Tortoises are known to walk very slowly, any issues with your pet’s leg can cause the reptile to start having trouble walking
This article looks into why your tortoise has trouble walking.
Table of Contents
Tortoise having trouble walking:
Issues can develop in any of your pets, this is true for tortoises as well. One issue that your pet may develop is trouble walking.
Here is why your tortoise may start developing trouble walking.
Calcium deficiency:
One of the reasons why your tortoise may have trouble walking may be that its bones are weak.
What your tortoise eats can greatly affect the health of your pet, a calcium deficiency for one can cause issues with your tortoise walking.
A lack of enough calcium in your tortoise’s diet will result in poor bone condition in your pet which will result in the animal having weak legs and not being able to walk as well.
What to do:
Adding calcium to your tortoise’s diet will help with the strengthening of the animal’s legs.
Add this mineral by dusting calcium powder on your pet’s food.
Giving the reptile a diet rich in calcium-rich foods, like dark leafy greens, will also help.
Your pet’s legs should start to grow stronger over time as the reptile gets more calcium in its body.
Lack of exercise:
Another reason why your tortoise may have trouble walking may be because the animal doesn’t have much opportunity to walk in the first place.
This can happen if your pet tortoise is kept in a small enclosure, on a tabletop that is too small, or in a vivarium that is too small.
Just as with humans, your tortoise’s leg muscles will start to weaken if its legs aren’t used.
Weak leg muscles can cause the animal to have walking difficulties.
What to do:
The more your pet uses its leg muscles the stronger they will get and the better the reptile will be at walking.
You can encourage your tortoise to walk more by giving it a bigger enclosure and moving things far from each other so the animal has to walk more.
Make the enclosure more interesting so the animal has to walk and investigate the enclosure.
Don’t move the items too far away at first so as to not force your pet to exert too much energy or overuse its legs suddenly.
Broken legs:
One of the reasons why your tortoise may have trouble walking may be that the reptile has injured his leg or has even broken its leg.
Your pet could have sustained a broken leg if it was accidentally stepped on, if it fell from a height, or if something fell on it.
What to do:
Lift your pet and look for signs of a broken leg, signs of a broken leg include swelling and not extending or putting weight on the leg.
If you notice this in your pet then immediately get the animal to the vet.
The vet will be able to examine the tortoise, determine the extent of the break, and then give the reptile the appropriate treatment.
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, Can Tortoises Break Their Legs?, 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?