LOCOMOTION
A healthy tortoise walks with its plastron clear of the ground, and the strength of its legs is legendary. Boulders or bricks can be heaved out of the way of a determined escapee, and it can squeeze into spaces from which extrication is difficult. The shoulder blades and pelvis are actually fused to the spine and shell, giving them tremendous leverage. The claws are also very useful for escaping, as owners with Hermann’s and especially Horsfield’s tortoises will know. Some can climb bushes or wire netting with ease, and even those finding it difficult may have the tenacity to succeed. Speed is dependent on temperature: a very warm tortoise can scuttle around almost at a run, particularly during a pursuit.
A sick tortoise may not have the strength to raise its body off the ground, and if it becomes very debilitated it may never recover the ability to do so. A weak tortoise may even appear to be walking backwards, but this is usually just an inability to get a grip, so you can help by experimenting with different surfaces. You can also help a weak tortoise by manipulating its joints, or by placing it on a brick when it is nice and warm so it will exercise itself in its struggle to get down. If a tortoise is just regaining its appetite after illness, put its food where it has to walk a little way to find it, rather than right under its nose.
Walking in circles can have several possible causes. For example, exposure to frost during hibernation may cause total or partial blindness, in which case the tortoise may slowly recover; or it may have suffered irreversible brain damage. Circling can also be caused by toxaemia, such as in severe liver damage from obesity, and occasionally by an abscess or tumour on the brain.
Even when hibernating, a normal tortoise should have good muscle tone, i.e. the legs should not be flaccid when you try to withdraw them. Hind limb weakness can occasionally be caused by direct injury to the limb, such as a bite or rubbing of the shell on the leg, but if both limbs are affected it may need a radiograph to pin-point the problem. This is particularly important in females where egg-binding can cause pressure in the abdomen affecting the nerve supply to the legs. The condition can also be caused by a compression injury of the carapace.
Swelling of the joints or feet can be caused by fractures, septic arthritis or occasionally gout. An X-ray is essential to determine the cause and get the correct treatment. Leg fractures can be immobilised and should heal in about 3 months. More serious injuries, or infections that have eroded the bone, may result in amputation, and there have been many ingenious devices to enable a tortoise to retain its mobility with only three legs.
http://www.britishcheloniagroup.org.uk/caresheets/know
A healthy tortoise walks with its plastron clear of the ground, and the strength of its legs is legendary. Boulders or bricks can be heaved out of the way of a determined escapee, and it can squeeze into spaces from which extrication is difficult. The shoulder blades and pelvis are actually fused to the spine and shell, giving them tremendous leverage. The claws are also very useful for escaping, as owners with Hermann’s and especially Horsfield’s tortoises will know. Some can climb bushes or wire netting with ease, and even those finding it difficult may have the tenacity to succeed. Speed is dependent on temperature: a very warm tortoise can scuttle around almost at a run, particularly during a pursuit.
A sick tortoise may not have the strength to raise its body off the ground, and if it becomes very debilitated it may never recover the ability to do so. A weak tortoise may even appear to be walking backwards, but this is usually just an inability to get a grip, so you can help by experimenting with different surfaces. You can also help a weak tortoise by manipulating its joints, or by placing it on a brick when it is nice and warm so it will exercise itself in its struggle to get down. If a tortoise is just regaining its appetite after illness, put its food where it has to walk a little way to find it, rather than right under its nose.
Walking in circles can have several possible causes. For example, exposure to frost during hibernation may cause total or partial blindness, in which case the tortoise may slowly recover; or it may have suffered irreversible brain damage. Circling can also be caused by toxaemia, such as in severe liver damage from obesity, and occasionally by an abscess or tumour on the brain.
Even when hibernating, a normal tortoise should have good muscle tone, i.e. the legs should not be flaccid when you try to withdraw them. Hind limb weakness can occasionally be caused by direct injury to the limb, such as a bite or rubbing of the shell on the leg, but if both limbs are affected it may need a radiograph to pin-point the problem. This is particularly important in females where egg-binding can cause pressure in the abdomen affecting the nerve supply to the legs. The condition can also be caused by a compression injury of the carapace.
Swelling of the joints or feet can be caused by fractures, septic arthritis or occasionally gout. An X-ray is essential to determine the cause and get the correct treatment. Leg fractures can be immobilised and should heal in about 3 months. More serious injuries, or infections that have eroded the bone, may result in amputation, and there have been many ingenious devices to enable a tortoise to retain its mobility with only three legs.
http://www.britishcheloniagroup.org.uk/caresheets/know
