Turtle Bitten By Dog

oneilmatt

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It was completely my fault. I left my stupid dog outside for too long and went outside to find that he had harassed and bitten my female 3-Toed on the shell. The damage looks mostly superficial, and no tissue was hurt, but I am worried and don't know what I should do now.

I have included pictures of the damage. I feel like I have failed as an owner and am very dejected. I hope she will be ok, I just cant imagine the stress she was put through.

20191003_150911.jpg 20191003_150919.jpg
 

ColleenT

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It does not look that bad to me. is the hole very deep? Can you stick a q-tip into it? if so, then i might see a vet, otherwise leave it alone.
 

ZEROPILOT

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Please don't blame the dog!.
Tortoises are a natural chew toy to dogs. Even a lot of dogs that have known tortoises their whole lives.
It's a lesson learned that you can use to help others.
I don't see any blood. Is there any?
I think I'd smear some antibiotic ointment on and in the divot.
I think you got lucky.
 

oneilmatt

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Update:

Went into the vet, he checked it out and said the bites weren't full thickness so I'm ok. I just hope this doesnt traumatize her too much with cold weather coming in fast.
 

oneilmatt

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. . . but I think that's an eastern, no?
Doesnt appear to be. Was sold to me as a 3-Toed and has 3 toes. The markings are different from an Eastern from what I can tell haha. You're not the first person on here to mention that though.

The breeder is based in Mississipi and his stock his a bit more colorful than normal.

Of course I could be wrong and have gotten bamboozled.
 

Moozillion

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It was completely my fault. I left my stupid dog outside for too long and went outside to find that he had harassed and bitten my female 3-Toed on the shell. The damage looks mostly superficial, and no tissue was hurt, but I am worried and don't know what I should do now.

I have included pictures of the damage. I feel like I have failed as an owner and am very dejected. I hope she will be ok, I just cant imagine the stress she was put through.

View attachment 281726 View attachment 281727
Please don’t kick yourself.
As long as we are human, we’ll make errors!
One thing that has helped me has been to honor my injured (and on 2 occasions, deceased ☹️ ) pets by promising their little souls that no animal in my care will EVER again experience what they did. That way, I take full responsibility for my decisions but can also work towards my own redemption. And memory of that animal’s suffering is not wasted- it prevents future suffering.
You are a good person ( and probably human, as well! )
 

Lemonade

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Something to watch out for: I once adopted a boxie that had recently been chewed around the edges by a dog. Apparently, it violated some kind of seal, because after spending the winter in moist dirt, it had shell rot all through the shell. I painted her with gentian violet and kept her dry for a few days. That took care of it.
 

Lotsa Torts

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It was completely my fault. I left my stupid dog outside for too long and went outside to find that he had harassed and bitten my female 3-Toed on the shell. The damage looks mostly superficial, and no tissue was hurt, but I am worried and don't know what I should do now.

I have included pictures of the damage. I feel like I have failed as an owner and am very dejected. I hope she will be ok, I just cant imagine the stress she was put through.

View attachment 281726 View attachment 281727
My dog did the same thing to my juvenile Russian tortoise. My vet checked him out and the bites didn't penetrate the chest cavity. He's doing great 2 years later. Shallow punctures do well if they are kept clean. They didn't look bad to me. Mine looked a lot worse than that.
 

Obbie

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It was completely my fault. I left my stupid dog outside for too long and went outside to find that he had harassed and bitten my female 3-Toed on the shell. The damage looks mostly superficial, and no tissue was hurt, but I am worried and don't know what I should do now.

I have included pictures of the damage. I feel like I have failed as an owner and am very dejected. I hope she will be ok, I just cant imagine the stress she was put through.

View attachment 281726 View attachment 281727

Can you pour water over the wholes and see if it bubbles out. It’s a great way to see if penetrated organs. No bubbles, no harm
 
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