hello,
i had a 4 inch leopard tortoise that was bitten by a dog about 10 months ago, and i know how your feeling. but don't worry. from the sound of it, the little guy is not going to be too bad off.
my tortoise had about a 1/2 in. triangle of shell missing from the lateral border of the plastron/carapace (the side). leaving open a soft, membranous facial layer (aponeuorisis), meaning no exposed organs, though the membrane moved quite a bit when the tortoise inhaled/exhaled. there were also several bruises/scrapes elswhere. it looked really bad, lots of blood. the tortoise acted somewhat normal, and was able to eat/drink.
went to the vet, cleansed the area thoroughly, and administered antibiotics. i was able to find part of the missing shell, and we placed it back in the hole. however, the piece did not completely cover the hole, leaving about a 3cm round hole still open. we then placed two normal band-aides completely covering the area (this is important) that firmly held the piece in its place in hope that it might heal back onto the shell.
i kept him in a very dry, very clean cage with newspaper for the next six months, and never removed the band-aides. since the environment was dry, the band-aides never peeled off. i soaked him daily, but this didn't seem to affect the band-aides. as the tortoise continued to grow, the band-aides starting to strech with the shell. after six months i finally got too curious to see how it was healing, and removed the band-aides. it seemed to heal quite well. the open hole was still there, and the piece that was placed was attached to the shell. the fragment seems to be dead, though it doesn't seem to be a problem. the open area seemed to grow into a hard shell-like layer where the soft membrane was before. i'm very pleased with the outcome. the tortoise lives outside and is healthier than ever.
so here's the short run. it is important that no pieces of shell were driven internally, which is what the x-ray would be for. if it seemed liked the bite did not drive a significant part of the carapace into the the visceral layer (organs) your probably fine. the exposed area should be cleaned as well as possible, and a band-aide should be placed over the hole. keep him dry as possible. however, he needs to be well hydrated, so soak for 2-3 min a day, making sure he doesn't stay too wet afterwards. keep him on newspaper with day-time temps. at 80-95 and night-time temps at 80-85 and NO colder. the elevated temps will speed up the healing process, and prevent any secondary complictions. supplying plenty of UVB (for Vit. D3 production)is crucial to the healing process, and normal growth as well. supplementing with Vit. D3 is not a good substitute. so if you don't already have a UVB bulb, get one as soon as you can. And, if you can supply any natural sunlight you're even better off. just one day a week in the sun for a couple of hours would be beneficial. lastly, make sure you supplement with calcium (without Vit D3) as much as you can (very important). and don't touch that band-aide. leave it there for as long as you can stand it.
one thing to look forward to is that since the tortoise is still small and has quite a bit a growing to do, the tortoise will continue to grow while the hole remains the same size. when it's full grown, the hole will be quite small and well healed. remember, these tortoises are able to survive lion attacks in africa and live on just fine. if you can provide the right environment, these are the hardiest animals on the planet. good luck
logan
