baby sulcata trauma

[eastwinn]

My son has a 10 week old sulcata he took outside to get some sun and eat some grass, he got distracted and lost sight of him and he wandered into the dog pen and was picked up and carried around like a tennis ball for a few minutes until I found him. He suffered a few scrapes on his shell but all his legs and tail seem to be untouched. However he seems to have lost use of his back legs, he just turns a in a circle and won't eat, we a very worried and don't know what to do. We don't have an exotic vet locally and am wondering if he is just traumatized or is there something I can do. Please any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi eastwin:

I'm sorry to say it sounds as if your dog bit down and has injured the spinal cord. There is no way to know if it is permanent or just a bruise that will take time to heal.

 

[Blakem]

That baby is a lucky one! Lesson definitely learned. Good luck with the care!

 

[eastwinn]

Hi eastwin:

I'm sorry to say it sounds as if your dog bit down and has injured the spinal cord. There is no way to know if it is permanent or just a bruise that will take time to heal.

Thanks for getting back so soon, I hope its temporary.

 

[Laura]

build a Secure pen for him for future.. ... Never trust yourself not to get distracted.. we are human it happens.. but the guilt of this.. and the injury to the tort isnt worth it..

 

[Eweezyfosheezy]

Sorry to hear that hopefully he starts to get back to normal pretty soon .

 

[ascott]

I would offer him a warm water soak and then some quiet secure time to try to get over being assaulted and over the stress of near death....hopefully he is just super stressed and not squished....have you examined his shell closely in the light? You will want to look at the seam where the dome and underside of his shell come together to make sure there is not damage (popping from pressure of dog jaws using him as a squeeze toy, you know?) and also closely check his rear legs...you can do a visual for injuries as well as touch/tickle his back legs/feet to see if he can move/tuck them in....if you get no response over the next few days I would seek out a trip to a reptile vet....even if it is a bit of a drive...afterall, he depends on you....