Desert Tortoise medical advice

Question
Mark, we just had an accident and our 8 year old desert tortoise was almost run over by our car when backing up in the garage.  There is some obvious damage to the front part of the shell and a little blood.  I think the damage is pretty bad and needs some repair.  Is there anything I can do until I get it to some experienced help?

Answer
The shell is supposed to be a rigid box. If the damage compromised the box, it will take some work. If, on the other hand, all you really did is chip the edges or damage an edge then it is relatively easy.

1. Clean the tortoise gently but well. Warm water is all you really need with maybe a little salt to scour tough dirts.

2. Deal with bleeding. If there is heavy bleeding, you may need to see a vet ASAP. If it is bleeding mildly, apply direct pressure with a gauze pad and tape it in place. If the bleeding is more of an oozing, dab it with cornstarch to staunch the blood.

3. Clean injured areas with providone iodine (Betadine Solution) and let it dry. Apply some antibiotic ointment to raw areas.

4. The shell damage can be handled many ways.
a.- Leave it alone for a vet to deal with? As long as movement and breathing are not compromised, this is a valid option. If needed, tape can be used to stabilize the damage. First, apply paper tape or electrical tape to protect the skin and shell, then use stronger tape (duct, filament) to hold the pieces together.

b.- Attempt a repair yourself? While not really hard, this is a bit tricky. Here is a link to a decent article on this- http://www.anapsid.org/shellrepair.html

There are other techniques you can try as well, such as making little 'bandage bridges' out of a thin metal like copper or aluminum. Bend both ends of the bridges flat and epoxy/hot glue/super glue them to join the broken parts to the main shell. Work slowly, and think ahead a bit to figure out how to move with this.

Once the main issues are dealt with, let the tortoise rest for a while and re-examine later.

Let me know how things are going and we can try some other steps.

Good luck!