I looked at Ellie today on her plastron. I noticed a bump on her back leg. It looks like a swollen area without scales. Please tell me what this is!
A little back story: I was called by a friend that they knew someone who had box turtle hatchlings. I rode with my friend to the house of the hatchling owners only to find out that they covered up a spot in their yard where a wild boxie laid eggs. Not only that but they dug up a 3foot by 3foot area around where the eggs where laid with a spade in the hopes of finding babies and to sell them. They only found two, but were certain about 10 eggs were laid. They had dug down about 2 feet and thrown the clay in a pile then recovered the area thinking that the babies hadn't dug out from their sub-teriann labyrinth. I carefully dug by hand picking each ball of dirt up at a time for an hour and found no babies. I am convinced that the rest of the babies were crushed in the digging and or reburying. Of the 2 survivors I was only given 1. They had the 2 in a terrarium full of wet clay. They would take them out to look at them then rebury them under the 5 inches of dirtclauds. Ellie had and has a noticeably broken tail that turns at a 0 degree angle. Her leg might have been broken in all of this and has just healed.
But again I dont know.
A little back story: I was called by a friend that they knew someone who had box turtle hatchlings. I rode with my friend to the house of the hatchling owners only to find out that they covered up a spot in their yard where a wild boxie laid eggs. Not only that but they dug up a 3foot by 3foot area around where the eggs where laid with a spade in the hopes of finding babies and to sell them. They only found two, but were certain about 10 eggs were laid. They had dug down about 2 feet and thrown the clay in a pile then recovered the area thinking that the babies hadn't dug out from their sub-teriann labyrinth. I carefully dug by hand picking each ball of dirt up at a time for an hour and found no babies. I am convinced that the rest of the babies were crushed in the digging and or reburying. Of the 2 survivors I was only given 1. They had the 2 in a terrarium full of wet clay. They would take them out to look at them then rebury them under the 5 inches of dirtclauds. Ellie had and has a noticeably broken tail that turns at a 0 degree angle. Her leg might have been broken in all of this and has just healed.
But again I dont know.
