Hey guys just rescued a hatchling sulcata today. He is about 3 months and a month ago was biten by a chihuahua. Puncture on the plastron and a small crack on two outer scutes. They bith are healing and are closed up. The crack is barely noticeable. Anyone have an idea on how the recovery should go? He seems to be fine and it does not seem to bother him. Im told he eats well and like i mentioned the wounds are closed up.

He should be fine do you have any pics of the injury ?

here are pictures of the bite. the puncture on the plastron looks worse than it is, the crack on his shell(just above his front foot) is almost completely healed.

Poor thing. I would recommend keeping him off of any type of substrate or dirt until it has closed up and stopped oozing. Soak him daily in a clean dish each time. Make sure his enclosure stays clean of any debris. He probably needs some type of antibiotic cream or something to disinfect. A puncture wound is the worst kind, and we don't know if anything is going on inside the little guy. Also they are like any other living thing in that infants will die from something a healthy adult wouldn't. Keep a close eye on him and make sure he is hydrated, eats good and moves around normally. I've seen adults survive much worse than this. If he doesn't have any internal wounds he stands a very good chance of living a very long life. I hope all goes well.

(10-15-2012 07:54 AM)greyshirt Wrote:   Poor thing. I would recommend keeping him off of any type of substrate or dirt until it has closed up and stopped oozing. Soak him daily in a clean dish each time. Make sure his enclosure stays clean of any debris. He probably needs some type of antibiotic cream or something to disinfect. A puncture wound is the worst kind, and we don't know if anything is going on inside the little guy. Also they are like any other living thing in that infants will die from something a healthy adult wouldn't. Keep a close eye on him and make sure he is hydrated, eats good and moves around normally. I've seen adults survive much worse than this. If he doesn't have any internal wounds he stands a very good chance of living a very long life. I hope all goes well.

Thanks a lot. this happened a month ago and the lady that had him took great care of him after the bite. the wound is closed and she has kept neosporan on it since the bite. I just got him today and at first glance he seems fine. I just let him graze in the yard for a second just to get that sun light and see how he'd respond. he walked around and grazed normal.

I think the hard part is over, I just need to keep an eye on him continue to keep it clean and keep the soaks going which I do everyday for my other hatchling anyway.

From the looks of it the poor little guy had a pretty good booboo. But has healed pretty good. I would agree with the above. Good luck with him.

(10-15-2012 09:02 AM)mainey34 Wrote:  From the looks of it the poor little guy had a pretty good booboo. But has healed pretty good. I would agree with the above. Good luck with him.

Thanks Mainey! Always appreciate your input. also love that you have both Dobermans and Sulcatas. My personal favorites of each species. hope you have a great day and hopefully I'll more of your input in the future.