Premature Hatchling

nightoff

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I think my adult female tortoise stepped on an egg that I didn’t know about and perhaps spurred it to hatch. I found the hatchling among the pieces of shell and it is very small, 22 g, the shell is very soft and the plastron scoots are far from fusing. There is quite a bit of the yolk sac intact and no blood that I could see. However it’s back left leg may have been stepped on because it is obviously dislocated at the hip I think and is dangling. I’m trying not to handle him too much so I’m not sure if any of the skin on the left leg is broken but I don’t see an obvious wound. Right now I am just keeping it warm and letting it rest. Attached are pictures from the top and bottom. Any thoughts on whether I should see how he does or whether he needs to be put D050099D-3A5C-40CB-86C1-8007499715EF.jpegD050099D-3A5C-40CB-86C1-8007499715EF.jpeg4F06F632-E908-470C-8EB7-0CD05FEB2BA4.jpeg4F06F632-E908-470C-8EB7-0CD05FEB2BA4.jpegdown, would be appreciated.
 

method89

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Clean him up and get him warm. Then monitor to see how he's doing.
 

nightoff

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Thanks for the info. I’ll get it set up with a proper heat source and water tonight. I’ll post if it makes it through the night. Poor little peanut.
 

nightoff

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Well, the little peanut made it through the night and evidently moved around some to temperature regulate. I’ll soak him a few times to day and hopefully it’ll stay hydrated.

Last night when I was trying to clean it up, it moved around a lot and was pretty feisty trying to bit at me. Hopefully, the little tort will start to eat in the next few days and start gaining weight.
 

nightoff

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I may need suggestions for ways to attach wheels on this little guy soon
 

Aloysius Taschse

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I saw a funny (and cute) picture of some boys who attached lego wheels to a tort's upper plastron to help it walk because rats had chewed the front legs off. In this case, you could: a. build something yourself b. ask a vet or animal expert to build one c. see what happens and if it heals. a is the most preferable and easy. Keep us posted, this is a rare occasion and as much as it is probably not a good thing (broken bones and premature hatchlings are usually not a good event) it could still be cool to see how to tort grows and deals with its disability.
 

GMDVM

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Monitor for infection at the underside particularly because it isn’t fused Maybe avoid substrate for now and use paper towel ? Does the affected limb move?
 

nightoff

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Thanks everyone for the suggestions. As soon as the plastron fuses, I was going see about attaching tiny wheel.

Infection is a real possibility. I was able to get some of the dirt off but there is still quite a bit of dirt in the yolk sac and some crevices. I didn’t see any blood on him or inside the egg but the dirt may be sticking really well because the yolk sac was torn from the inside of the egg membrane. I’m hoping that every time I soak him, a little more dirt will come off. I didn’t want to rub too much because I don’t know how sensitive the scoots are at this point and he squirms a lot when I rub.

he can’t move the leg at all. It literally moves any and every direction without resistance.
 

nightoff

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@Tom what do you think? I don’t think the back left leg is ever going to function at all.
 

Tom

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Last night when I was trying to clean it up, it moved around a lot and was pretty feisty trying to bit at me.
I have never seen any baby tortoise try to bite like this. This makes me think he is in terrible pain. Little turtles try to bite defensively all the time, but I've never seen a tortoise do it.

I've also never seen that happen to a leg on a tortoise. I have zero advice or experience to share on this one. This sort of injury is where a vet might be able to help. X-rays might give some insight.
 

nightoff

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That makes sense. I’ll consult my vet. Thanks.
 

GMDVM

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There is usually a movement and sensation in limb with a dislocated hip. Hopefully no nerve damage occurred along with skeletal trauma
 

nightoff

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I’m sorry to say that the poor little guy didn’t make it. I think it was just too much for him given that he was so little. Once he passed, I took a really good look at his leg and it was actually completely open and the leg was barely attached by muscle and skin. I could see his femur and hip socket. I don’t really think there was anything that could have been done.
 

Warren

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I’m sorry to say that the poor little guy didn’t make it. I think it was just too much for him given that he was so little. Once he passed, I took a really good look at his leg and it was actually completely open and the leg was barely attached by muscle and skin. I could see his femur and hip socket. I don’t really think there was anything that could have been done.
Sorry to hear about the loss of you baby tortoise, I believe it was for the best. I think it was in alot of pain with its injuries. I'm sure you did your best to make it comfortable.
 

Maggie3fan

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I may need suggestions for ways to attach wheels on this little guy soon
No, not a wheel. I had an adult Gopherus agassizii whose front leg was chewed off by a dog. My sister and I went thru all kinds of stuff to help her get around. Attaching a furniture slide is much more efficient and easier on the animal. On your little guy you won't worry about it until he's healthy and doing good, I'd attach a hot wheels car on him...anyhow, there's a couple of options for you, good luck
 

Sarah2020

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Poor thing could be in enormous pain, agree vet and xray and go from there.
 
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