I think there have been some similar threads over the years, but after a quick search I couldn't find any, so I'm starting a new one.

I (my dogs) found a young turtle in our back yard, his shell is broken in a few places, but he is not really bleeding and is very much alive. I'd like to help him if I can, any suggestions?




I put this in the lounge on purpose so it would be nice if there weren't a ton of "just throw it away" "kill it" type responses (although I expect some). I'm not planning on spending any real money to ensure this thing lives, but i would like to help it if I can.

6/1/2017 7:12:59 PM

That looks way worse than broken in a few places.

6/1/2017 7:25:18 PM

Yeah, I may have understated, shell is pretty fucked up, but not really bleeding, and has been moving a good bit still

6/1/2017 7:28:56 PM

the most humane thing would be to put it out of its misery

6/1/2017 7:31:29 PM

After a little more research I found out State has a turtle rescue team https://ncturtlerescueteam.org I'm bringing it by there in a little bit, and they can hopefully help it or put it out of its misery

6/1/2017 7:47:29 PM

Turtle soup.

6/1/2017 9:52:51 PM

They told me it was (I believe) a Musk turtle, that is not too common in NC. They said the injuries looked pretty dire, but she was moving around quite a bit, so they'd see if she makes it through the night. Apparently she had eggs in her, and if they have to euthanize, they will get the eggs and incubate them.

6/1/2017 10:12:43 PM

^^Beef, chicken or pork flavored, depending on which cut you use!

But f'real, hope she makes it out ok.

[Edited on June 1, 2017 at 10:13 PM. Reason : .]

6/1/2017 10:12:52 PM

^^Well, that's good. Come on, turtle!

Did the dogs do this, or the turtle was already like that?

6/1/2017 10:47:12 PM

Go little turtle.

6/2/2017 12:11:49 AM

^^i assume one of my 2 dogs did it, she was found in my fenced in back yard, I guess she was able to push through the bottom of the fence. I never saw it in either dogs mouth, but heard one of the dogs barking at her and went to check it out

6/2/2017 6:00:35 AM

Welp, I just called in for a check up, and unfortunately she didn't make it. They were able to get one egg out of her though, and they've got it in an incubator. Hopefully it's viable, and in a couple months there will be a baby musk turtle.

6/2/2017 3:28:55 PM

You did what you could. Thanks for caring. Turtles are slow to reproduce.

6/2/2017 8:58:12 PM

This thread made me sad, but thank you for trying to help

6/2/2017 11:34:41 PM

RIP Turtle.

6/3/2017 10:23:30 AM

only one? the other eggs weren't viable or they didn't just cut her up to retrieve the other eggs?

6/3/2017 11:48:12 AM

only one? the other eggs weren't viable or they didn't just cut her up to retrieve the other eggs?

6/3/2017 11:48:12 AM

^im not really sure, I was a little surprised to hear they only got one too, but that's just what they told me.

6/3/2017 5:15:17 PM

Correct ID (aka stinkpot), but they're not uncommon. They're almost exclusively aquatic, but will come out to lay eggs and sometimes move to a new pond/creek. If I recall correctly, they typically only lay 2 eggs at a time, so saving one isn't bad. If they incubate it to be female (turtles' sex is dependent on temperature when incubated), it can offset her loss to the population. I've incubated turtle eggs a few times from freshly hit turtles. As long as you get to them fresh enough and don't mind digging the eggs out, it's pretty easy. If you see a turtle moving out of a pond between late April and early July, they're most likely females looking to lay eggs.

I've seen turtles survive some pretty nasty shell cracks, too bad she couldn't make it. Cracks that cross the midline of the carapace, where the spinal cord is, aren't as likely survivable. Also, cracks that expose the insides like this allow bacteria to get in and greatly reduce likelihood of survival.

6/5/2017 1:26:43 PM

If it's a less severe crack, is there anything a layman can use to patch it up? Super Glue? Epoxy?

6/5/2017 5:43:59 PM

Teenaged mutant injured turtle


Turtles with a cracked shell! Turtle power!






...RIP little buddy

6/5/2017 9:14:51 PM

6/5/2017 10:27:40 PM

^^^sometimes just leaving them alone, they'll heal. Superglue won't do much, but there are epoxies that can help. I just don't know if regular store-bought epoxies are ok. You want to give the underlying bone a chance to patch up, and you don't want epoxy dripping beyond the bone. Some sort of scaffold over the top of the shell might help, but you're better off looking for a local turtle/reptile rescue to do that sort of work.

6/7/2017 11:39:11 PM

Thanks. My question wasn't about any specific case. Just curious. I won't be out there gluing up turtles.

6/8/2017 11:06:40 PM