URGENT HELP - Tortoise fell from height - Broke Shell

[Haroon Khan]

Hello All,
My Mediterranean tortoise fell out from my 3rd floor apartment and broke his shell. Luckily he survived the fall and is moving all his limbs, eating well and acting normal. However, he still has fluids draining from his shell breaks. I tried to find a vet all around my city, but there is no professional vet available here for reptiles. What have I learned so far is:
1. I have to keep his wounds clean and let it drain and dry off before attempting to fix it with dental cement or epoxy.
2. I have got clorhexadine available and cleaned outer parts of shell, and I keep him covered in layer of vaseline gauze and rap him in normal gauze to avoid any infection.
3. I'm feeding him a little salad leaves to keep him hydrated as I can't put him in water, with his shell break. I was thinking to try cucumber as well to keep him hydrated, I tried to make him drink, but he refused.
4. I give him Clacium powder + D3 sprinkled on his food.
5. I am trying to find some antibiotics but unfortunately didn't find any so far. Started with augmentin powder (amoxcilin) but I later found out that amoxcilin has no effect on him unless he takes amaikin (aminoglycosides) along with it. So I am trying to find Baytril / Avitryl instead to give him orally as he is eating well.

My questions:
1. Anyone has any experience with such a situation? How long does it take for the fluids to stop draining from his shell breaks?
2. Are antibiotics extremely necessary? or he will survive without them?
3. Is there a better way to keep him hydrated?
4. What is a good diet in this situation that will give him faster healing?
5. What medication (humen) can help him heal and speed up recovery?

I'd appreciate all help anyone can offer, please don't make any remarks that don't give hope. Two vets i consulted so far simply told me its hopeless, But I see my tortoise much stronger than that, he has strong will to survive, he moves for his food, eats well and is very very calm and I simply adore the way he looks at me after going through all this pain.

Age: apprx. 5 to 8 years
Weight: 1KG +/-
Length: 8 inches
Width: 5 inches
Diet: Mix vegetables, weeds, zoomed tortoise food, clacium + D3 supplement
Sunlight: Plenty of it.
Living area: 3.5ft x 6ft enclosure, with bottom part having plants and dirt, upper portion has housing area and eating area.

Thanks in advance

 

[Maro2Bear]

Sorry to hear of ur tort's fall. You seem to be doing all the right things and trying to make the best of the current situation. I don't have any direct experience with this, but you will probably want the temps increased, provide a nice protected area.

When did this happen?

Best of luck. I'm sure others will chime in with assistance n guidance.

 

[Haroon Khan]

It happened yesterday afternoon, i read the article on another thread about putting the shell together with cable ties.. it seems pretty good and makes it possible to open the wound if needed...

 

[Yvonne G]

Yes, antibiotics are necessary. Turtles and tortoises can usually recover from cracked and broken shells, but what kills them is the infection that sets in.

If it were my tortoise, I wouldn't close it up. You run the risk of closing in the germs that will cause infection. Just keep it clean and don't allow flies to lay eggs there.

Baytril is normally used for respiratory infections. I don't know if it's also called for as an infection preventative antibiotic.

 

[wellington]

Sorry this happened. Water melon, cucumber, aloe, head and romaine lettuces are high in water content. Do not keep him on his normal substrate, use white paper towels to help keep dirt out. I too would raise the temp to 85. Good luck and keep us updated.

 

[Maro2Bear]

Agree with all. Looking closely at the wound and tort, i think you need to give him a good warm soak, get rid of all the gook and debris that is stuck there, put some antibiotic on it, and move to a nice clean warm location. Wound still looks dirty and u don't want it getting infected.

 

[Yvonne G]

For hydration, you can also spritz water over the food.

 

[Gillian M]

Terribly sorry to know what happened to your tort @Haroon Khan , and I wishes for him to get well soon.

And welcome to the forum to both of you.

Please keep us updated.

 

[GingerLove]

I'm so sorry this happened. It sounds like you are doing great considering the circumstances. I'm so glad your tortoise survived the fall and I hope you are able to keep the wound clean. Prayers to both of you!

 

[Tidgy's Dad]

Keep him well hydrated and make sure he has somewhere very dark and secure to hide and sleep so he can get over the shock.
As has been said, infection is the big worry.
Tortoises are incredibly resilient and, providing there are no serious internal issues and you keep the wounds clean, he should have a good chance.

 

[Haroon Khan]

Thanks all, very reassuring indeed! I got hold of baytril, its on the way, will reach saturday morning,

Pictures are immediately after the fall, i cleaned him up and keeping him in gauze, giving him a a clean up every 24hrs with clorhexadine,

Good advice on hydrating stuff, i'm soaking his vegies good in water and will start cucumbers tomorrow, his cracks look much better now, and the gaps are very minimal now, he is eating well and moving... he has a nice place where he keeps himself in dark and quite.. here is the pick of his place, this pic is old when i built his home, it has plants now and uv light, plus windows give him sun light and fresh air...

I just hope he survives couple more days till i give him his antibiotics, things will be more in control after that I believe..

And i really appreciate all advice and nice words...

 

[TammyJ]

I agree with all that has been said here. I would try to get some silver sulfadiazine (Silvadene Ointment) which is excellent especially for reptile wounds and infections. If not you can use Neosporin cream, the one without the pain killer. Maybe you could get the cream down into the cracks by using a syringe, or just gently press it in with your clean fingers. Maybe that is what I would do if the vets told me it was hopeless. I don't believe that.
Keep us posted!

 

[Tidgy's Dad]

I agree with Tammy.
But I would put him on clean towels, rather than substrate, for a bit as Wellington suggested.
Keep dirt out of the wounds.

 

[GingerLove]

Yes, maybe you could lay a few towels over the dirt or something so you don't have to get rid of all the dirt? But I'm afraid it might mess up his healing process if he gets messy or something. Thank you for keeping us updated! By the way, that enclosure is really beautiful and the house is ADORABLE.

 

[Haroon Khan]

For the most part he is not on the dirt, today he is climbing up and down to his house and back, generally very active and eating well.

The silver sulfadane is I believe for outer injuries and will do more harm if it gets into his organs inside. The shell breaks are deep and i can see his organs inside, so i keep them covered in gauze and would inject him with baytril antibiotics starting tomorrow to avoid any infections.

How can i give him water ? If I seriously don't want to soak him in water, any water inside his wounds will be disaster, can i use those baby nasal and ear droppers? But how will i make him open his mouth? I will not try that today or tomorrow, but sooner he will need to get into water to wee and drink..

Thanks for all advice, I really appreciate all your comments...

 

[Gillian M]

Thanks all, very reassuring indeed! I got hold of baytril, its on the way, will reach saturday morning,

Pictures are immediately after the fall, i cleaned him up and keeping him in gauze, giving him a a clean up every 24hrs with clorhexadine,

Good advice on hydrating stuff, i'm soaking his vegies good in water and will start cucumbers tomorrow, his cracks look much better now, and the gaps are very minimal now, he is eating well and moving... he has a nice place where he keeps himself in dark and quite.. here is the pick of his place, this pic is old when i built his home, it has plants now and uv light, plus windows give him sun light and fresh air...

I just hope he survives couple more days till i give him his antibiotics, things will be more in control after that I believe..

And i really appreciate all advice and nice words... View attachment 194838

How's your tort today? Hope he's better.

By the way, that's a lovey enclosure. Hope your tort recovers soon and enjoys it.

Please keep us updated, and good luck!

 

[Haroon Khan]

How's your tort today? Hope he's better.

By the way, that's a lovey enclosure. Hope your tort recovers soon and enjoys it.

Please keep us updated, and good luck!

He was very active today, ate well, and climbed up and down his house couple of times... Thank you very much from r your message and all advice..

 

[Gillian M]

He was very active today, ate well, and climbed up and down his house couple of times... Thank you very much from r your message and all advice..

Wow! This is great news and a good step ahead.

Keep up the good work, and let us know what happens.

Wishing you and of course, your cute tort the best of luck!

 

[Yvonne G]

For the most part he is not on the dirt, today he is climbing up and down to his house and back, generally very active and eating well.

The silver sulfadane is I believe for outer injuries and will do more harm if it gets into his organs inside. The shell breaks are deep and i can see his organs inside, so i keep them covered in gauze and would inject him with baytril antibiotics starting tomorrow to avoid any infections.

How can i give him water ? If I seriously don't want to soak him in water, any water inside his wounds will be disaster, can i use those baby nasal and ear droppers? But how will i make him open his mouth? I will not try that today or tomorrow, but sooner he will need to get into water to wee and drink..

Thanks for all advice, I really appreciate all your comments...

Just have a water dish available that he can easily reach into with his head, and you can also spritz water over his food.

 

[stevenf625]

Is there any kind of diet change that should implemented when shell damage like this occurs?
Is this a case were a higher protien diet would be appropriate? e.g. mazuri? gelatin?