New Russian's shell injury?

[meech008]

Hello all, I'd like to apologize first because I'm new to posting on the forum and new to tortoise ownership.
A friend of mine received a Russian Tortoise a month or so ago and when she upon receiving him, discovered he was "damaged" (I prefer injured) his shell has a crack almost all the way down one side of it. It looks rather old, like he sustained the injury years ago.
Anyway, she's decided that tortoise ownership is too much work and not for her so she was going to let it go. I've been a member of the forum for a few months and have read Tom's care sheet so I decided instead of her being irresponsible and letting the poor thing go that I would take him. I brought him home today and am currently searching for reptile vets near me to do a check up on him. He's in a 100 gallon tote with damp coco coir as substrate with an MVB bulb and a humid hide. The tote is only temporary while my husband and I create a dog proof environment for him to live in outside.
I guess the main reason I'm posting is, I want to make sure that he looks okay and that his shell isn't something I need to take to the emergency vet. He's very active and brave and is currently munching on some dandelion greens. My husband has named him Earl. These are the best pictures I could get at that moment. He's not a fan of the camera.

 

[johnsonnboswell]

Yikes. Poor Earl. Good for you for rescuing him. Is the crack open or is there some new shell growth at the bottom of that crevasse? Hard to see without shining light on it.

 

[meech008]

There is new shell growing at the bottom. Sorry about the light It must have been a real doozy when it happened to the poor guy. It's like it was cut into a section almost

 

[Nanchantress]

Wow, that's like the Grand Canyon of cracks! Pretty cool that he survived and looks to be thriving. Amazing what they can live through.

 

[meech008]

He's a pretty cool guy! I'm actually thrilled to have him. I visited my friend just about every other day when she got him. I've always loved tortoises and this forum has helped me to help Earl in a great way his plastron looks kind of odd to me too, but I'm wondering if it has anything to do with his injury.

 

[meech008]

I'm also wondering, will his shell always look like that? Or will it eventually close up? I wonder if it hurts.

 

[leigti]

Wow, I was shocked when I saw the pictures. Poor Earl :-( where did your friend get him? Maybe you could get some sort of history about what happened. Be nice about it, don't accuse or they will probably get defensive and won't tell you anything. I think it's a good idea to establish with a reptile vet. I have no idea what they would do about it but I'm not a vet. There are a few here on the forum maybe they will chime in. Also @Yvonne G should have some ideas. She has rescued many tortoises.
When I got my tortoise she came with an old healed injury that looked like her shell was cracked along the bottom growth lin around the entire back half of her shell. But it is all healed. It is not nearly as dramatic as yours however. I think it has caused some problems with the growth of the shell but otherwise she is great. It's great that you took this tortoise in and will give it a great home. Sometimes people will reject the ones that aren't "pretty". That's a shame because they all deserve a good home.

 

[meech008]

I do know a little bit about him from asking my friend. She got him off of Craigslist. The guy had him in the ad as a sulcata actually. When I went with her to get him from the Craigslist guy I was suprises to discover he had a RUSSIAN tortoise not a sulcata. The seller did say that he had gotten him from Petco and Earl had the Crack at Petco. He's pretty sure they said it was a shipping injury.

 

[Yellow Turtle01]

I do know a little bit about him from asking my friend. She got him off of Craigslist. The guy had him in the ad as a sulcata actually. When I went with her to get him from the Craigslist guy I was suprises to discover he had a RUSSIAN tortoise not a sulcata. The seller did say that he had gotten him from Petco and Earl had the Crack at Petco. He's pretty sure they said it was a shipping injury.

Ah, see, if he was from Petco, he might have been dropped by a bird in the wild or something.
Luckily, It probably doesn't hurt anymore.
I have a painted turtle who came out of the wilds and his two scutes by his tail/back leg area were crushed when I found him.
5(or 6?) years later, the relative 'shape' of those scutes have healed, but I doubt they will ever connect to the shell again.
I'm glad Earl has you to look after him!

 

[meech008]

Thank you! He's definitely spending most of his time in his water dish and I've soaked him three times since I brought him home. He just drinks and drinks

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi, and welcome to the forum!

Earl's injury is an old, healed injury and is not causing him any discomfort or pain. It will always look like that.

 

[meech008]

Thank you so much! I was very worried about discomfort and I cleaned the crack out with a Qtip yesterday during a soak. It was pretty gross. He was pretty caked in his own feces from the girl I got him from. She had him in a 10 gallon aquarium on that reptile carpet which she never cleaned

 

[Lexiii]

Poor little guy! Thank goodness he's finally home.

 

[meech008]

Does his plastron look okay? Is it supposed to look chipped like it does? She also had him on a heat mat, so I want to make sure that he isn't burned or anything. I know I'm asking a lot of probably ridiculous questions, but he's had such a rough start, I want to make sure he's okay. He does have an appointment on Friday with a vet.

 

[meech008]

Forgot to put the picture!

 

[Yellow Turtle01]

No such thing as a ridiculous question
To me, it just looks like a average abrasions russians might get on the hard ground in the wild... but, I do not have much experience with burns, so I hope someone can offer you a second opinion.

 

[meech008]

Thank you so much! I'm such a novice that I feel like I'm just asking stupid questions and bothering people

 

[meech008]

So I took Earl to the vet yesterday and they checked for parasites. Everything on that front is fine He said the shell is fine and then he dropped a bomb on me lol. He mentioned giving him a vitamin A shot. I don't know what the reason would be though. He's eating fine, he sleeps nornally, he's active and his eyes are clear. I told him I would think about it and let him know. He couldn't give me a clear reason as to why the tortoise would need it except that "everyone needs a boost every now and then"

 

[leigti]

So I took Earl to the vet yesterday and they checked for parasites. Everything on that front is fine He said the shell is fine and then he dropped a bomb on me lol. He mentioned giving him a vitamin A shot. I don't know what the reason would be though. He's eating fine, he sleeps nornally, he's active and his eyes are clear. I told him I would think about it and let him know. He couldn't give me a clear reason as to why the tortoise would need it except that "everyone needs a boost every now and then"

Do not let the vet give him a vitamin a shot. There have been many reports here on the forum of tortoises dying after that injection.

 

[meech008]

I remembered reading about being cautious about it so I held off. thank you