If your turtle stops using its back legs then you may start to wonder “What is wrong with my turtle?” and this is understandable, this behavior is quite odd.
This article is a look into why your turtle is not using its back legs.
Table of Contents
Why is my turtle not using its back legs?
Any odd behavior in your turtle should be investigated, these animals don’t act out of the ordinary for no reason so if you notice the animal not using its back legs then there is a reason behind this.
Here is why your turtle may not be using its back legs:
Lack of use:
If you’ve recently received your tortoise, and if the animal had been living in a small tank where it didn’t have much room to move around, then the animal may not be using its back legs because it isn’t used to using its back legs.
If the turtle didn’t have much opportunity to use its back legs before arriving at your home, because it was confined to a small space, then its back legs may have become weak.
This happened because the animal didn’t have the option to walk around and build up strength and muscles in its back legs.
What to do:
You can try hydrotherapy to get the animal to start using its legs and gain some muscle in its legs.
Do this by putting your pet in water, make the water deep enough that the animal’s legs don’t touch the bottom.
Hold onto your pet and allow it to paddle its legs. Scratch your pet’s shell if the animal doesn’t paddle automatically, this should usually get its legs going.
You can do a 15-minute hydrotherapy session daily. All this exercise will get the animal used to using its legs and will help build the muscles in the turtle’s legs.
Doing hydrotherapy is helpful as it helps the animal exercise and removes the weight off of the back legs
What will also help, with the strengthening of your pet’s legs, is giving the animal added calcium two times a week, in the form of food or a cuttlebone, as well as allowing the animal to be exposed to as much light as possible.
Your pet’s legs should improve with all these interventions. Turtles in this condition usually take about a few weeks to get better
Egg bound:
If your turtle is a female then the animal may be egg-bound and this may be the reason behind the animal dragging its legs.
If your pet is egg-bound then you’ll likely see an egg-shaped protrusion in front of the animal’s hind legs, you can also feel the egg in the area if you palpate the animal.
Getting your pet treatment as soon as possible is a must, this is a medical emergency.
What to do:
Getting your pet to the vet and having the vet do an x-ray on your pet will help you figure out what is wrong with your pet.
When choosing a vet it’s recommended that you pick a herp vet, a herp vet is a vet who specializes in exotic pets like turtles.
It’s best to get your pet to the vet as soon as possible, this is because the eggs can rupture, inside of your pet, at any time.
Injury:
Another reason why your pet may be dragging its legs may be that it was being bullied and as a result was injured in its hind legs.
When turtles bully each other it’s common to see them nipping at each other’s legs.
If the injury was quite serious then the injured turtle may not be able to use its legs because the legs are in pain.
What to do:
You would need to examine the animal’s legs, figure out how severe the injury is, and then let the animal’s body remedy the injury itself, treat the injury at home, or take the animal to the vet to be treated.
If you enjoyed this article then you may also be interested in other turtle/tortoise related articles. Here are some articles that you may be interested in: Why Is My Turtle Not Responding To Touch?, Why Is My Turtle Neck So Long?, Why Is My Turtle Eating Sand?, Why Is My Turtle Tank Cloudy?, Why Is My Turtle Not Growing?, Why Is My Turtle Not Eating In Winter?, Baby Turtle Is Not Eating, Why Is My Turtle Limp?, Why Is My Turtle Not Pooping?