Dog attack

[ebindae]

This past Monday when I had my dog out for a walk, he found and attacked a baby tortoise. I live in about the middle of nowhere, so I couldn't travel to a reptile vet until Wednesday because of the distance and work allowing. It turns out it is a sulcata tortoise, and the vet thought maybe someone had dumped him because (obviously I guess) they normally aren't around this area.
The poor little guy sustained considerable damage, there are two puncture holes in his shell (that luckily weren't deep enough to damage any internal organs) and he is now missing a back leg.
The vet gave him a baytril injection and recommended keeping bacitracin on the back leg until it starts healing and to come back if I notice any issues.
So this is basically my question- HOW do I know if something is wrong with him? I have never dealt with tortoises in my life, and while I have scrounged around this site to get a good idea of how he should be set up and whatnot, I don't know anything about the markers to indicate that something is wrong. Thanks in advance for any help you can provide, I feel absolutely terrible that my dog attacked him, and I would very much like to see him recovery successfully.
(I'm including a picture of his back leg as well just to give you all an idea of what he is working with.)

 

[ILoveTorts&Gerbils]

Poor little thing. I'm sorry, I'm really quite inexperienced with tortoises at the moment, but you've come to the right place. There are a lot of experienced members here that can help you.

I just want to mention: what with his size and lost leg, be extremely careful - he could flip over almost anything!

 

[Yvonne G]

I'm surprised the vet didn't stitch up the skin around the opening.

Welcome to the forum!!

This baby is so small, that my guess is someone has an adult pair and babies hatched in their yard. A bird picked this baby up and dropped it, trying to open the shell. Lucky for the baby that you and your dog found it before the bird was able to make another go at it. I've seen little turtles and tortoises recover from extreme injuries - dog chew, lawn mowers, birds, etc. Hopefully this little guy can make it too.

Read the care sheet pinned at the top of the Sulcata section and set the little guy up properly. Keep him warm. Do not allow him to get cold. And he should be ok.

What to look for - not eating, staying hidden in a corner, not moving around the habitat. You may see some of this for a week or so right now because he's really traumatized from this bad experience, but he should start to perk up a bit in a few days. Soak him in warm water daily for about 15 minutes, and if he poops in the water, change it (because of the open wound and contamination).

Please keep us informed as to his progress.

 

[ebindae]

Thank you very much, ILoveTorts. I have tried to make his enclosure as leveled as possible to make it an easy go for him in the event he does have any problems getting around.

 

[ebindae]

Thanks for all of the information Yvonne!
As for not stitching up his leg, he was being very finicky at the vet, and the vet was worried about sedating him to sew up the leg because of already sustaining trauma. He said if it seems to become an issue I should bring him back in a few weeks and he will take care of it then.
Also, where I live right now is about in the 60's during the day, is that too cold to take him outside to walk around and get some sun? I do have a UVB bulb in his enclosure, but he seems to perk up the most when he's outside eating clover and stuff.
I will keep you all updated, hoping for the best. He is such a sweetheart, he already loves having his head pet and seems to enjoy contact with my husband and I.
Thank you again!

 

[Lyn W]

What a shame - but thank you for taking responsibility and getting him treatment.
My tort has a rear foot missing and gets around ok
There are people who make prosthetics for torts with missing limbs
and they can have wheels attached.
I hope he makes a good recovery.

 

[Carol S]

Poor little baby. He must be so scared and in pain.