Broken Leg - Experiences/Treatments?

MPRC

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Hello folks! Mango has what we suspect is a broken leg, (rear left, below the knee joint, above the ankle). He's a 5lb male redfoot with decent bone density despite being a rescue tortoise with some pyramiding.

He is at the vet now while they try to get an x-ray and I wanted to come here and ask about your first hand experiences with broken limbs.

Did your vet splint it? Surgically pin it? Tape it up into the shell?

What was the outcome, did it heal normally?

Any and all input is welcome as my vet and I are working together to find a sufficient solution for the little guy since we've got another 40 years together.
 

wellington

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Wow, really sorry to hear this. Can't really help, no experience with a broken leg on a tortoise.
Hoping @deadheadvet still reads threads/post on the forum and maybe he can help. Even if he pm's you. Good luck, keep us posted.
 

MPRC

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Thanks, go figure my most active tortoise is the injured one. 1003171014f-01.jpeg
 

motero

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30 lbs Sulcata, broken upper rear leg. The leg swelled up, and the tortoise held it up tight in his shell. He did not extend it or put weight on it for 4 months, limped around for two more months. Than went on with life like it never happened. Even while he was a tripod he never slowed down, went about his days like nothing was wrong. I made sure he had easy access to food, water (which he already did) and extra calcium. He was sharing a pen with other males so I assume they got a little rowdy when no one was looking. My males are all housed individually now a days. Good luck with your little guy. I would splint it and immobilize it. I would not want to go the operation route.
 

MPRC

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Update: Mango wouldn't cooperate so they taped the leg into his shell to immobilize it and we go back in 2 weeks to be re-seen.
 

MPRC

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First dose of oral anti-inflammatory went down smoothly. Its nice that it tastes sweet, he didn't even try to spit any out. 1004171344a_HDR.jpg1004171335a.jpg
 

MPRC

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Here he is limping around the yard. I took him out for some supervised sun time and aside from trying to get out of the yard and on to the road all was well. I'll probably change his wrap in the next few days and take a look at things. He's sleeping a bit more than normal, but he's still eating and drinking and alert and active when he is awake.


This is how stinkin' fast he is without a bum leg, he's always been our rocket tortoise:
 

MPRC

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I am incredibly miserably ill so i haven't been on....but Mango went back to the vet yesterday and here's the good picture of the bad news. Now we are trying to figure out WTF to do. My vet is...okay, but not someone I want learning tortoise surgery on MY tortoise.
He's asked some specialists and I'm supposed to check in tomorrow. IMG_20171017_185325.jpg
 

MPRC

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We think our big tortoise, Vern stomped on him *just right* and snapped it. That's really all I can come up with right now.
 

MPRC

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Even with just three legs he somehow managed to flip himself earlier and poop on the top of his shell. Good news is he doesn't mind getting his bandage blow-dried because I don't want to take it off yet and risk moving the delicate bones. 1020171835.jpg
 

Meganolvt

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Oh, poor Mango! I just made a splint for an iguana, but I don't know how you would do a tortoise. Maybe treat it like people sometimes do cats- cage rest and let it heal. Eventually a callous will build up. Extra calcium during healing, perhaps calcium glucionate orally every day. Ugh, good luck, it will probably take a long time.
 

Gillian M

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Oh so terribly sorry to hear that.

Wishes for your tort to get well very soon.

Please keep us updated.
 

zovick

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I am incredibly miserably ill so i haven't been on....but Mango went back to the vet yesterday and here's the good picture of the bad news. Now we are trying to figure out WTF to do. My vet is...okay, but not someone I want learning tortoise surgery on MY tortoise.
He's asked some specialists and I'm supposed to check in tomorrow. View attachment 220740

Do you have a veterinary school near you? If so, you might consider taking him to the exotics department of the school for some expert treatment. Here in GA there is an excellent exotics department at the UGA Veterinary School, so perhaps the same might be the case there in OR.
 

MPRC

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@zovick - I think the best bet for me would be the vet school at WSU which is a long way away, but they come highly recommended. Funds are a big concern right now so I may have to scrape and beg and borrow if taping it up doesn't appear to work. I haven't heard anything new from my vet yet so we continue to wait.
 
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