Foster Turtles

In my previous post I mentioned fostering turtles through the NC State Vet school. These are usually turtles who have been treated, but are still recovering and cannot be released yet. One of my fosters at the moment is a common snapping turtle named Stereo Heart who suffered some pretty major shell damage and soft tissue damage right above his neck. I wasn't the one who brought him in, so I'm not sure what happened, but it's been about 2 months now since it happened and he is slowly healing. I'm currently disinfecting and treating his wound daily and offering him smaller chunks of food that are easier to swallow. Below is a video of him being a cutie..

Another foster that Dave has is Ocean Eyes, a big female River Cooter who has a crack in her carapace, top of her shell, running parallel to her spine. The crack is glued and secured with metal wire in order to keep it closed during healing, but it means she must be dry docked for a few months. The big issue with her is she has eggs, or is gravid. We are hoping her injury hasn't damaged her eggs or her ability to lay them. If a female turtle cannot lay her eggs she can become impacted and eventually die as the eggs rot. She was originally hit by a car most likely while looking for a place to lay her eggs. We're keeping her safe and comfortable while she heals and hopefully lays eggs soon!

It's really great being able to take in these turtles after their treatments at the vet school. Some of them were brought in, but most of our fosters were brought in by other caring individuals. It gives me hope to watch these turtles fight and heal through major traumas. They're amazing and resilient creatures that deserve our help at the very least!