I recently got a turtle but it cant use its back feet?

Question

i only had the turtle for 2 days and i realized that the turtle doesnt move uts back feet he just uses the front ones and drags himself around.

what can i do? he is still a very small turtle but i cant tell how old he is. Will it heal? will he be able to use his back feet?

Answer 1

Firstly, are you sure there is no mobility in the back legs? Some turtles will only use their front legs to move around, at least sometimes, and it may look like the back legs are paralyzed.

Next, is the turtle getting adequate lighting and nutrition? The easiest way to mess up the health of a turtle is by feeding it an unbalanced diet and not providing the proper UV lighting.

Have a look here: http://www.petturtle.com/care.htm

Your best bet is a vet visit. Unless you actually know the cause of the paralysis, you cannot in any way predict that it wil "heal" itself. In fact, this almost never happens, you need a vet regardless.

Good luck!