Injured tortoise

[Tracy C]

HI I found a tortoise and a dog got hold of it and its injured.
The bottom has been broken. It is walking ok but it is not eating. What should I do, I am really worried about this poor thing. From what I have googled it looks like a leopard tortoise. Its small it fits into my hand.

 

[Blakem]

Take pictures for us and post them here. It needs a vet asap. Soak it in warm water until then

 

[Tracy C]

Hi thanks. Its in some water now

 

[wellington]

Looks like a vet visit is needed. Keep him warm around 85 degrees not lower. @Yvonne G might be able to help further

 

[Tracy C]

How do I contact her?

 

[Pearly]

Hopefully Yvonne chimes in soon, but those injuries look serious. Definitely vet visit ASAP until then,
1) keep this baby warm (85F)
2)and clean, on clean towel where no danger of any dirt or other particulate getting into the wounds.
3) warm soaks
4) after soaks dry wounds (dab with dry gauze or clean paper towel) and apply antibiotic ointment
5) look over entire body (she'll and soft tissue) to check for injuries.

look for reptile vet in your area, there's a list on here

 

[Pearly]

How do I contact her?

Yvonne is on here all the time, she's done rescue has tons of knowledge and experience. We all listen to her
I hope your baby makes it. Thank you for helping this little tort and welcome to the forum

 

[Jodie]

This is definitely going to need a good tortoise vet. The shell is crushed. Poor baby.

 

[Pearly]

Tracy, where are you? This little tort is most likely someone's lost pet (unless you are in Africa) or am I wrong????
Anyway, another thing to do might be trying to find the owner. Was just thinking about someone's heart breaking about missing pet and potential emergency vet care expenses. This little tort's injuries look very serious judging by the extent of she'll damage there is potential for very serious internal injuries. But then I hear torts are very resilient, so we try to never give up on them. Stick around, hopefully leopard keepers and rescue folks get on here soon and give you better advise.
I's still little new (since July'15) and keep different species (Redfoots, they are South American) but until you get better advise I wanted to at least tell you what I for sure know is true in rescue situations. Keep us posted here

 

[Tracy C]

I am in South Africa and I don't think its anyone's pet.

 

[Pearly]

I have become fairly educated on Redfoots but know very little about other species. Do you think you'll be able to take this baby to the vet?

 

[Tracy C]

I am not sure of a vet around here that handles toorts. They are also quite strict and may take her away.

 

[Pearly]

There's a vet list on this forum but you can probably just google reptile vets around your area. Many regular vets won't touch the tortoise that's why I said "reptile vet" also if you start call g them ask for specific experience with tortoises. Why would the take the tort away? I'm sorry for being ignorant but I'm in Texas and don't know the law of the land in South Africa

 

[Tracy C]

We need to have a permit to keep them here.
The vets around here are also so expensive. In Dec I had a dog that got poisoned and they basically said that if I don't pay a certain amount they couldn't treat him. Its been quite tough for us here lately and my husband has been without work since last year April. He's found something now but it is commission based. That's why in desperation I thought that I would see if there was something that I could do to treat her.

 

[Pearly]

I am so sorry to hear that. I am all too familiar with unemployment... Hang in there. As for the tortoise, the above measures is really all I'd know to do. Just keep her very warm (like 29.5C), warm soaks, antibiotic ointment on wounds and hopefully some leopard tort keepers or vet medicine people check in here. It's Sunday so it maybe slower. You can also try to google first aid tips, see what you can find. I wish Zi could be of more help.

 

[Lyn W]

Hi Tracy and thanks for saving this poor little tort.
I'm not sure if Yvonne is available at the moment owing to illness, but I could be wrong on that. I will try to find past posts about dog injuries and see what she recommends there.
Wonder if @HermanniChris or @Tom can help.

 

[Pearly]

Lyn! Thank God you're here! I'm still trying to learn to navigate this site. Glad you found this thread. Tracy, Lyn has been around this site and she knows about leopard torts. Hang in there

 

[Lyn W]

@sibi may be able to help she once gave his advice for an injured sulcata-
'Make sure that the tort is placed on a clean towel or some newspaper. Keep him warm...about 95 degrees Farenheit and the wound can be cleaned with any antiseptic that you have in the house. If you have any triple antiseptic cream, use it. And see the vet tomorrow. He'll need antibiotics/.

 

[Lyn W]

Lyn! Thank God you're here! I'm still trying to learn to navigate this site. Glad you found this thread. Tracy, Lyn has been around this site and she knows about leopard torts. Hang in there

I have a leopard but thankfully never dealt with a dog injury, so pretty much in the dark too, so I have tagged a few more experienced members who'll know more about first aid for torts.

 

[Pearly]

Ok, so if you use metric system in SAfrica, 95F is around 35C, so that sounds right, temp range for sick tort should be 25-35C. Keep the open wounds clean bcs if internal injuries are not deadly, the wound infection may kill this baby. She has much better chance of survival with you than outside exposed to the elements and predators