Help! Broken beak...

[TheBennillers]

So driving to work I witnessed a box turtle get hit by a car in the middle of a busy 4 lane hi-way. I turned around and went back for it and was able to get to it before it was hit again. I will try and get some pictures in a min (have to find a camera) His beak is broken and bloody and he seems to be breathing through his mouth and not his nose...

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So driving to work I witnessed a box turtle get hit by a car in the middle of a busy 4 lane hi-way. I turned around and went back for it and was able to get to it before it was hit again. I will try and get some pictures in a min (have to find a camera) His beak is broken and bloody and he seems to be breathing through his mouth and not his nose...

 

[Edna]

His left eye is also bulging and I would guess there's considerably more damage than just his nose, poor kid!

 

[lynnedit]

How good of you to go back for the poor little guy. Do you have a tortoise/turtle rescue in your area?

A Reptile vet visit would be helpful, but of course that costs $....

Perhaps a soak in some very shallow warm water?

 

[wellington]

Unfortunatley I think he needs to see a vet. If you can't afford to take him, maybe there is a tortoise/turtle/reptile rescue near your area that could take him and help him. You could also call the conservation for your area andmsee if they could recommend a wildlife rescue. Good luck. The poor little thing. I just don't understand how someone can't miss them. It's not like they can dart in front of you. Venting over for now. Good luck with the poor thing. Maybe someone else will have some other ideas.

 

[earthyman71]

poor dude! he definitely needs to see vet. what city are you in?

 

[ascott]

Beautiful little one....where do you live? Maybe we can all help you to find a helpful place to offer him aid...

 

[TortieLuver]

Poor guy! He must be hurting. I agree that he needs a vet and perhaps a wildlife organization would help because the do live in the wild within the U.S. I work with az game and fish here and we help rehabilitate them and at times, release back to the wild.

 

[TheBennillers]

Yes, there is definately a difference between the little guy's eyes, I actually thought the other eye was deflated, but I suppose it could be that the one is swollen. Yes I agree that it looks painful, Unfortunately I haven't had much luck finding a reptile vet in my area. I did get a normal vet to look at him but he could offer no advice other than to put him to sleep. The turtle still has plenty of energy and moves around well so I opted to look for other options first. I live in Indiana, closest town to me would be Kokomo. If I can't find a vet close by for tomorrow I will try and call DNR and see what they can offer it I guess.

 

[Nixxy]

Best of luck. He's an adorable one, and I hope he makes a full recovery.

So he's acting pretty normal, other than the breathing through the mouth and hurt beak?

 

[froghaven5]

Oh no poor thing. I don't have any helpful advise except to call a wildlife refuge as suggested already. Please let us know how things go.

 

[dmmj]

Google (god I hate that word) wild life rehabber and your state and see what comes up.

 

[TheBennillers]

Best of luck. He's an adorable one, and I hope he makes a full recovery.

So he's acting pretty normal, other than the breathing through the mouth and hurt beak?

Yes, he's acting just fine except for that. The car that hit him seems to have just clipped his little face. I think now that the bleeding has stopped he may even be breathing through his nose again.

 

[yagyujubei]

Personally, I think most state agencies would simply euthanize the turtle. They're not going to spend a lot of taxpayer dollars on an injured turtle. You might want to keep a close watch before you make that decision.

 

[pam]

Best of luck hope he makes it

 

[Neal]

That's too bad. Good luck though!

 

[Nixxy]

Best of luck. He's an adorable one, and I hope he makes a full recovery.

So he's acting pretty normal, other than the breathing through the mouth and hurt beak?

Yes, he's acting just fine except for that. The car that hit him seems to have just clipped his little face. I think now that the bleeding has stopped he may even be breathing through his nose again.

That's very good! I just don't see how anyone could do something like that...yet alone just drive off... I would be heartbroken if I ever hit a turtle..

Only animal I ever hit was a skunk once, in the middle of the night, and it darted out in front of me. Not going to lie, I cried.

Personally, I think most state agencies would simply euthanize the turtle. They're not going to spend a lot of taxpayer dollars on an injured turtle. You might want to keep a close watch before you make that decision.

That's a sad reality. Which is why you most likely would want to find a reptile vet yourself.

 

[l0velesly]

Pooor thing!! It just breaks my heart to hear about turtles getting hit on the road. I hope he recovers well. Give him lots of warm soaks and hope for the best. Is he able to eat?

 

[TortieLuver]

A tortoise enthusiast friend of mine took a road trip from Arizona and headed back east and he said they were several in the road that had been hit so sad!

 

[Moozillion]

When I was in college (back in the seventies) some graduate students did an experiment. They got a fake turtle and a fake rubber snake. They would put one in the road, hide behind some trees and observe the motorists' responses. They found that lots of people would go out of their way to avoid the turtle, but many people would go out if their way to run over the snake on purpose.

 

[Mgridgaway]

Oh no! How terrible! Where do you live? I've seen a few rescues in my area.

As for the euthanizing bit, EBT are vulnerable and protected in many states. I doubt they would euthanize him right off the bat.

Please keep us updated on his health!