Box Turtle and Tortoise Discussion :: dont know what to do?

[taurusgirl]

my friend brought me this turtle and i am pretty sure that it is a baby gulf coast box turtle and it seems to be paralyzed in the hind end it wont even move the legs but it gets around ok. what should i do?

[Swaypippin]

Hm, well I think the more pressing question here is: what do you want to do, and do you have the means of taking on another turtle?

[jenaero]

I think you should find a vet, and fast. Is he able to poop? Do you have a habitat set up for him? Any pics?

[taurusgirl]

yes it poops. i will post pics soon

[taurusgirl]

oh and i kind of have a habitat i only have had it for 12 hours

[jenaero]

The fact that he's pooping is good. If the paralysis effected his bowels he'd need to be euthanized. Find a good herp vet and get him checked out. Are you ready for a special-needs turtle?

[taurusgirl]

i guess i am ready i dont want to see it die. today i sprinkled some water on it and it totaly bucked up its hind legs, but it wont walk on them, i dont understand

[jozzep]

If you are ready for the expenses, then take it to a herp vet and see what the deal is, if not, then give the poor thing back to your friend.......

[mackadocious]

if it only did it in reaction to the water, it might have been a reflex....i'm a physical therapist and while everything doesn't translate from humans to other species, i do know that with many animals, even if the spinal cord is severed, you still can have reflex reactions that occur only at the spinal cord level (cats, for instance, can still walk when stimulated at the spinal cord level even if the connection has been severed to the brain)....so that may have been what you saw....the other possibility is learned non-use, which may have been the result of a temporary loss in innervation to his legs; he figured out how to get around without the back ones and stopped trying to use them even after the connection came back...

[theartbook35]

taurusgirl- You will be amazed as your turtle grows up, how resilient they are. They put up with many, many different living conditions and are very good at surviving. Think about it, they were 50 times bigger, but, they were around even during the ice age, a time when the climate should kill a reptile. The giant tortoise did not die out quickly at all.

Now, one person on here, "tammi", has had a turtle for a while that had reduced use of the hind legs due to severe asphalt burns. After shedding, the movement in the legs has recovered. Burns are well known for causing nerve damage, too. Can I see some clear photos of the hind legs? Some photos of the top of the shell, too? If there is a spinal injury, I'd expect there to be an old crack or lesion of some kind evident on the shell. The turtle also might not be willing to use the legs because they could be broken. If I can see photos, if the turtle appears to have lumpy areas or an extra joint it shouldn't have, or the legs bent/contorted in a bizarre position, that's probably a fracture. That would need vet care right away. (Also, if the legs are far gone, they would have to be removed surgically to prevent the live tissue dying, and infecting the animal. Okay, look, I watched Emergency Vets on Animal Planet A LOT).

I think, since your turtle barely uses the legs beyond reflexes, that it might be a good idea for the time being to keep the water level very low, preferably no higher than the width of the turtle's shell, from left side to right side (not top to bottom). I'm sure mobility is very limited. Make sure there are a couple of things for your turtle to hang on two, since it's using only two legs to get around, and will probably tire easier than a turtle with use of all four legs.

Regardless, I've heard of turtles with missing appendages getting around just fine, siamese turtles (conjoined twins, basically) getting around fine, turtles with missing chunks of their shell having great balance, as well as missing tails. I'm not that worried.