The legs of tortoises aren’t exactly known to be the fastest but they get the animal from A to B regardless, they are functional
If the animal’s legs aren’t functional, if the tortoise’s legs are broken, then your pet may struggle. This article looks into whether tortoises can break their legs.
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Can tortoises break their legs?
Many tortoise owners are worried that their tortoise will break their shell, which is a reasonable concern, but, so is the reptile breaking its leg.
Here is what you need to know about it.
Tortoise leg breaking:
Your tortoise has bones in its leg just as any other animal does.
The bones in the legs of these animals are strong but they can still be broken so yes, your tortoise’s legs can break.
These animals can break their legs falling from a high height and landing on their legs or your pet’s leg may have been attacked and injured.
Tortoises with weaker bones may also be susceptible to the bones in their legs breaking.
Signs of a broken leg:
There are a few signs that you may notice in your tortoise that may indicate that the animal’s leg is broken, signs like the reptile not putting any weight on the broken leg.
Putting pressure on the broken leg is likely painful and isn’t something that your pet wants to do.
The tortoise would rather drag the broken leg along than use it.
While the leg may be broken it may not be paralyzed, your pet will still react if you tickle the broken leg but it will not use the broken leg the same.
The reptile may also tuck the affected leg up in its shell in an effort to keep the leg from becoming even more injured.
What to do:
If you suspect that your tortoise has a broken leg then taking the animal to the vet as soon as possible is recommended.
Getting your pet to a tortoise specialist is an even better idea.
If you can’t immediately get your tortoise to the vet, and your tortoise’s leg is bleeding heavily, then applying pressure to the wounds will prevent too much blood loss.
Keep a very close eye on the animal while waiting to get your pet to the vet.
The vet will take an X-ray of the tortoise and determine if its leg is broken or not.
If your tortoise does have a broken leg then the vet will treat the animal by operating on the leg and then using splints to keep the leg in place.
Your vet may alternatively tape the reptile’s leg to its shell so the leg can’t be used. This enables the bones to heal as they aren’t constantly moving.
Adding more calcium into your pet’s diet will also help as this will help in the healing of your pet’s leg.
Slightly higher doses of calcium will help.
It is advised that you make getting to things easier for your pet while in recovery from the broken leg.
Do this by moving the tortoise to a smaller enclosure so the reptile doesn’t have to travel too far to reach its food.
Also, remove any obstacles in the container while the reptile is recovering.
The recovery stage can be quite long and the animal may start to limp before it gets back to walking like normal.
If you enjoyed this article then you may also be interested in other tortoise/turtle related articles. Here are some articles that you may be interested in: Sulcata Tortoise Leg Problems, Why Is My Tortoise Limping?, Tortoise Back Legs Stretched Out, Tortoise Having Trouble Walking, Tortoise Not Using One Leg, Why Does My Tortoise Bite His Leg?, Why Do Turtles Bite Their Feet?, Why Is My Turtle’s Back Leg Swollen?, Why Does My Turtle Sleep Standing Up?