Help!!! What’s Wrong With My Turtle?

Hey, yall!

We rescued a box turtle from the middle of the road July 4th weekend. She had a “bump-not-really-a-crack” in her shell, so although we managed not to run over her, someone else must have bumped her. Our little girl wanted to keep it & hubby said we could IF she would eat.

We kept her in a wagon in the garage for a week to make sure she was eating & pooping & she was.

The next weekend, we built her an outside pen where she can get sun & shade, provided a pool of water (one of those plastic trays you sit under your potted plants – which gets cleaned out twice per day), provided a “hidey space,” etc.

She’s been fine until the past few days. Now she stays in her hidey hole (covered with leaves & grass) & won’t come out. Hasn’t eaten even the blueberries (which she LOVES). She looked at me this morning & she looked dry, which confirmed my suspicion that she’s not getting in her pool, either.

My suspicions are:

  1. She’s reacting to the unseasonably cool weather we’re having. We live just South of Atlanta, and lately the mornings have been pretty cool, even the afternoons not as hot as would be normal for us. Maybe she thinks she should get ready for hibernation? But she’s not digging, just hiding under the leaves & grass clippings.
  2. She’s laying eggs. I hope not, because I know the ground is hard (red Georgia clay under a an inch of top soil), so she couldn’t have dug deep enough to lay & cover them properly.

Should I just reach in & take her out of her hidey hole – where she obviously feels comfortable – and sit her in her pool? Should I just spray a little water in there to give her some moisture?  What do you think could be going on and should I be concerned?

7 Responses to Help!!! What’s Wrong With My Turtle?

  1. It is great that you were able to save her from the road. Turtles really belong in the wild, but construction poses a huge hazard, as do roads. Since you suspect that the turtle has been injured, it would be best have her checked out by a vet or a wildlife rehabilitator, with a knowledge of turtles. A rehabber should also be able to advise you about where to release the turtle – ideally, back in her home territory.

    In most cases, it is best to help turtles across roads and place them in the closest safe place, in the direction they were heading. This is because turtles are territorial and know their home-ranges.

    She is probably not trying to hibernate. It seems more likely that she is hunkering down due to her injuries, so getting her checked out seems like a good idea. After that, she should go back to her home.

    Good luck with her.
    Patricia

  2. Just checked the laws in GA, and it is illegal to keep a native turtle as a pet.

  3. That was my concern, too, Patricia. So, before giving my approval, I also checked the GA Code & found that while it’s illegal to keep sea turtles, it is perfectly fine to keep fresh water turtles.

    Been reading up on turtle care ever since we determined it was ok to keep her. Who could have ever guessed they were so high maintenance?!? They eat better than I do! LOL

    That’s why I’m puzzled… I have learned that she won’t eat every day, but I do expect her to be more active since it is the middle of summer.

    I did get her out and looked her over – she’s fine. Put food in front of her & she ate 4 blueberries and half a grape. Started to eat zucchini or carrots, but my little girl’s sudden movements scared her, so she walked to her pool, drank & went back “home” to the hole.

    Got her out this morning & sat in the sun with food in front of her. She sat for about 2 minutes, ignored the food and walked through my garden right back to her pen, across her pool, where she drank a bit, then back in her hiding spot.

    Was hoping someone more experienced would have some advice.

  4. Hi Danni,
    It is good that you are concerned. I found this link to the GA Dept. of Natural Resources:

    http://georgiawildlife.dnr.state.ga.us/content/displaycontent.asp?txtDocument=6&txtPage=2

    It lists box turtles (which are land turtles) among the prohibited species. The list also includes some species of freshwater turtles.

    Sorry to be a wet blanket, but wild turtle populations are in trouble in many areas. I hope this is information is helpful.

  5. Hmmmm…. that’s interesting, because the language of the Georgia Code does permit it.

    Thanks for that link… called the number at the bottom of the page & after the run around found that it is not permitted. He clarified that box turtles are considered “terrestrial” not “aquatic” – terrestrial turtles are protected.

    So… gotta have a talk with the hubby & child, now.

  6. Erin Smithies

    Hi Danni,

    Thanks for trying to help the box turtle! I am a qualified NYS licensed turtle rehabilitator and have much experience with injuries to this species, as well as issues with releasing them outside of where you found them, and keeping them as pets. I work at a nature center, and we have 2 non-releasable box turtles that suffered permanent injuries to their shells, so although they feel ok but their shells cant protect them from predators and thus they are for education now. In caring for these and others, I can agree as you said – their care is not simple! Word of caution – box turtles can survive but not thrive for years in the wrong conditions, but that are right enough so that they dont die, but they dont feel well, usually indicated by not eating as your is doing – you are right to be concerned and you are catching it early which is good. Eventually she may get upper respiratory infections, symptoms are swollen eyes, that wont open easily, mucous coming out of nose, eyes, breathing through the mouth.

    Basically – if there is no reason to keep the turtle, its really kindest to the turtle to let it go back in its home. Its so nice that you all wanted to help it, but honestly, it is a wild animal that knows best what it wants, and we cant recreate as good a home as they are free to enjoy in the wild. It sounds like this turtle was not injured – their shells do not get bumps from injuries – but sometimes their domed shells may appeared a bit bumped in places just from their growth/development based on diet. If you did not see any blood, then even if it was an injury, it was an old injury, and the turtle was fine as Patricia said, just moved off the road. Turtles sometimes do recover from injuries on their own, and if they managed to survive something on their own, they deserve to be left to their happy wild ways. If you are unsure if she is hurt recently, you can email photos to me – I am familiar with all sorts of injuries to box turtles – in fact I just returned from the vet with a box turtle hit by a car today with severe head trauma who I needed help sedating so I could put its eye back in the socket and hope his vision will be ok after several months of healing if he survives – he’s still a critical patient at this point – head injuries are often the hardest to treat, but he appears to not have brain damage which is positive.

    Anyway, these turtles need a higher humidity than you are providing from the sound of it -and yes, often those in my care do not soak themselves when they should, so I have to stick them in their dish – daily just to make sure they are drinking. They also need a heat lamp on one end to provide a basking site – they are cold-blooded, so if they dont get heat, they cant digest their food properly. It should be about 80-85 degrees to one end, and 70 on the other, as they need shade too to cool off and not overheat. It is good to have htem in outdoor enclosures when possible but you need an appropriate place for them to dig properly for when the temps are too hot or cold, and your substrate is not appropriate if he cant dig in it. You will also have to bring him indoors in the winter since he cant dig down and hibernate outside in his enclosure, and an indoor enclosure for an adult box turtle cannot be a glass aquarium – for a variety of reasons that I can explain if needed – but buildling a wooden enclosure that is at minimum 4 ft x 2 ft is recommended. Their diets are tricky, and in captivity boxies are notorious for picking out their favorites, and not eating a well balanced diet. And, as you’ve determined, you’re not permitted to have this species as a pet in GA, so you could get a big fine if it is reported to your state agency. As an educational center, we have appropriate permits at our nature center.

    Ultimately, as easy as it is to fall in love with these turtles, its really kindest to them to let them go; they do not enjoy being confined, and eventually her health is going to suffer the consequences, and I’d hate for your little girl to feel badly if the turtle dies. Also, keeping it from the wild – the turtle is essentially dead to its population b/c it cant breed anylonger, and box turtles are largely in decline and very long lived turtles – biologists feel strongly that each adult is critical to the species survival in the longterm.

    If you haven’t already released her, it is important to release it where you found it – I do a lot of radio-tracking of box turtles on our protected property to study their behaviors and habits, and to also monitor those we release that we dont know where they were found – and often they run into trouble and we can fortunately intervene and help them out b/c we are tracking them to keep them safe while they readjust. Relocated box turtles tend to wander greater distances taking more risks in roads, and may not find a place they like to hibernate and stubbornly refuse to dig down and get caught in the cold – we’ve had that happen and have had to ‘help’ the turtle hibernate. Its a lot easier for the turtle to just be returned to the home it knows – just put her about 30 – 50 feet or so in from the road in the direction you think she was traveling.

    Releasing her could be a fun lesson for your daughter in appreciating wildlife and understanding where they belong – if you explain that the turtle will be happier, perhaps she will enjoy letting it go. and, there are lots of pet turtles that do need homes that cant be released, so if you really like the idea of having a turtle I can make some good suggestions of species that you are allowed to have, and are easier to care for.

    I hope this info is helpful. Good luck! and if you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.

  7. Good info, Erin. Validates what I’ve studied and what my instincts say.

    I can tell my little girl is conflicted about keeping it, but is letting selfishness get the better of her. I’ve been trying all along to get her to consider what’s best for the turtle.

    You can’t tell by looking at her that she’s injured at all. But if you feel her shell, you can feel a spot that feels like it’s cracked diagonally – like a really bad hang nail. I would love to let her go, so this legal confirmation is all I need to make that happen.

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