EBT healed injury

[Weda737]

Hi all, been a while. Rocky (my sulcata) is doing great btw. Anyway, I'm back because I had a small male box turtle brought to me this morning. Seems otherwise healthy, but he's missing an entire front leg and only has one claw left on the other arm. It is healed but it doesn't look terribly old. I wonder if it happened in spring.

Now, I'm totally against keeping a WC Eastern Box turtle as their numbers are dwindling, but I worry that this little guy, only about four inches or so from front to back of plastron, will not be able to sufficiently dig himself down in the winter. I'm perfectly capable of keeping him on the down low. It is kind of illegal to keep them and people do it all the time here. Our animal protection people are a joke. Backwoods ignorant..... anyway, I will post pics of him tomorrow, you all may have a better eye for his general wellness than I. I'm so used to Rocky's big heft that boxies just look thin to me. He's in about a half inch of room temp water in the bathtub for a bit just in case. Any thoughts and suggestions to get him to eat would be great. He is very outgoing, I've petted his head and his chin, pulled a dog hair off his face and he hasn't boxed up at all.

 

[Angel Carrion]

I've noticed EBTs tend to be pretty outgoing.
Earthworms, slugs, rolly polly bugs, superworms, strawberries, bananas, pretty much any of the berries, collard greens, red leaf lettuce, carrots, parsley, mushrooms, squash, apples, grapes. You'll most likely have more luck with the bugs and worms and fruit than anything else

 

[Weda737]

We've got lots of EBT's around here since I moved. Seem to find a couple on the road every month during summer. Usually tend to be females, I've had a couple that were outgoing and a couple that were terribly shy, we don't keep them. Just chill with them during the hotter parts of the day until evening. Sometimes I'll deworm them if they need it. Did have one female that was pretty dehydrated, got her off of our road and brought her home and soaked her, she pooped in the water and it was full of worms. Kept her a couple weeks and let her go when she looked better.

Like I said, I am concerned that he will not be able to survive the winter without being able to dig down with both arms. He's missing one, it's just a stump and the other has one claw left. Anyone have experience with one like that?

 

[johnsonnboswell]

Hard call. Many amputees do just fine. Many wild turtles don't do well if they are prevented from hibernating, especially the first winter or two.

 

[Angel Carrion]

I would suggest finding a herp vet and seeing what they say. Or maybe find a wildlife rescue that takes care of boxies and see what they say and if need be, if they have room to take him in

 

[Weda737]

I can ask my vet. She does herps, she loves my snakes and Rocky. I think I'll set him up an outside pen and see what he does. If he can dig. I know I said I'd post pics. No excuse other than laziness. I will get to it though.

 

[Angel Carrion]

It's all good, we're all lazy from time to time. Some more than others (looks pointedly in reflection off of cellphone while sitting on couch eating mac and cheese with dog on lap)

 

[Weda737]

It's all good, we're all lazy from time to time. Some more than others (looks pointedly in reflection off of cellphone while sitting on couch eating mac and cheese with dog on lap)

Sound just like me but I'm on a laptop. Fostering kittens as well and they tend to be on the laptop pushing buttons or asleep on my shoulders. I'm taking vacation time from work though so isn't that what it's for? Lazy? I'd love to go back out on my bicycle with my dog but I kinda wiped out a while back and injured my ribs, much needed down time right now.

 

[Angel Carrion]

Oh I completely understand that. I have Lyme disease, fybromialgia (hope I spelled that right), numerous injuries piled upon older injuries piled upon healed-but-not-healed-correctly injuries, etc etc. Pretty much a limping staggering mass of throbbing soreness. I should really be cast in a zombie flick, I've got the walk down pat! Haha

 

[Weda737]

 

[Weda737]

If you look above my thumb in that first pic there is a fresh injury, the corner of that scute is cracked and peeling up.

 

[Weda737]

Well he's outside in a pen, thus far he has no problem smushing down in tall grass but no actual digging has occurred.

 

[Angel Carrion]

Well he's outside in a pen, thus far he has no problem smushing down in tall grass but no actual digging has occurred.

If he can 'burrow' his was through the grass and make what I like to call 'turtle trails', I think he will be able to burrow down into dirt. I have a girl that is missing all but one toe on a hind foot and while that's not as bad as a full limb, I was really worried because I didn't know if she would be able to dig a nest in case she's preggers from before me. She ended up out digging everyone else.