Dropping

B.R - Sherman

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Hello, this is my second post regarding my 1 year old Hermann tortoise, Sherman.

today I accidentally dropped Sherman onto a hard surface from about the height of my chest. It was purely my carelessness and I accept that, but I want to make sure Sherman is okay. Attached are two pictures of where I think he landed, you Can see a little red dot on his shell which I’m scared is blood and a little bit of his arm looking bare.

please help, I just want Sherman to be okay.He seemed to walk around fine a few minutes after the drop, but I need to be 100% sure as I’ve read about internal damage and other bad things. Please help me.
 

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Tom

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Nothing you can do about it now. Just don't let it happen again. They are pretty tough little animals. If the tortoises is walking around then its probably fine.

You can always take it in for an x-ray if you are concerned.
 

B.R - Sherman

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I just want to make sure there’s no long lasting damage. I know that his shell is extremely vital but it seems to be in good shape still. I haven’t noticed any cracks (he’s never had any) or grooves which weren’t already there so that’s a good sign right?

he ate a little bit of food after the fall(head already eaten most of his food before) and is now burrowing himself in and going to sleep. I will check up on him in the morning and provide an update on how I think he’s doing.

I just get scared easily for Sherman, Cos he’s so little and I’m a relatively new owner. I just want to make sure he’s in good health
 

ZEROPILOT

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Even with very large and strong hands, a relatively small, wiggling, scared tortoise can be a handful to control.
Dropping him once is almost normal.
Doing it twice is on you?
Observe his behavior for a few days. Look for blood in the bedding/substrate.
If it all seems normal for 48 hours, he's probably fine
 

ZEROPILOT

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I saw a small Gopher tortoise gets dropped by a predatory bird. He fell about 40 feet, hit the road and bounced to a stop.
Aside from some superficial damage, he seemed ok.
Tortoises are tough.
Unfortunately though, they can't tell us if they are hurt.
By the end of the weekend, you'll have your answer.
It's a great sign that he's acting normal.
View attachment 20200627_1622431.mp4
 
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B.R - Sherman

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I saw a small Gopher tortoise gets dropped by a predatory bird. He fell about 40 feet, hit the road and bounced to a stop.
Aside from some superficial damage, he seemed ok.
Tortoises are tough.
Unfortunately though, they can't tell us if they are hurt.
By the end of the weekend, you'll have your answer.
It's a great sign that he's acting normal.
So I’m looking for blood on his substrate or abnormal behaviour like not eating. If nothing abnormal happens, will I be able to rest easy knowing that he’s healthy?
 

Toddrickfl1

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If he's eating afterward, he's most likely fine.
 

B.R - Sherman

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Well I’ve just fed him and he is eating his food. He also was very willing to come out of his burrow this morning. I’m seeing no blood on his substrate or anywhere, and he seems like his usual self. I’ll check on him again in a bit, but for now he seems okay
UPDATE - Sherman seems to be doing fine. He’s eating normally and has spent most of his morning basking under his lamp. I’ll let him out for a walk around on my bed today but I’m fairly confident that he’s doing okay, maybe just a bit shocked (and mad at me, but hopefully some strawberries will cheer him up). Thankyou everyone for the support and advice.
 

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Anna Westphal

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Glad to know he's okay. One of my biggest fears is tripping while I'm carrying Stella and dropping or landing on her. Your incident is wake-up call and hopefully the last time he'll be required to bounce. I love the cute picture. That belongs on a calendar.
 
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