franz_see
Active Member
Good day,
Ecsta, our little indian star tortoise, is injured
We don't know what happened, but we found him this morning with a stiff front right leg and a stiff neck (angled to the left).
When we soaked Ecsta, he couldn't use his front right leg to bring his head above the water So we reduced the amount of water in his tub and soak him relatively quick. And then we took him to the yard (same routine as before) so that he can get some exercise and graze. We hope that would help his condition and it worked! While in the yard, he was starting to regain his range of motion back. We were relieved. After that, we brought him back to his indoor enclosure and feed him chinese cabbage, jute leaves, cabbage and carrots (again, as part of their routine though the specific food varies from time to time).
And then in the afternoon, around 4pm, we took them out in the yard to get some exercise and to graze again (as part of their routine). Ecsta just tuck himself inside this shell and slept. While taking him back to their enclosure (around 5pm), we noticed that his problems came back - a stiff front right leg and a stiff neck angled to the left That's the time we brought him to the vet.
Vet is unsure what's wrong as well but suspects that he might have caught himself somewhere in between rocks or something and he might have strained himself trying to get unstuck. Unfortunately, since Ecsta is too small and too young, they can't administer meds or even bandage him. All we can do is add food supplements to help him heal himself. Vet said to observe him in the next 3 days and to come back next Saturday for another check up.
Personally, I think he's sleeping in weird positions which is why he's getting stiff legs and necks. But that's just a hypothesis as well
In the meantime, I bough them some supplements, and I'm in the process of getting mazuri. I've up their temps (to increase their metabolism and speed up the healing process), and I've removed their hides (which are small pots made of coconut fiber) so that he can't sleep with his arms pressed against it from the inside (not sure if that's what happened). Tomorrow morning, I'll soak him again with warm water and let him exercise and graze in the yard again. I'm hopeful that he'll be ok tomorrow morning.
But if anybody's experienced this before, we'd be grateful if you can share some information. Thanks
Ecsta, our little indian star tortoise, is injured
We don't know what happened, but we found him this morning with a stiff front right leg and a stiff neck (angled to the left). When we soaked Ecsta, he couldn't use his front right leg to bring his head above the water
So we reduced the amount of water in his tub and soak him relatively quick. And then we took him to the yard (same routine as before) so that he can get some exercise and graze. We hope that would help his condition and it worked! While in the yard, he was starting to regain his range of motion back. We were relieved. After that, we brought him back to his indoor enclosure and feed him chinese cabbage, jute leaves, cabbage and carrots (again, as part of their routine though the specific food varies from time to time). And then in the afternoon, around 4pm, we took them out in the yard to get some exercise and to graze again (as part of their routine). Ecsta just tuck himself inside this shell and slept. While taking him back to their enclosure (around 5pm), we noticed that his problems came back - a stiff front right leg and a stiff neck angled to the left
That's the time we brought him to the vet.Vet is unsure what's wrong as well but suspects that he might have caught himself somewhere in between rocks or something and he might have strained himself trying to get unstuck. Unfortunately, since Ecsta is too small and too young, they can't administer meds or even bandage him. All we can do is add food supplements to help him heal himself. Vet said to observe him in the next 3 days and to come back next Saturday for another check up.
Personally, I think he's sleeping in weird positions which is why he's getting stiff legs and necks. But that's just a hypothesis as well
In the meantime, I bough them some supplements, and I'm in the process of getting mazuri. I've up their temps (to increase their metabolism and speed up the healing process), and I've removed their hides (which are small pots made of coconut fiber) so that he can't sleep with his arms pressed against it from the inside (not sure if that's what happened). Tomorrow morning, I'll soak him again with warm water and let him exercise and graze in the yard again. I'm hopeful that he'll be ok tomorrow morning.
But if anybody's experienced this before, we'd be grateful if you can share some information. Thanks
