Cracked shell

[Travis115653]

Hi, my friend accidentally dropped my Russian tortoise who is around 10 yr old around 4-5 feet from the ground onto brick. His shell cracked in the back (as seen in the image) and was bleeding a little. However he is still acting fine and eating/sleeping and all. The closest vet is quite a distance away so I was wondering if this can be treated at home? And how much a vet might charge for treatment. Thanks. In the image the two red lines are where the crack starts/ends and the clear wet stuff is antibiotics that were applied on the edges of the crack.

 

[SinLA]

@Tom @Yvonne G

 

[Ink]

@Yvonne G should be able to help. Sorry this happened.

 

[Travis115653]

@Yvonne G should be able to help. Sorry this happened.

Ok thank you

 

[TammyJ]

@Yvonne G @wellington @Tom

 

[DoubleD1996!]

I don't know if this is the proper treatment, but in the past I had took a red ear home that was struck by a car.

It had a similar wound, and most vets weren't up to treating reptiles yet along a wild animal.

I cleaned the would with diluted povidine iodine, and used silicone to try to hold it in place until it healed.

Again, in not sure if the silicone part was right to do, but it worked. Hopefully @yvcan help

 

[Maro2Bear]

@zovick always has professional input on such issues.

Until he or others provide input:
A thorough cleaning of the cracked space
Apply a topical antiseptic/antibacteria type ointment
Keep the area clean & dry
Put in a “hospital” tank to keep it warm & clean (no dirty substrate)

The problem with applying silicone type aid is that you can easily trap nasty bacteria inside the wound. That makes things worse.

Fingers crossed.

 

[zovick]

@zovick always has professional input on such issues.

Until he or others provide input:
A thorough cleaning of the cracked space
Apply a topical antiseptic/antibacteria type ointment
Keep the area clean & dry
Put in a “hospital” tank to keep it warm & clean (no dirty substrate)

The problem with applying silicone type aid is that you can easily trap nasty bacteria inside the wound. That makes things worse.

Fingers crossed.

@Travis115653

The wound doesn't look too bad. The shell doesn't appear to be displaced (from what I can tell from your picture), so I would recommend letting it heal on its own rather than going to a vet as long as the tortoise is acting and feeding normally. Keep the area clean and apply Neosporin ointment gently to the crack daily or every other day.

When soaking the tortoise, do not put it in water so deep that it that will cover the cracked area. IE, soak the tortoise in quite shallow water for a few weeks to avoid getting water (and more bacteria) into the cracked areas.

All this applies if the tortoise continues to act and feed normally. If it begins to act lethargic and stops eating, then you will probably need a good reptile vet and some injectable antibiotics.

As Maro2Bear said, it would be good to keep the tortoise in a hospital tank or tub on paper towels or newspaper to avoid substrate getting into the cracked areas as well.

Good luck!

 

[Travis115653]

@Travis115653

The wound doesn't look too bad. The shell doesn't appear to be displaced (from what I can tell from your picture), so I would recommend letting it heal on its own rather than going to a vet as long as the tortoise is acting and feeding normally. Keep the area clean and apply Neosporin ointment gently to the crack daily or every other day.

When soaking the tortoise, do not put it in water so deep that it that will cover the cracked area. IE, soak the tortoise in quite shallow water for a few weeks to avoid getting water (and more bacteria) into the cracked areas.

All this applies if the tortoise continues to act and feed normally. If it begins to act lethargic and stops eating, then you will probably need a good reptile vet and some injectable antibiotics.

As Maro2Bear said, it would be good to keep the tortoise in a hospital tank or tub on paper towels or newspaper to avoid substrate getting into the cracked areas as well.

Good luck!

Thank you for the reply! As of now he is still acting normal and everything so I’ll get him Neosporin and stuff. But I shouldn’t seal the crack or anything?

 

[wellington]

99% of people should have to sit down on the floor/ground when they hold a tortoise unless they have one of their own.
Just keep it clean daily with just water and apply Antibiotic cream just to top not inside. Keep flies away from it.
If anything changes for the worse, a vet will be needed.

 

[zovick]

Thank you for the reply! As of now he is still acting normal and everything so I’ll get him Neosporin and stuff. But I shouldn’t seal the crack or anything?

Are you able to gently push the pieces together and have them stay together or does it keep opening up again?

If it is just a crack with both sides back together in the right relationship (IE you can't see into the body through the crack) and the pieces on either side do not move apart again, it will grow back together and heal on its own.

If the crack is open too much or keeps opening back up, you could have a vet drill holes through the two sides of the crack, wire it together, and/or seal the shell back together with epoxy, but the way the injury looks to me in your photo, that might be a lot of unnecessary expense. It is hard to diagnose without actually holding the animal in my own hands.

Do you have a vet school anywhere near you? If so, take it to their exotics clinic and have them look at it.

 

[Travis115653]

Are you able to gently push the pieces together and have them stay together or does it keep opening up again?

If it is just a crack with both sides back together in the right relationship (IE you can't see into the body through the crack) and the pieces on either side do not move apart again, it will grow back together and heal on its own.

If the crack is open too much or keeps opening back up, you could have a vet drill holes through the two sides of the crack, wire it together, and/or seal the shell back together with epoxy, but the way the injury looks to me in your photo, that might be a lot of unnecessary expense. It is hard to diagnose without actually holding the animal in my own hands.

Do you have a vet school anywhere near you? If so, take it to their exotics clinic and have them look at it.

I’ll have to try pushing it back together when I get home from work. There isn’t any vet schools nearby so if the two sides don’t stay together I’ll take him to the nearest exotic vet and hopefully they can just use epoxy that would be a bit cheaper I assume.

 

[zovick]

I’ll have to try pushing it back together when I get home from work. There isn’t any vet schools nearby so if the two sides don’t stay together I’ll take him to the nearest exotic vet and hopefully they can just use epoxy that would be a bit cheaper I assume.

Sounds like a plan! Keep us posted on what happens with your tortoise, please.

Good luck with everything.

 

[Travis115653]

@zovick Update: okay so I got him a new hospital tank from petco and have been applying antibiotics every day etc. I was planning on pushing the sides back together but there seems to be a very small part of his insides sticking through (the red ball in the pictures) could be fat or muscle I doubt it’s an organ but it’s definitely preventing closing the gap for sure. It’s been sticking out since his shell first cracked I just assumed it was blood and opted not to touch it right away so it wouldn’t bleed more. I hate to ask so many questions and ask for suggestions a ton especially of course since you can’t see the injury in person and I’m sure the questions I’m asking are hard to answer, but should I try to push whatever it is that is sticking out back in and then push the sides back together or just take him to the vet?

 

[Sarah2020]

Shell will take time to heal ensure calcium is in the diet and add a cuttlefish bone to enc to encourage intake. Fresh leaves and hydration important. As mentioned keep would clean and apply the antibacterial cream to stop flies laying eggs. Good luck

 

[zovick]

@zovick Update: okay so I got him a new hospital tank from petco and have been applying antibiotics every day etc. I was planning on pushing the sides back together but there seems to be a very small part of his insides sticking through (the red ball in the pictures) could be fat or muscle I doubt it’s an organ but it’s definitely preventing closing the gap for sure. It’s been sticking out since his shell first cracked I just assumed it was blood and opted not to touch it right away so it wouldn’t bleed more. I hate to ask so many questions and ask for suggestions a ton especially of course since you can’t see the injury in person and I’m sure the questions I’m asking are hard to answer, but should I try to push whatever it is that is sticking out back in and then push the sides back together or just take him to the vet?

I had thought that spot was just blood as well. It seems that a vet visit would be best at this point in order to replace or remove that red spot and then get the shell back together and stabilize it to keep everything in the proper relationship.

Let us know what happens if/when you go to the vet and good luck.

 

[Maggie3fan]

We know a lot of Vets here. Do you mind telling us what city you are close to? You don't want to close the wound because you will trap bacteria in the wound. We are trying to help the tort...better photos will help..do not close the wound...

 

[TammyJ]

I hope you will find a good exotic reptile specialist vet. I also think that's what is needed.

 

[SinLA]

True there are a lot of Californians on the list. What big city could you travel to?

 

[Travis115653]

@SinLA @Maggie3fan I lived in Lompoc near Santa Barbara closest vet is in la according to Google maps anyway, the wound is still open I’ve just been putting neosporin on it everyday