Puffing up skin normal??

[DVirginiana]

I picked up a baby that I rescued a month or two ago with a crushed shell injury today. We had taken him to a turtle rescue at the local vet school since he was wild, and got the call to come pick him up today because he was ready for release.

He has mobility of all his legs, but drags one and doesn't use one of his front ones when he tries to move. Also, he sort of uses his head to move forward. I'm going to video this and send it to the rescue before I do the release because it seems so odd. Plus, it takes him forever to get anywhere; about three minutes to turn around.

But my main question is about puffiness around the legs/head. He looks like he's got fluid or something built up in sacs around his limbs; the person at the rescue said this was normal when box turtles get angry, but I have never seen it before, and it hasn't gone away... Does anyone know about this? If it's stress I'd like to do whatever I can to calm him down...

 

[ascott]

I would hesitate to ever release a wild turtle or tort back into the wild if he is not 100% ...if the turtle is not fully mobile, in my humble opinion, he would not be a positive candidate to release back into the wild...he would likely do better as a long term/permanent captive turtle.

In the wild it is survival of the fittest...

 

[DVirginiana]

I'm sending a video of him back to the rescue... Since he has full range of motion and CAN move from place to place slowly, I wonder if maybe they just never saw him during the process of trying to move?

 

[Yvonne G]

I can't say anything bad about your rescue because I don't know them or their practices. I certainly would NOT return a baby to the wild that was in the condition you've described. In my opinion, this baby turtle should probably remain a captive turtle for quite a long time if not forever.

The puffiness you've described is sometimes caused by kidney failure. I really don't like that word - failure - because it sounds like something that's not going to get better. I have treated several turtles/tortoises that looked like they were having kidney failure, that eventually pulled out of it and got well.

The rescue was probably going with the notion that a wild turtle needs to be returned to the wild quickly so it doesn't become acclimated to captive husbandry. They are correct in their thinking. But this is not a healthy turtle. It needs to stay in the "hospital" until it is well enough to be able to forage for food and stay out of predators' sight.

 

[DVirginiana]

Well, this morning, I was letting him soak and get a drink (water at about chin level on him) and he had his head under the water for a bit. Then all of a sudden he started shaking and had his mouth wide open under the water. I got him out and he calmed down after a few minutes, but still. It was like he couldn't get his head up out of the water again. Or maybe he was trying to move; he's been putting his head on the ground to move forward.

Don't worry, I wouldn't release an animal that was acting that strangely... The rescue is at a vet school, and they're expecting some sort of update about the release, so I do have to send in video of him or something to show what's going on.

 

[SANDRA_MEISSNEST]

Hmmm sorry to hear that...do u have a picture of him and also from the enclosure

Sent from my ZTE N9120 using TortForum mobile app

 

[DVirginiana]

I'll get a picture of the turtle up by tomorrow.

The enclosure right now is a small plastic tub with newspaper bedding and a hide; the shell wound is healing, but the flesh there is still 'gooey' so bedding seems like a bad idea. I was only planning on keeping him for a few days before the release, so it's kind of a makeshift enclosure.

 

[AnnV]

I understand the red tape of the state and rehab folks breathing down your neck. Sheesh. I hope they understand this guy needs further assistance.

Ann from CT

 

[DVirginiana]

I understand the red tape of the state and rehab folks breathing down your neck. Sheesh. I hope they understand this guy needs further assistance.

Ann from CT

The good news is that this fellow was collected on private land, so I don't have legal issues to worry with. It's illegal to buy/sell/trade turtles in NC, but not to own them. Some species are limited/restricted for lifetime numbers you can possess, but EBTs aren't one of them.

I'm pretty sensitive to not disrupting the ecosystem; but this guy would just end up being a mouthful for someone else.

So far the rescue has been very helpful. I think after seeing a video they'll understand my concerns.

 

[DVirginiana]

After three days the puffiness seems to be going down. It's not really noticeable anywhere except on the back leg that's got the most mobility issues.