Wood Turtle #14-1495

Species Name (EN): 
Species Name (LA): 
Admission Date: 
June 30, 2014
Release Date: 
August 12, 2014
Location of Rescue: 
West Virginia
Cause of Admission / Condition: 
Fractured leg
Prognosis: 
Outcome: 
Patient Status: 
Patient Archive
Released

On June 30, a Wood Turtle was admitted to the Wildlife Center of Virginia. The turtle was being tracked in West Virginia by a graduate student with Ohio University, as a part of an ongoing Wood Turtle study with the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, and the West Virginia Department of Natural Resources.

The female Wood Turtle, admitted as patient #14-1495, had a very swollen left hind limb. Dr. Rich Sim, the Center’s veterinary fellow, examined and radiographed the Wood Turtle. He found that the turtle had a fractured femur – and was also gravid with 10 eggs. Dr. Rich started the turtle on a course of pain medications, anti-inflammatories, and fluids. The veterinary team plans to take the turtle to surgery during the week of July 7 to repair the fracture by pinning it. If the turtle’s leg is unable to be successfully repaired by pinning the fracture, the leg will need to be amputated. The team will watch the turtle closely for laid eggs; the eggs will then be "planted" in moist, sandy material and transferred to one of the researchers at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute. 

Wood Turtles are semi-aquatic turtles and prefer riparian habitats and marshes. It’s said that Wood Turtles don’t live in “ugly places” – they need clean water, healthy forests, and undisrupted fields. The turtles range from one to six acres and are vulnerable to habitat degradation; females can move several kilometers to find the perfect, safe nesting spot to lay her eggs. Wood Turtles are omnivorous and eat a wide variety of plant material, berries, mollusks, dead fish, tadpoles, and earthworms. Research and observation has shown that Wood Turtles “stomp” for earthworms – they alternate their front feet to stomp on the ground, which causes vibrations that disturb the earthworms in the soil. The earthworms come to the surface – and make a meal for the turtle.

Wood Turtles are threatened in Virginia and in 2008 were named to the Top 10 Species in Need of Protection by the Endangered Species Coalition. According to Virginia Working Landscapes, “Conservationists feel there are two primary reasons for this decline – poaching of animals for the pet trade and habitat decline. In the commonwealth, populations are becoming limited to the western portion of the state due to development and urbanization in the east.” To read more about Wood Turtle conservation, read Troubled Times for Turtles, an article by Dr. Tom Akre.

A Wood Turtle mini-documentary:

 

 

Your special donation will help the Center to provide care to this threatened turtle …and to the 2,600 sick, injured, and orphaned wild animals the Center will treat this year. Please help!

Updates

August 13, 2014

On July 29, the veterinary staff declared Wood Turtle #14-1495 fully recovered from her left hind limb amputation. The veterinary staff and rehabilitation staff continued daily checks of the turtle’s enclosure for the remaining three eggs, but none were found. On August 5, the veterinary staff took additional radiographs to check the status of the three eggs; radiographs revealed only one egg. The veterinary and rehabilitation staff believe that it is possible that the Wood Turtle may have reabsorbed two of the eggs, or that the turtle ate the eggs shortly after laying them.

With one egg remaining, the veterinary staff decided to draw blood for the turtle’s pre-release evaluation. Bloodwork was unremarkable and Wood Turtle #14-1495 was cleared for release. On August 12, the Ohio University graduate student who rescued the turtle in June picked up Wood Turtle #14-1495 and transported her back to West Virginia for release.

July 25, 2014

Wood Turtle #14-1495 is doing well post-surgery. The surgical site is healing well, and the turtle is eating on her own – veterinary technician Leigh-Ann Horne says that when she picked up the turtle for daily treatments on Tuesday, the turtle’s mouth was covered in strawberry and pieces of leafy greens.

On intake, the Wood Turtle was gravid with 10 eggs. On July 14, the Wood Turtle laid her first three eggs, and by July 21, she had laid six eggs. These six eggs were placed in a separate tank and buried in a moist material before a researcher from the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute collected them on the evening of July 22.

On July 23, a seventh egg was accidentally crushed by the turtle shortly after it was laid.

The turtle is expected to lay three more eggs, all of which will be sent to the researchers at the SCBI. The veterinary staff will reassess the turtle’s progress by early August to determine if she is ready for release.

July 9, 2014

During the first week of July, the veterinary staff monitored Wood Turtle #14-1495’s leg. The staff conducted daily laser therapy treatments on the leg to reduce swelling. Laser therapy is a non-invasive procedure that is to speed recovery, reduce inflammation, and ease pain. Following the first few days of laser therapy, swelling had slightly reduced.

On July 7, Dr. Rich performed surgery on the turtle to attempt a repair of the fractured left leg. Dr. Rich hoped that the fracture could be pinned, but once surgery began, it was clear that leg needed to be amputated. Pieces of the bone fractured into smaller pieces, and Dr. Rich found an abscess at the fracture site. Dr. Rich removed a large portion of tissue from the thigh and amputated the leg to minimize the risk of infection.

The staff will clean and monitor the surgical site to prevent infection. The hind leg amputation is not expected to affect the release of the Wood Turtle, barring any complications.

The turtle has not yet laid any eggs.

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