Tank got mauled

[McKenzie]

Hello, my name is McKenzie and my Russian tortoise's name is Sir Panzer Cantankerous of the Shire. (Seriously, that's his title. We just call him Tank.) I adopted him in June of this year and when I bought him, I didn't have a great place to put his tank. He ended up on the floor, near the door to my room.

We have a golden retriever hound mix, Molly, and she is a beautiful, gentle giant, who only tries to attack shifty salesmen and drug dealing neighbors. Because she's so gentle, I got a little too comfortable with Tank and dogs.

We were watching a dog, who really is a sweet heart but is a hunting dog, and he managed to get a hold of my tortoise... and he mauled Tank.

Thankfully, he didn't have him for long and I got home form work about the same time my siblings found out. We took him to the vet. Four hours and 200 dollars later, Tank was happily trying to crawl around.
The damage is not threatening in any way, but I do have questions.

There are chips around his legs in the top shell. Will that grow back?
The bottom chest area got the most damage. Will the plating grow back?
I'm using news paper as bedding, but he gets under the sheets and clomps around til he starts bleeding form the damaged areas. Is there something that I need to do to stop this? Is there a better kind of bedding that I need to use?

Any help or advise is welcome. Tank and I thank you.

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi, and welcome to the Forum!

That's so sad. I'm sorry you had to learn about torts and dogs the hard way. You can keep Tank on paper towels until he heals. The chips will never grow back, but the shell will heal eventually. But the scars will always be there.

 

[kimber_lee_314]

Oh no! I'm so sorry to hear this! I would keep him on fresh, clean towels if he is still bleeding some. Did the vet suggest cleaning the wounds daily?

 

[spikethetort101]

I'm sorry to hear that how is he doing now can you keep me updated because my Russian was attacked too

 

[McKenzie]

Oh no! I'm so sorry to hear this! I would keep him on fresh, clean towels if he is still bleeding some. Did the vet suggest cleaning the wounds daily?

I clean his wounds twice a day. Once when I we wake up and once when I get home. He gets a special bath soak and I apply special medication to his wounds. He doesn't like any of it, so I just plop him into a big bowl and let him try to walk away. Sometimes, he even makes bubbles. ^-^

 

[(r.t)]

Sorry to hear this! And i hope Tank gets better. I think you are looking after him great and you should keep him on paper towels. The chips will never grow back.

 

[wellington]

So sorry to hear this. Tortoises and dogs never get along. Even though you had not had a problem with your own dog yet, I wouldn't give her a chance to do the same. A proper tort enclosure is in need and I sure hope he heals quickly and with no problems for you.

 

[McKenzie]

I'm sorry to hear that how is he doing now can you keep me updated because my Russian was attacked too

It's been a week since the mauling and the vet trip and Tank is looking just fine. I question his eating habits, but he has just as much energy as he had before hand. His wounds are healing nicely though and I wouldn't be surprised if he looked good as new by next week.

His damage was pretty minimal though, if you like, I can upload pictures of before and after.

 

[Yellow Turtle01]

Wet teabags help stop bleeding! I'm very sorry to hear about Tank! He'll take a bit to grow his shell smooth again, if he is an adult, than there will probably be a little bit of 'evidence' left... yes, dogs+torts... =

 

[smarch]

I don't have a dog yet so I cant really speak from experience about attacks, although I do have a cat who when he still went outside liked to play "boop the tortoise" (never at his head since I moved him away after a boop or 2 for 'Nank's safety, and they were ALWAYS supervised) but I hear so many dog stories and its scary to think I want to bring large dogs into my home that will be full of tortoises. You're lucky to have such a gentle dog, and by your experience with her I'm sure you wouldn't have let her near your tortoise if you didn't trust her completely. So I do think this tricked you into trusting the other dog when this could happen. You definitely did the right thing going to the vet, shows you're responsible and knew what happened wasn't good.
Just tip/suggestion/comment when you're not around is your dog closed off from being able to be near your tort? As long as that's the case I don't see a massive problem, since under supervision with a dog you know to be gentle you have control and know for sure your dog may not accidentally mistake the tort for a toy (since I feel like that's how many "attacks" happen)

 

[ZEROPILOT]

Some dogs DO get along. Mine for example. Almost 14 years of co habitation. However, I understand that MOST dogs can NOT be trusted around tortoises. I wont automatically just allow my new dog (God forbid) to carry on the same way. Because I'd never read or heard about this until recently, I too could have been a victim of this. I wonder if it helps that I own a Chihuahua?

 

[Abdulla6169]

Some dogs DO get along. Mine for example. Almost 14 years of co habitation. However, I understand that MOST dogs can NOT be trusted around tortoises. I wont automatically just allow my new dog (God forbid) to carry on the same way. Because I'd never read or heard about this until recently, I too could have been a victim of this. I wonder if it helps that I own a Chihuahua?

Chihuahuas are pretty feisty, and a tortoise is still small compared to a Chihuahua. Even though they may seem to get along, something can change. There are many people with dogs that have never shown interest in their tortoises, until the mauling happens.
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/index.php?threads/Another-Dog-Story....45850/

 

[ZEROPILOT]

I have also never truly left them together where the dog had access to a tortoise for more than a few minutes. It's an indoor dog and outdoor tortoises are in pens. My whole case may just be unique and the reason why I've had no issues.

 

[Abdulla6169]

I have also never truly left them together where the dog had access to a tortoise for more than a few minutes. It's an indoor dog and outdoor tortoises are in pens. My whole case may just be unique and the reason why I've had no issues.

I'd recommend against it still, I think they should never be able to get to them... Because in the few minutes they do have access to them, lots of damage can be done. And when you finally get to stop them, the wounds may be too serious

 

[McKenzie]

I don't have a dog yet so I cant really speak from experience about attacks, although I do have a cat who when he still went outside liked to play "boop the tortoise" (never at his head since I moved him away after a boop or 2 for 'Nank's safety, and they were ALWAYS supervised) but I hear so many dog stories and its scary to think I want to bring large dogs into my home that will be full of tortoises. You're lucky to have such a gentle dog, and by your experience with her I'm sure you wouldn't have let her near your tortoise if you didn't trust her completely. So I do think this tricked you into trusting the other dog when this could happen. You definitely did the right thing going to the vet, shows you're responsible and knew what happened wasn't good.
Just tip/suggestion/comment when you're not around is your dog closed off from being able to be near your tort? As long as that's the case I don't see a massive problem, since under supervision with a dog you know to be gentle you have control and know for sure your dog may not accidentally mistake the tort for a toy (since I feel like that's how many "attacks" happen)

Well, our dog, Molly, has /never/ put anything in her mouth that she shouldn't. She knows what's what because we trained her to put up with little things like tortoises and other tiny creatures spanning from cups, hamsters and very young children. However, I find that keeping Tank in his tank or closely supervising him is the best way not to loose him under things like couches.

We knew that the dog who attacked Tank would do it and we tried to keep them apart as best we could. He sat outside the door waiting for someone to leave it open, and unfortunately, my sister left it open. We moved Tank's tank from the floor to the top of a dresser, so now the door doesn't have to be closed all the time. Tank is safer than he ever has been, but I still loudly chase the dog from the room if I catch him there. I figure it's best to discourage him from going into my room with loud hollering and tribal dance.