Injured Turtle not eating or drinking post injury

[Umba8413]

8 days ago I found a turtle on the side of the road with a serious injury from a car (picture attached).
I am including details on the home treatment in case anything stands out as incorrect.
I am not sure which species it is but this is in the Caribbean.

The same day I brought it to the vet, who kept him for a night after cleaning and giving instructions until he can take it back and put epoxy to fix the shell. The routine is changing the bandages and liberally reapplying liquid and gel betadine to disinfect. This is traumatic to the turtle.

After 8 days the turtle still does not eat or drink anything. (Apple banana lettuce (and weeds I have seen them eat, etc) Every day I let her walk a bit in the garden then put her back in a box for fear of infection, fire ants, and other things.


1 . Is this normal ? At what point in time should I worry about this behavior ?

2. How should a turtle this injured be kept ? I worry about fire ants if i put in in an exterior enclosure.

Thank you in advance for any advice you can give.

 

[Thomas tortoise]

Yes wow you found a red foot tortoise that is so cool I always wanted a red foot tortoise, okay anyway they eat lettuce, cabbage, kale, and strawberries are treats, umm I don't know why its not eating but I know for sure its a red foot tortoise, could you send a few more pictures?

 

[My5Sulcata]

I kept a very badly hurt tortoise inside. She got medical treatment from the veterinarian and made good recovery. She is already 24 years with me.
Their recovery takes a long time. I hope she will start eating soon. I wish her a good recovery. Thank you for helping her. You have a good heart.

 

[Thomas tortoise]

And you should definitely bring it inside if it is below 40 degrees outside! Also you should always have a supply of water there for her/him I wish you best of luck!

 

[Maggie3fan]

You need to up the temp of the tortoise to 85 degrees. Stop using the betadine after once because all it does is kill off the while blood cells needed to fight the infection. Put her in a container where you can control the heat and humidity. She needs 85-90% humidity and at least 85 degrees. She won't eat until you get her warmed up a lot...take care of the wound then offer her food and leave her alone. But the temp and humidity as ever so important...
keep it in a container in your house with a light bulb....there is so much involved in helping her that I don't know where to start....so start with heat and humidity...

 

[zolasmum]

You need to up the temp of the tortoise to 85 degrees. Stop using the betadine after once because all it does is kill off the while blood cells needed to fight the infection. Put her in a container where you can control the heat and humidity. She needs 85-90% humidity and at least 85 degrees. She won't eat until you get her warmed up a lot...take care of the wound then offer her food and leave her alone. But the temp and humidity as ever so important...
keep it in a container in your house with a light bulb....there is so much involved in helping her that I don't know where to start....so start with heat and humidity...

Thank you for helping this poor tortoise - I hope so much she will survive. I can't help you with care information, but I do know that if tortoises are injured or distressed, they will often stop eating, and this isn't a problem, as in the wild they can survive for a long time without food.Also it is amazing how tough they can be,recovering from all sorts of terrible injuries, but often taking a long time to do so. Please keep us informed about her progress, as lots of people will want to know.
Angie