# Tortoise dragging back legs, HELP!!



## tortoisemamaof3

so our newest addition to the family is a 2 year old russian tortoise. We have 2 other russian tortoises we recently bought who are much older(all kept in separate enclosures). Anyway, my husband picked her up last night from the previous owners home, and when we brought her home we noticed that she was dragging both her back legs. if you picked her up, she still moves her legs, just not that much and when you put her back on the ground, she goes back to dragging and looks like she problems getting around. The previous owners we bought her from had her in a glass tank(which i know isn't proper) and they had a heat lamp but we never saw the uvb light for it(so I'm going to assume they never had a uvb light for her either). Also, they only had sand at the bottom of her "enclosure"(which was also a small space not big enough) and I'm pretty sure they never gave her proper water soakings or any extra vitamins. Im pretty sure they only fed her romaine lettuce which i know she won't get all her nutrients from just that. They had old crusty romaine lettuce all mixed in with the sand at the bottom of the enclosure, they never took it out after they fed her. Also my husband emailed the previous owner and asked him about why she's dragging her legs and all he said was she was perfect before we picked her up and he has no idea what were talking about, and then he told us its probably because the cold from outside(which my husband picked her up and put her in the car(she was also wrapped in a blanket) so i know thats not why. 

We did make an appointment with the vet, but we have to wait 4 days for the appointment.

I just wanted to know if anyone on here would know why she was dragging her back legs, and is it possible to reverse the problem?

I was thinking it was because the previous owners never gave her proper care, and I'm thankful we bought her so we can start giving her a proper diet and proper care altogether, and i really hope whatever that is wrong is reversible so she doesn't suffer or isn't in pain.


----------



## Bambam1989

There is a very good chance that she is severely constipated. Which can cause problems with the back legs.
I would start giving warm soaks that last no less than 45min at a time(longer the better). Keep the water warm. Hopefully she will poop for you and feel better.
Others may have better advice but the soaks are always good.


----------



## tortoisemamaof3

we gave her one today and one yesterday( about 45 minute) soaks since we bought her yesterday, now that you mention it i haven't seen her poop yet so that could be it. thanks a lot!


----------



## Yvonne G

Several things come to mind - nerve damage, calcium deficiency, constipation, stones, blockage. If long, warm soaks don't solve the problem you may need an x-ray.

I recently took in a gulf coast box turtle that someone's dog brought home. She dragged her back legs, but would pull them in when you touched them. I've been keeping her in a small area with good traction and at a constant 80f degrees. I figured the dog squeezed her and caused a bruised nerve???? At any rate, she's slowly starting to use her legs.

yours might just need rest and time too. Calcium and a good diet won't hurt either.


----------



## tortoisemamaof3

yeah she seems like she's moving her legs a bit more today since we've been soaking her(its only been a day and a half since we've had her though), not by much though, she still drags them quite a bit and when you touch her back legs she will retreat them in her shell a little bit , hopefully the vet can give us some insight on whats wrong. we've been making sure she's been getting her calcium and other vitamins so I'm hoping she will start getting better slowly.


----------



## Cheryl Hills

Please don’t use sand. It can and does cause blockages. I don’t know that you do, just a warning, as you said, the previous owner did. Just my two cents. Good luck. I hope she continues to get better.


----------



## TortosieK

Yvonne G said:


> Several things come to mind - nerve damage, calcium deficiency, constipation, stones, blockage. If long, warm soaks don't solve the problem you may need an x-ray.
> 
> I recently took in a gulf coast box turtle that someone's dog brought home. She dragged her back legs, but would pull them in when you touched them. I've been keeping her in a small area with good traction and at a constant 80f degrees. I figured the dog squeezed her and caused a bruised nerve???? At any rate, she's slowly starting to use her legs.
> 
> yours might just need rest and time too. Calcium and a good diet won't hurt either.


Hi everyone, I have a question and I am concerned for my tortoises health because the shell looks like it’s pyramiding, and it drags it’s back legs a little but still uses them to walk. It’s about a 2 year old sulcata tortoise and I’ve been giving him calcium powder on top of lettuce, mazuri tortoise diet, diet pellets but he seems a little small for his age being about 5 inches long. Can someone please help me figure this out????


----------



## daniellenc

TortosieK said:


> Hi everyone, I have a question and I am concerned for my tortoises health because the shell looks like it’s pyramiding, and it drags it’s back legs a little but still uses them to walk. It’s about a 2 year old sulcata tortoise and I’ve been giving him calcium powder on top of lettuce, mazuri tortoise diet, diet pellets but he seems a little small for his age being about 5 inches long. Can someone please help me figure this out????



Start your own thread so others can see it. Could be impaction, MBD, constipation.... When you start a thread state his age, post pics of his enclosure, specify how you heat him and what lights you use, temps, substrate, feeding schedule....all the good stuff. Lots of sulcata breeders here willing to help.


----------

