sprained left arm

[serendipity123]

So on Saturday night i thought my boy Hermanns, Pickle, had settled down for the night, so I went to bed - he must have woken up and fell off his log hide in the dark during the night as on Sunday morning he wasn't acting his usual busy self. So I let him roam and he is able to walk but cannot seem to put pressure on his left arm.

I took him to the emergency vet, (a 24hr non-exotics vet but linked to the Mon-Fri exotics vet), and they said it isn't broken but likely a sprain, they gave me 4 days of honey flavored liquid tramadol to give him for 4 nights and they showed me how to give it to him by giving him the first dose.

I'm hand feeding him twice a day, and he is eating well, and taking his tramadol. But he is still moving slowly, so I booked him in for another visit to the vet tmrw, but this time with the exotics vet.

How long does a sprain take to heal? I'll ask the vet anyway tmrw

 

[The_Four_Toed_Edward]

Maybe @zovick can answer your question?

 

[serendipity123]

Maybe @zovick can answer your question?

Thank you, is he/she a vet?

 

[serendipity123]

I hope he makes a recovery, All this hand feeding is making our bond closer. I hope it's a sprained arm and not broken, he is using it to walk, and waggles it a bit when I pick him up which is a good sign so that made the non-exotic vet believe it's not broken.

As I said, I'm going to the exotics vet tmrw and they might want to x-ray him which will cost a fortune no doubt, but I need to make sure it's not a fracture.

 

[zovick]

Thank you, is he/she a vet?

No, he is a dentist with 60+ years of experience keeping tortoises.

It's very hard to believe that the tortoise could have sprained its leg falling off a log hide which I would imagine could not be even 10" high. How far did it fall and on what did it land?

That being said, tortoises take a quite long time to heal, much longer than mammals (roughly two or three times longer as a rule).

Are you sure this tortoise doesn't have metabolic bone disease (MBD) which is one reason that they start having trouble walking, although usually it shows up first in the back legs.

Can you post a photo of your tortoise in profile? It would be good to see the backline to help determine what may be the problem.

 

[serendipity123]

I'm a bit neurotic with him and take him to the vet for all sorts of reasons, he's been to the exotics vet about 10 times for various things I thought was up with him but the vet said he's fine over the year, the last time was on 24th July when I took him to get his claws clipped, they didn't need clipping but they did a health check, theres no signs of MBD whatsoever. He's a climber, constantly climbing and super active - the vet thinks he's frustrated sexually and hence his activity levels, he was very active and alert on saturday, and on Sunday morning he had his head in his shell, which he never does, and when I came to him to clean out his enclousure and feed him, he usually follows me around his enclousre at top speed, he tried to follow me around but was really slow and I realised on Sunday morning something isn't right, then I let him roam for 5 minutes, and realised his left arm wasn't acting normally, then I took him to the emergency vet who said it's likely a sprain.

I doubt that MBD would happen over night. I have no idea how it happened as it must have happened during the night time in the dark.

 

[serendipity123]

I'll mention MBD to the exotics vet tmrw to rule it out, but she always does a health check when I visit them and she's always said his shell is in good condition - I don't know his history, nor do the rescue centre where I got him from but he hasn't exactly got a smooth shell, but new growth is smooth. He has uvb lights from arcadia and a deep heat projector, which is on a dimming thermostat and he goes outside whenever its warm enough. he has calci dust and nutrobol, and a varied diet of safe to eat foods, some in moderation - I always consult the tortoise table, and I always follow advice from the rescue centre and from my vet.

 

[serendipity123]

I can understand why you think it might be MBD, I just read that fractures are more common with MBD. I'll ask the vet tmrw. it might not have been a fall, he might have got his arm stuck on a plant pot or something, i have no idea as it happened during the night.

poor boy. I really hope it's not a fracture, the vet didn't seem to think so.

 

[serendipity123]

I haven't got a video of him walking, but I'll do it tmrw and come on here after I've been to the vets.

 

[serendipity123]

I can understand why you think it might be MBD, I just read that fractures are more common with MBD. I'll ask the vet tmrw. it might not have been a fall, he might have got his arm stuck on a plant pot or something, i have no idea as it happened during the night.

poor boy. I really hope it's not a fracture, the vet didn't seem to think so.

It's definitely not MBD the vet said and definitely not a fracture, she's not even sure if its a sprain, all we know as he's currently in pain, she gave me another 4 days worth of tramodol and if he gets worse by next week to see them again, she said he's very alert, but just struggling to walk on his front arm, but still can get about, just slower than normal. She said it's good that he's still eating and not hiding away.

 

[Yvonne G]

Is it possible the leg bone has come out of the socket?

 

[serendipity123]

Is it possible the leg bone has come out of the socket?

no the exotics vet did a thorough examination, he's hurt his left arm but don't know how.

He's still using his left arm but not as much as he should be as it's in pain, he's tucking it in slightly.

 

[zovick]

no the exotics vet did a thorough examination, he's hurt his left arm but don't know how.

He's still using his left arm but not as much as he should be as it's in pain, he's tucking it in slightly.

Was the tortoise given any injections in that leg? Often that will cause the behavior you are describing.

 

[serendipity123]

Was the tortoise given any injections in that leg? Often that will cause the behavior you are describing.

no the vet just gave me tramodol in liquid form with a few syringes to give orally

he's never had any injections since I adopted him a year ago

he's just had his dose of tramodol and is moving about although slow for him

he's eating a lot and pooing and weeing so that's good

 

[serendipity123]

he's definitely improving but that might be just because he's just had his tramodol no doubt. The vet said to book another apptmt next week if there is no improvement. But he won't be able to have any more tramodol, they just gave me an initial 4 doses and another 4 today.

Hopefully there'll be improvements and not set-backs by next week. But the vet is always there if I need them which is a comfort.

 

[serendipity123]

he's gone to bed now, in full sploot mode - he seems peaceful and very alert after he had his tramodol, but the vet says it will make him sleepy, so no wonder he's out for the night.

I'm going away on holiday for a week on 26th sept, hope he's ok by then, if not the woman looking after him can ring my mum who'll take him to the vets.

 

[serendipity123]

My boy is making improvements, he chased me round his enclosure today, a lot faster than recently but still not as fast as normal. He's still on tramadol and will be until Monday, he's just had a bath and food and now sleeping his tramadol off. At least he's starting to get better not worse, so that's really good.

I have to go into his enclosure to clean it out and spray it down, I'm only small so can't reach it without stepping inside it.

 

[serendipity123]

The vet said I could bring him back for another check up next week if I want, but as he seems to be improving I'll save myself some money, she said she won't be giving him anymore tramadol anyway and said there's nothing she can do for a sore arm. But she said she's there if I need her. She said she's not even sure it's a sprain, as he's making improvements, I'm not sure either. Hopefully he'll make a full recovery by next mth or sooner - or is that wishful thinking? at least he's eating properly, he had a mixture of dandelions, plantain leaves, lamb's lettuce, a bit of clover and land cress after he had a dose of tramadol, he ate all but a few shreds of dandelion. He's eating like a champ, and I didn't have to hand feed him much today, Good boy, he hates hibiscus though the weirdo - I thought he'd love it, I bought a big hibiscus plant in spring from the tortoise hut, but he turns his head away whenever I give it to him.

 

[serendipity123]

he made an even bigger improvement today, so proud of him, he's a little champ - he was moving round his enclosure way before his tramodol was due, he's still not walking right on his left arm, but he's almost there - hopefully this time next week, he might be back to normal.

 

[serendipity123]

my boy seems to be back to normal this morning, he's currently eating without getting hand fed. Before he was roaming around his enclosure, seems to be walking normally again.

It couldn't have been sprained, but has just hurt himself, I'm not giving him his last dose of tramadol, I don't think he needs it.

Thanks everyone for your support x