Desert Tortise

Question
We've had a desert tortise for a long time.My daughter brought home a puppy and it got hold of the turtle in the backyard and bit his front leg.It has a pucture wound and some scraps around it.It's been a few days and it not getting better.What should we treat it with?I cleaned the wound the day it happened and wrapped it but the turtle tore it off.

Answer
Hi Tim,

You need to take your tortoise to a vet as soon as possible.  Puncture wounds from dog bites often become infected, and the general treatment is to flush out the wound with a disinfecting agent and then treat with a course of antibiotic injections.  Wounds can take some time to heal, but with antibiotic treatment they usually heal well in time.  I wouldn't delay seeing a vet because once infection sets in it can be harder to treat.

As you know now, dogs can be extremely dangerous to tortoises, so it's best to keep them separate.