Swollen Back Joint

[NewRussianTortoise]

Hello,

I am new to this forum and I already have a question.
I realized a couple of days ago that my 3 year old Russian tortoise has a swollen joint. She was fine a week ago. She could pull herself up and walk without her shell touching the ground. Well, not anymore. The right back leg is fine, but I can see the joint on her left side is a bit swollen (fatter than the other joint). Any ideas on what’s going on??

Thanks SO much in advance!

 

[Yvonne G]

Does she use that leg when walking? It might just be a pulled muscle. If you're really worried about it you should probably take her to the vet. In the meantime, water therapy might be in order. Place her in a tub of warm water that's too deep for her to touch the bottom and let her swim for a few minutes, exercising the leg with no pressure on it.

 

[NewRussianTortoise]

Does she use that leg when walking? It might just be a pulled muscle. If you're really worried about it you should probably take her to the vet. In the meantime, water therapy might be in order. Place her in a tub of warm water that's too deep for her to touch the bottom and let her swim for a few minutes, exercising the leg with no pressure on it.

Thanks! I might have to take her to the vet. She seems to be getting worse. She uses that leg, but not as she used to pulling herself up completely but just a little.

 

[Yvonne G]

It's not unheard of for the hip joint to come out of the socket. But my guess is it's just a pulled muscle. Let us know what the vet says.