tortoise attacked by dog,, possible paralysis??

Yesterday night my hatchling sulcata tortoise’s container was knocked off of what we thought was a high enough place to keep him from our boxer/greyhound mix dog. Unfortunately that was not the case and we found our dog chewing on the back of his shell while he was tipped upside down. It was a shock to all of us as he had not shown any interest in the tortoise before but I guess it is a hard lesson to learn. At first we soaked him and applied Triple A Ointment to his wounds to keep him clean, but now we moved him to a small box with a heating pad just until we clean and redo his enclosure so he can recover in it. At first we thought it was just injury to his shell but when I took him out to soak I noticed he was dragging his back legs. I picked up up and gently poked his legs and he was able to move them slightly but he still can’t walk and one of them is in an awkward position,, are they broken? I know the shell is their spine so it’s also a big chance he could be paralyzed... we want to take him to the vet on Tuesday/Wednesday but that’s the soonest we could get him there. I’m going to post some pictures and maybe we can see how bad the damage is and so I can get a more experienced perspective

The nerves running through the backbone area are very sensitive. It will take a long time for them to heal, but I'm pretty sure they will heal.

I took in a female gulf coast box turtle that had been either hit by a car or run over by a lawn mower - can't remember which. She had a slight crack along one side of the carapace that was weeping, and she wouldn't use her back legs. When she walked, she just dragged them behind her. I kept her indoors in a hospital tank for the rest of that summer, Autumn and all winter. That was this last winter. I occasionally placed her in water too deep for her to touch the bottom for swim therapy. This spring I noticed she was using her legs just a little, and now, a whole year later, she is walking up on all four feet just like a champ.

The wounds don't look too bad. I would get him back in his original enclosure keep him at 85 no lower day and night for about a week just to be safe. It might take some time for him to feel safe again. Be sure the dog can't get too him again. Now the dog knows what's there and likes it.
If down the road a few weeks he's acting normal and the trauma seems to have passed, then I would worry about the walking if that hasn't come back. That's when I would start some hydrotherapy Yvonne mentioned. I too used it on a rescue leopard. Dragged his back legs. Did hydrotherapy once a day as often as possible. About a year later he was walking fine and is my fastest tort and loves too walk all day.

Thanks that’s reassuring should I put paper towels / a bath towel at the bottom of his cage? He is on cypress mulch and I don’t want it in his wounds

Yes paper towel would be best. You can change it out easier. A towel their little toe nails could get caught in the threads.

he is moving around a lot but not yet eating. I’m assuming a vet visit is necessary so we will probably call the vet. I feel terrible for him because he just wants to be able to run around how soon is too soon to start the water therapy? And is there any way I could get him to start eating? I have Timothy hay and spring mix in there right now but he probably is missing the tree roots he liked to eat when he went outside here is his current setup. We have a blanket over the cage to warm him up and added a fruit as a treat to try and encourage him to eat haha. I moved him to somewhere quieter too and he seems to like it

this is probably a very sad update but I don’t think that he is going to make tonight. He was doing good the day of but yesterday night and today he has declined. I think the physical and emotional trauma was too much for his little body and his system seems to be shutting down. We tried to soak him but he just sat there with his mouth open and he still responds a little bit but it’s looking bleak. We have been treating his wounds and keeping him clean and warm but I guess it wasn’t enough. I noticed purple bruising around his cracked shell so maybe the injuries were worse than we thought. Either way we are all very sad and we are going to keep him until morning to see if he is dead or not. His name was rainbow courtesy of my little brother and we will miss him. We don’t know if we will get another one but I want to give us time to grieve first. Thanks for all the support. I will update you guys in the morning

chaitort said:

this is probably a very sad update but I don’t think that he is going to make tonight. He was doing good the day of but yesterday night and today he has declined. I think the physical and emotional trauma was too much for his little body and his system seems to be shutting down. We tried to soak him but he just sat there with his mouth open and he still responds a little bit but it’s looking bleak. We have been treating his wounds and keeping him clean and warm but I guess it wasn’t enough. I noticed purple bruising around his cracked shell so maybe the injuries were worse than we thought. Either way we are all very sad and we are going to keep him until morning to see if he is dead or not. His name was rainbow courtesy of my little brother and we will miss him. We don’t know if we will get another one but I want to give us time to grieve first. Thanks for all the support. I will update you guys in the morning

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What happened to Rainbow

Yvonne G said:

The nerves running through the backbone area are very sensitive. It will take a long time for them to heal, but I'm pretty sure they will heal.

I took in a female gulf coast box turtle that had been either hit by a car or run over by a lawn mower - can't remember which. She had a slight crack along one side of the carapace that was weeping, and she wouldn't use her back legs. When she walked, she just dragged them behind her. I kept her indoors in a hospital tank for the rest of that summer, Autumn and all winter. That was this last winter. I occasionally placed her in water too deep for her to touch the bottom for swim therapy. This spring I noticed she was using her legs just a little, and now, a whole year later, she is walking up on all four feet just like a champ.

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Great story. I love saving wildlife/pets. All our critters are adopted. My newest is a neglected Russian tortoise. That’s why I’m here. She is so sweet and we love her.

Arzu78 said:

What happened to Rainbow

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Guess he went to the Bridge...???

Hey, thanks for the concern. I kept him on the heat mat all night but he didn’t make it actually a little while ago we got another baby and my brother named it again so it’s got a crazy name. He’s doing well and we built him an enclosure outside, and at night or when the weather isn’t nice he’s inside in a bin with a net over it. along with grass & weeds from our yard we feed him spring salad mix and romaine. The thing is, he only wants to eat the romaine, I know it isn’t very healthy for him, and I should probably start a different thread, but I was just wondering if this could become a problem. Rainbow was much more friendly than our new sulcata baby but after a little while he has warmed up to us, have a good night everyone

chaitort said:

Hey, thanks for the concern. I kept him on the heat mat all night but he didn’t make it actually a little while ago we got another baby and my brother named it again so it’s got a crazy name. He’s doing well and we built him an enclosure outside, and at night or when the weather isn’t nice he’s inside in a bin with a net over it. along with grass & weeds from our yard we feed him spring salad mix and romaine. The thing is, he only wants to eat the romaine, I know it isn’t very healthy for him, and I should probably start a different thread, but I was just wondering if this could become a problem. Rainbow was much more friendly than our new sulcata baby but after a little while he has warmed up to us, have a good night everyone

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I’m so sorry for your loss

Please be sure to give these a read-
How To Raise A Healthy Sulcata Or Leopard, Version 2.0 https://tortoiseforum.org/index.php...ealthy-Sulcata-Or-Leopard,-Version-2.0.79895/

For Those Who Have a Young Sulcata... https://tortoiseforum.org/index.php?threads/For-Those-Who-Have-a-Young-Sulcata....76744/

Beginner Mistakes https://tortoiseforum.org/index.php?threads/Beginner-Mistakes.45180/

A few things need to be changed.

-your tortoise should not be outside all day, regardless of your climate. He needs to be kept in an indoor enclosure with 80-100% humidity day and night, with temps never falling below 80 and a 100 degree basking spot during the day. The general rule for hatchlings is 1 hour outside per inch of shell.

-your tortoise should be eating a varied diet of weeds and very few grocery store foods. You could probably just go ahead and stop feeding the Romain all together, and keep offering the other food. He’ll eat it eventually. You can also chop up his food into tiny pieces and mix in very small amounts of Romain.

Be sure you’re soaking him daily.

chaitort said:

Hey, thanks for the concern. I kept him on the heat mat all night but he didn’t make it actually a little while ago we got another baby and my brother named it again so it’s got a crazy name. He’s doing well and we built him an enclosure outside, and at night or when the weather isn’t nice he’s inside in a bin with a net over it. along with grass & weeds from our yard we feed him spring salad mix and romaine. The thing is, he only wants to eat the romaine, I know it isn’t very healthy for him, and I should probably start a different thread, but I was just wondering if this could become a problem. Rainbow was much more friendly than our new sulcata baby but after a little while he has warmed up to us, have a good night everyone

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Hi, sos orry for your loss, it is very difficult to bring them back most of the time, happened to us ... You have to get your baby inside or the same thing will happen again. Read all the threads and soak him daily, remember to keep your temps and you have to work on his diet!!! Best of luck!!!

TechnoCheese said:

I’m so sorry for your loss

Please be sure to give these a read-
How To Raise A Healthy Sulcata Or Leopard, Version 2.0 https://tortoiseforum.org/index.php?threads/How-To-Raise-A-Healthy-Sulcata-Or-Leopard,-Version-2.0.79895/

For Those Who Have a Young Sulcata... https://tortoiseforum.org/index.php?threads/For-Those-Who-Have-a-Young-Sulcata....76744/

Beginner Mistakes https://tortoiseforum.org/index.php?threads/Beginner-Mistakes.45180/

A few things need to be changed.

-your tortoise should not be outside all day, regardless of your climate. He needs to be kept in an indoor enclosure with 80-100% humidity day and night, with temps never falling below 80 and a 100 degree basking spot during the day. The general rule for hatchlings is 1 hour outside per inch of shell.

-your tortoise should be eating a varied diet of weeds and very few grocery store foods. You could probably just go ahead and stop feeding the Romain all together, and keep offering the other food. He’ll eat it eventually. You can also chop up his food into tiny pieces and mix in very small amounts of Romain.

Be sure you’re soaking him daily.

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We have most of what he needs but I will try and update his diet and we will make some adjustments to his cage, he usually isn’t out all day, just a few hours from 4-6 usually. We live in Florida so the temps are pretty good, and I’ll see if I can get a grass farm going!

chaitort said:

We have most of what he needs but I will try and update his diet and we will make some adjustments to his cage, he usually isn’t out all day, just a few hours from 4-6 usually. We live in Florida so the temps are pretty good, and I’ll see if I can get a grass farm going!

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All the best with the new tortoise. And of course I know you will keep your dog and the tortoise far away from each other! So many of us have had bad experiences with dogs getting to tortoises.

Sorry for your loss.
Spoil your new tortoise and it will be happy and thrive.