Help!! with hatchling disabled res

[elementJ]

Hi! I’m hoping someone here could give me some advice. Yesterday someone dropped off a hatchling res at the vet office my mom works at, they sent him home with my mom knowing that I have turtles myself. My plan, since it’s a hatchling, was to keep it over winter and then release it back where it was found come spring. Well upon getting him I realized that wasn’t going to happen.
It looks like the poor little guy was born without his front left leg and a deformed front right leg. How it even managed to survive thus far is amazing. So my question is how do I go about setting up a tank for him? I have him in a small tub with half an inch of water but he seems extremely lethargic. I’m not really sure if I should try putting him in a set up with a water heater, I was afraid the quick change in temps might shock him as it’s currently in the upper 40s to mid 50’s where I live. Could he possibly already be in burmation and that’s why he’s barely moving or is it more likely that he’s dying? Like I said I’m amazed he’s survived this far out in the wild.

 

[zovick]

I am not sure the leg problems are congenital. It seems that the right front part of the shell has been damaged as well as the right front foot. The shell damage actually looks like it could have been a bite or chewing injury from what I can see in your photo. Maybe it got bitten by a larger turtle like a snapper or a good sized painted turtle. Could you post another picture or two taken from the front of the tortoise rather than from above the tortoise? IE, get a shot of its face and leg so that they can be seen "head on".

That will help to determine what the problem(s) may be. Also, is the front part of the lower shell damaged too or not?

 

[elementJ]

As soon as I get home I’ll take a better picture. I thought the same at first because of his shell but there are no open wounds on either of his legs which is why I thought it might be a birth defect. He still has his egg tooth so I don’t know if there would have been enough time for him to heal from a bite.

 

[ArmadilloPup]

Aw, poor autumn hatchling! If you're going to keep him indoors over winter, you can gradually warm him up so that he'll be more likely to eat. Outdoors, they regularly go in and out of low activity periods with the weather, so it's okay to snap him out of it. I wouldn't let a baby brumate, especially not an injured one.