Swollen front leg

[kimmer]

I am taking my Russian tortoise into the vet tomorrow. His front leg is suddenly swollen. He ate and was active today. I saw some pee yesterday, don't know about poop. I have attached a couple of pictures. Any suggestions or comment are appreciated.

I have had him for about 10 years and he is supposedly about 25 years old. I have an outdoor pen for him where he stays most of the year. His diet is mostly local organic weeds and I supplement with spring mix etc. from the Russian diet list. I soaked him two times today but I usually only soak once or twice a week.

I live in Santa Clarita, California. I have a few names of vets that I can go into tomorrow. I haven't decided which one to see. If anyone has a strong recommendation I would love to hear.

Thank you for your kind replies. Kim

 

[Jacob]

Iv Never Seen Or Heard Of This Before!
If its not gone by tomorrow take him to the vet, it can be an infection, or possably he hurt himself!
Let Us Know After his vet visit!

 

[zoogrl]

Poor thing! I don't know of any vet recommendations but I will be thinking of you all & hope that everything goes ok at the vet's office. Please give us an update when you can

 

[Yvonne G]

OMG! Poor baby! Could be a bug bite. He might have gotten it caught in something and wrenched it getting away. Hard to tell. Hopefully the vet will help you.

 

[jeffbens0n]

Where are his nails? Are they trimmed off or is that natural wear from being outside? I have never seen a russian with such short nails...

 

[kimmer]

When I got the tortoise he had no nails at all on either of his front feet and a lot of scrapes and scratches on the shell. At the time, I knew nothing about tortoises and I did not know his species. I was told by the neighbor who supposedly owned him that he was a captive bred California Desert Tortoise that was about 15 years old. I took him to a local vet who agreed and told me I could just let him live in the backyard and give him some watermelon and I would not need to give him any other food or water!

I thought he looked like a russian but was confused because there were no nails. His feet were just stumps. The nails started showing after I had him about 8 years and they are getting longer each year. Maybe they were worn off on cement or something.

He is a great little tortoise. I am worried because he has always been so healthy. Thanks for looking at the pictures Jeff.

 

[dmarcus]

Did you find out any thing concerning his leg?

 

[jeffbens0n]

The other thing I forgot to mention is that his beak looks a little overgrown. Its not to bad right now, but if it continues it could potentially cause problems for him eating. It can easily be trimmed down with a file or a dremel, but is something a vet should do if you are not familiar with it.

Also, it sounds like you already know this, but he probably should not have watermelon, it has to much sugar for them.

 

[kimmer]

I haven't taken him in about the leg yet. Probably going today. I was planning on getting the beak trimmed anyway so I can get it done at the vet. I know that he shouldn't get fruit because of the care sheets from russiantortoise.org. But that vet should have known too!

 

[GBtortoises]

A tortoise with swollen front limbs can be a sign of poor circulation, fluid leakage into the soft tissue and/or bacterial infection. There could be several different potential causes.
I've experienced what you're showing in your photos a few times many years ago in a couple of my tortoises that hibernated outdoors. The swelling showed up soon after them waking from hibernation. The possible cause of mine could have been tissue damage/fluid leakage from frost but I have no way of knowing for sure. I have also read that some dietary deficiencies may also be a cause.
Fruit really isn't a food type that Russian tortoises should be fed, even when they're 100% healthy and especially not when they're stressed. Fruits and even some vegetables contain a much higher sugar content than what Russians are evolved to digest and process. This excess can overload what may be an already stressed out digestive system under duress. Russian tortoises are evolved to survive on a very high fiber, minimal nutrient, low sugar diet. As it normally is, most probably already get far more nutrients in captivity than they would in the wild.

 

[dmarcus]

Hopefully the vet you took him too when you first got him is no longer in the vet business. who tells a owner to basically put your pet in the back yard and leave it alone.

 

[kimmer]

Hello, sorry it took me so long to update. I ended up finally taking Modal to the vet on Saturday. The vet, Dr. Chavez was very familiar with tortoises. He said that it was not just the leg that was swollen but he seemed puffy in all his soft tissue. He immediately suspected a bacterial infection. He performed a physical exam and could not feel any masses. He asked many questions about where the tortoise was kept and what he ate. The vet seemed happy that the tortoise was mainly kept outside and eats live growing weeds. He pointed out that even the freshest food in the supermarkets is a couple of days old and that there are many more nutrients if food is consumed straight out of the ground.

Dr. Chavez identified some small scratches on the shell that I had not noticed. I went back and looked at old pictures and these scratches are new! I am horrified to think that some critter caused the scratches. (That is what the vet suspects) As of now, I am no longer keeping him outside at night and I am working on how to make the pen enclosure more secure. I thought that my doggies would let me know if there was a possum or raccoon in the yard but now I am not relying on them.

We decided to go ahead and take x-rays and a blood panel. The three x-ray views were clear, no stones or masses evident. In the back room there was apparently much pooping and peeing so they did a direct and flotation fecal exam and found a complete absence of parasites (surprised). I am now waiting for the results of the comprehensive blood profile.

Dr. Chavez works full time at a local emergency after hours clinic. He works as a relief vet on Saturdays at Canyon Country Animal Hospital where my daughter has worked during the summers for a couple of years. I was lucky that they still continue to give her the employee discount. They don't see tortoises very often at this clinic so the workers there got a great lesson. I learned a lot too.

Jeff, the vet did not think that Modal's beak was too long. He did not think it should be trimmed so we left it alone. He said to feed on a hard surface so I added a piece of tile to the pen.

Now I am waiting to hear about the blood tests. Dr. Chavez is going on vacation this week but we should get the results before he has to leave. If Modal needs antibiotic treatment I will have to get some training (or help) on how to administer.

I will update again when blood test results come in.

Thanks again for all your comments and support.

Kim

 

[jeffbens0n]

Sounds like you got some great advice from a great vet. Does Dr. Chavez keep tortoises himself?

 

[RianSeeking]

Sounds like a wonderful vet!