I have a 14 year old female red eared slider named Sugar and the poor thing has been having quite the year. It would seem that she has managed to injure her left front leg throughout her ordeal.
To provide a bit of context she always had issues with her eggs and so a few years back she had an ovariectomy. It seems that this was not fully successful as this year she started getting rather agitated and it was found that she is once again gravid.
I would like to clarify that she is receiving vet care for this, she already successfully passed 8 of her eggs, but we are not out of the woods yet as per last echo, her follicles are still swollen.
During her last batch, she was extremely agitated and it seems that despite our best efforts to keep her as safe as possible she managed to hurt her left front foot (she really didn't like being in the substrate container as she tried to constantly escape this and occasionally she did end up with this foot caught between the wall of the container and her shell). We only noticed the injury after we brought her home from the vet that she was not making full use of this leg. I checked her leg however this was not swollen and she didn't show a pain response when I touched it or extended it so I figured she may have just sprained it.
With time she did indeed start to use this leg seemingly fully, however when she has it in a relaxed state I do notice that she has a tendency to keep it at a rather weird angle and sometimes when she steps it she does not do so on the soles of her feet but rather is using the top of this (apologies, I do not know the proper term for it).
Regrettably, the vet who is treating her is out of town and her next appointment would be at the end of the month.
I have taken some pictures of her, but I can try to get better ones if required.
Here the angle is a bit more exaggerated as she has her foot in a resting state outside of the water (she is basking in direct sunlight with the door open).
Here she has it completely extended and does not show any discomfort by doing so. She also has a tendency to extend both her front legs in front of her while basking and once again she manages this without issues.
Additionally, she has no issues going up and down her ramp, and she is showing decent strength in the leg when picked up.
I am wondering if the odd angle and that she has a tendency to step not on her soles may be an indication of something more serious and it is something that should not wait until her next vet appointment at the end of the month?
I will also try to provide a video of her stepping weirdly as soon as I catch her doing it again.
Appreciate any insight you guys may have on this and happy to provide further details!
