Hey,
My tortoise was in its summer run outside this evening when a stray dog got into the garden and somehow bite through the mesh on the runs top. We got to the tortoise as soon as possible but the dog had had a good go at gnawing the front of the tortoise which had completely seized up so the sides of its front legs took all the gnawing (its not really bitten).
We got it in and into its bath to wash the wounds and coax it out. Its head is fine as is the back half of it but I really worried about its front legs and also the bottom front part of its shell (that goes up to where its neck sits) as these started of white but in about 10mins had gone a bright pink. I dried it of and used very watered down iodine to clean the wounds, then rubbed a little bicarbonate of soda into a few places where spots of blood had come through the shell to dry them up and I've put it in a clean box for the night under the heat lamp.
I know I should take it to the vets straight away etc. and I can tell it hurt when I disinfected certain parts, but its a bank holiday and the tortoise has never been registered with a vet, I phoned one out of hours recommend by our local vets answer machine but they said 'we cant give you advice without looking at it tomorrow'!
We'll take it first thing tomorrow but until then has anyone got any tips or advice? I'm particularly worried that its front legs have turned pink, I'm hoping its merely inflammation, surely septicaemia cant set in within 10 minutes?
And no pictures I've put it to bed to calm down.
My tortoise was in its summer run outside this evening when a stray dog got into the garden and somehow bite through the mesh on the runs top. We got to the tortoise as soon as possible but the dog had had a good go at gnawing the front of the tortoise which had completely seized up so the sides of its front legs took all the gnawing (its not really bitten).
We got it in and into its bath to wash the wounds and coax it out. Its head is fine as is the back half of it but I really worried about its front legs and also the bottom front part of its shell (that goes up to where its neck sits) as these started of white but in about 10mins had gone a bright pink. I dried it of and used very watered down iodine to clean the wounds, then rubbed a little bicarbonate of soda into a few places where spots of blood had come through the shell to dry them up and I've put it in a clean box for the night under the heat lamp.
I know I should take it to the vets straight away etc. and I can tell it hurt when I disinfected certain parts, but its a bank holiday and the tortoise has never been registered with a vet, I phoned one out of hours recommend by our local vets answer machine but they said 'we cant give you advice without looking at it tomorrow'!
We'll take it first thing tomorrow but until then has anyone got any tips or advice? I'm particularly worried that its front legs have turned pink, I'm hoping its merely inflammation, surely septicaemia cant set in within 10 minutes?
And no pictures I've put it to bed to calm down.