorrow, I would seek a vet and take him there. Since there isn't any bleeding, I don't think it would hurt to put him in a warm soak; but, make sure the temp of the water is not too warm. Let him soak for 10-15 min. and then put him to bed in a warm hide.


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## mctlong (Jan 7, 2014)

This is a situation where you need to take your animal to a vet. This is an emergency veterinary situation and your animal needs care. Please do not try to handle this on your own.


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## sibi (Jan 7, 2014)

I hope the OP took your advise. He/She was online a few moments ago, and is now offline. I hope she was able to find a vet to see the tort as an emergency.


mctlong said:


> This is a situation where you need to take your animal to a vet. This is an emergency veterinary situation and your animal needs care. Please do not try to handle this on your own.


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## sissyofone (Jan 7, 2014)

I agree with mctlong. This is definitely a situation where a vet is needed. That tort needs help immediately, there's an infection risk and no telling what else. Poor Baby


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## Bowser-n-Mo (Jan 7, 2014)

Did you find out what caused it....too bizzare!


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## sissyofone (Jan 7, 2014)

I'm really hoping and praying that the op is on the way to a vet if possible, that's scary, poor baby. It looks to definitely be a Lil Red Foot. With all the cold weather it wouldn't surprise me if this happened due to frostbite.


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## sibi (Jan 7, 2014)

I seem to remember reading something about feet falling off in a thread a while back. I did a search and something similar happened to someone's tort too. As it turned out, they couldn't get the tort to a specialized vet right away. It was suggested that a soak of saline solution mix was recommended. The thing is, as with all injuries, infection is a real concern. So, the little guy needs to see a vet asap. Also, do not put him back in the enclosure with any substrate that can get on the injury. Place him on clean paper towels.


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## Laura (Jan 7, 2014)

the stubs don't look bloody, so I would think some sort of circulation issue.. tissue died and feel off.. do the front feet look ok?


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## Cowboy_Ken (Jan 7, 2014)

Looks like what one would see with the application of rubber bands. Something tight, cutting off the circulation to me.


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## Elohi (Jan 7, 2014)

[DIZZY FACE][FLUSHED FACE]
I'd be freaking completely out. 
I was going to say the same. Those aren't bloody stumps. Looks like a circulation issue or some sort of disease with circulation loss being a secondary symptom. 
Any more info on this?


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## mike taylor (Jan 7, 2014)

I agree with Ken on this .I know people that would put rubber bands on new born puppy tails to dock them . No blood healed ok not the way I would do it but works . The legs look like they are healed up almost . If they where frozen off you would see bone would you not?


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## Cowboy_Ken (Jan 7, 2014)

Mike, you said it much more eloquently than I would have. I was thinking sack, as in castration. Tail docking never crossed my mind.


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## netosols (Jan 8, 2014)

Thanks for all the comments. Its a 6 months old red-footed. He is alone in his enclosure. I tought of frostbite to, but he had a hot pad under his cave. Its not inside the enclosure its out side right under the rock cave where he sleeps. He seems ok he has being eating and there is no blood on his feet. The front legs are perfect. I would seek advice from a vet today. Thanks!


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## Maverick (Jan 8, 2014)

This looks very similar to an injury a had happen to an iguana years ago when the heat rock I was using shorted out and began to cook the iguanas feet. Please make sure you are using a thermostat or hygrotherm with your heating pad. There may be no blood because the heat and it looks like frostbite because it's a burn.


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## nearpass (Jan 8, 2014)

Maverick said:


> This looks very similar to an injury a had happen to an iguana years ago when the heat rock I was using shorted out and began to cook the iguanas feet. Please make sure you are using a thermostat or hygrotherm with your heating pad. There may be no blood because the heat and it looks like frostbite because it's a burn.



I'm thinking heating pad, also. Those can get hotter than anyone thinks, especially when covered with something.


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## Yvonne G (Jan 8, 2014)

Something has caused the feet to die and fall off, similar to what has been described in the tail docking post. My guess would be that the heating pad was too hot for the baby tortoise. If this were something new, for example a rat chewing them off, there would be blood and an open wound on the legs. This is a very old injury that took a long time to happen, and while it was happening, the leg portion of the injury had time to heal.

I'm sorry this happened to your RF tortoise, but there's nothing you can do about it at this time. I suggest you remove the heating pad and use overhead heat instead.


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## Jacqui (Jan 8, 2014)

Are the front feet looking perfectly fine? Interesting it only happened to the back feet.  Poor little guy.


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## Yvonne G (Jan 8, 2014)

The picture I had was of the heating pad being at the mouth of the hiding place where the back feet were more likely to come into contact with it while the tortoise was head-in to the hiding place.


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## mike taylor (Jan 8, 2014)

You think he could of had a circulation problem with the feet ? Thats just weird that he was just walking around then feet fell off . There was no signs of discomfort in how he was acting?


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## MyTortoise (Jan 8, 2014)

I would never thought that could ever happen! I'm a bit scared for my girl now... :O

I hope that he/she is alright!


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## Yvonne G (Jan 8, 2014)

If the tortoise was being kept on coco coir, there may have been those long strings that come in the substrate and could have wrapped around the 'ankles' cutting off the circulation. Seem too much of a coincidence to happen to both feet though.


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## Cute_Obi (Jan 8, 2014)

Ahhh! Yvonne, you're scaring me. I use coco coir and I see those long strings sticking out in the substrate. I'm going straight home to remove as many of those loose string as I can tonight.


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## Watsonpartyof4 (Jan 8, 2014)

I pray they took the poor thing to the vet... I saw this last night and couldn't sleep thinking about this poor little Redfoot


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## Pokeymeg (Jan 8, 2014)

I had the unpleasant experience of having a baby Hermann get sick a couple years ago....When he first got sick, we turned up the heat, but apparently it was too hot and too dry, and he ended up losing his little tail. This poor tortoise's legs look very similar to what I saw and makes me suspicious of the heat pad used. I think heat may be a factor in this awful situation


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## EricIvins (Jan 8, 2014)

This is not from frostbite or a heat pad. This is obviously a very long term issue that nobody online can diagnose. Even a Vet is going to have a hard time determining a cause since the issue has corrected itself. I would suspect long term nail issues that resulted in infection traveling up the nail bed and into the foot itself. I have seen many cases of this happening, and eventual necrosis occurs wherever the infection settles. The result is hidden under the leg scales until they are eventually sloughed off, which is the last and longest step of the process. Depending on the scope of the infection, I've seen chunks of leg missing, or the forelimb just about hollowed out. Some of these animals never showed any outward symptoms either...


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## Cowboy_Ken (Jan 8, 2014)

Thank you mods.


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## Pokeymeg (Jan 9, 2014)

Any news from the vet? What did they have to say??


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## ascott (Jan 9, 2014)

> The result is hidden under the leg scales until they are eventually sloughed off, which is the last and longest step of the process. Depending on the scope of the infection, I've seen chunks of leg missing, or the forelimb just about hollowed out. Some of these animals never showed any outward symptoms either...



Very well described. Sometime back I adopted in 2 Redfoot Torts from a member here who decided this was not the species they wanted....so after observing the two...and watching bullying behavior along with an attack from one to the other...I separated them. 

I noticed that the one that had been attacked had issues with front feet...eventually both front feet had similar incident (not as whole and complete) where a large part of each front food sloughed off with the toe nail and all...the feet on that tort are completely healed and no real sign of issue other than a few of the toe nails never came back...I believe the damage here was due to bite injury before the torts ever arrived here where they were forced to be housed together as a pair...and then me observing one of the attacks allowed me to separate...and that tort is now strong and outgoing...

Since the tort is so young, who knows what it encountered before arriving with you ???? Because this is not a condition that happens quickly or over night...but takes time to come to this...


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## compassrose26 (Jan 10, 2014)

Any news on this??


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## Watsonpartyof4 (Jan 10, 2014)

compassrose26 said:


> Any news on this??



Wondering the same thing....


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## ascott (Jan 10, 2014)

they may have just been a drop in/out....?????


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## jennanne (Jan 11, 2014)

Dying to know if the poor little thing is ok [PENSIVE FACE]


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## bellamia (Jan 11, 2014)

Any updates on this little guy ? 
Hope he is okay


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## netosols (Jan 20, 2014)

Hello the baby tortoise is getting better. It under medication and the legs are healing. But the vet couldnt diagnose the problem. I hope it doest happen again


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## bellamia (Jan 20, 2014)

I'm very happy to hear your baby is getting better , that's great news!


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## compassrose26 (Jan 20, 2014)

How does the little guy get around now?


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## theresal (Jan 20, 2014)

The further I went through this thread the more I just couldn't imagine this happening. I hope the little tort gets better and no more damage happens. I would still suggest getting rid of the heating pad as it could have been the culprit and change the substrate at least monthly. Good luck and I am sorry you had to share such sad news.


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## mctlong (Jan 20, 2014)

I'm glad to hear that its healing well.


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## AnnV (Jan 20, 2014)

So sorry for the little guy. Hope it can get around okay. 
I would suspect the heat too. Seems too much of a coincidence that both feet fell off, and at the same time.
Was this at a joint? Could there have been a bilateral injury kind of crushing or breaking both joints at once?


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