Wounded Common Snapper

mrgrimm · 11-16-13, 06:54 PM

My daughter and I were out exploring a local lake looking for animals and we found this guy in pretty bad shape. Judging by the way we found him I think he probably wasn't going to make it through the winter. He was half covered in dried up, cold, very tacky mud with part of his tail chewed off and not moving much. I think he was trying to burrow down but just didn't have the ability. I decided to pick him up, take him home and get him cleaned off to inspect the damage.

He was easy to handle and didn't put up a fight at all for the mile long walk back to my van. He did get a little cranky when I got him home and had him in the tub rinsing him off. I initially put him in a large kiddie pool, but have since switched him into the bathtub (we have another bathroom we can use) because it's much easier to do the water changes. I have a space heater in the bathroom and a heat lamp over the tub with some paver stones in there and water temps are about 78F.

He would not eat anything I was trying to give him all week, Reptomin wrapped up in sliced chicken, some ground beef nuggets, dead mice, live feeder fish, etc. I wanted to try something different so I went and bought some frozen Shad and frozen whole raw shrimp. I thawed them out and also picked up a pair of 9" salad tongs to use to "tease" him to eat. Well it was a success and he is starting to finally act like a large snapping turtle should! I think it just took a few days for him to settle in and get him warmed up. I plan on going to my grandma's pond and catching some Bluegill to keep frozen and ready for him in the future.

It was important for him to start feeding because now I can get him on some oral antibiotics to help him heal up successfully. I plan on keeping him at least all winter to get him well fed and healed up a little better before a release. He kind of has a gimpy left front leg though, so I will continue to monitor that and see how that works out. Vet said the injury was likely from a car and probably about 6 months ago. The vet is Dr. Calhoun currently working in Wilder, KY and he gave me a lot of good advice. He is really into reptiles/exotics.

Honestly, as long as you respect the turtle, move slowly and handle them from behind he seems pretty easy to handle. I will try to get some more recent pics and video of him over the next week, these pics were just a day or so after we found him.

**Pareeeee** · 11-16-13, 07:25 PM

EDIT: Did not read your post in full. Good for you for taking in and helping this turtle. Looks like he's had it rough

drumcrush · 11-16-13, 07:34 PM

Oh ouch. I wish u luck!

mrgrimm · 11-16-13, 07:41 PM

Hopefully I can get some good suggestions here on the site on getting him better husbandry and such as I continue to monitor him. I need to get a good sized tub like a big farm animal water trough and get a filtration setup going. I do feel bad taking him from the free world to confine him in a tub but for now I think it's best for him. I mean as long as he is eating and getting exercise then how bad can that possibly be? What do you all think?

guidofatherof5 · 11-16-13, 10:40 PM

Thanks for taking the time to help her(?) Is the Vet. going to leave the shell alone or try to stabilize the break so it will heal better? Might also think about deworming the turtle. They usually carry a pretty heavy parasite load, this of course after this initial trauma is cared for.
I used Drontal+ to de-worm my snapper.
Best of luck, please keep us posted on the progress.

mrgrimm · 11-17-13, 08:15 AM

The vet didn't mention anything about fixing the shell, so towards the end of our visit I mentioned that it was suggested to me by a friend that I could use fiberglass repair putty (like Bondo or similar to fix a car) to allow the shell to re-grow. It sounded like a good idea to me and I did see people doing it online after some research. I figured I better get some professional advice first though. He said that over his lifetime he has done that to a dozen or so cracked shell turtles, but recently has been researching the negative long term side effects of doing this. He said that nasty infections under the repaired layer, even if re-grown on the outside, are killing turtles 3-4 years down the road. I plan on talking to him again this week to update him on "Snappy" and I want to ask him again about the shell so I can get more information about this.

guidofather, it's amazing to me that I have found this turtle so shortly after being inspired by your thread. Before finding Snappy I was immersing myself in snapping turtle info. because of the interest that was re-sparked in me by you and your Tank. I can't help but think it's a test of compassion and a blessing from the Great Spirit.

And thanks for the tip on the parasites...something I haven't even thought about yet!

mrgrimm · 11-17-13, 08:30 AM

The little feeder fish that he does not neat are eating the algae off the turtle. I don't think they are bothering him, and he looks cleaner and cleaner every day! I don;t think there's any problems with this?

Yes I keep calling Snappy "he" but honestly I have no idea and I should have asked the vet if he could tell.

wrecker45 · 11-17-13, 08:37 AM

I don,t know if there the same. But male blandings turtles bottom shell is indented the female in not.

guidofatherof5 · 11-17-13, 08:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mrgrimm

The vet didn't mention anything about fixing the shell, so towards the end of our visit I mentioned that it was suggested to me by a friend that I could use fiberglass repair putty (like Bondo or similar to fix a car) to allow the shell to re-grow. It sounded like a good idea to me and I did see people doing it online after some research. I figured I better get some professional advice first though. He said that over his lifetime he has done that to a dozen or so cracked shell turtles, but recently has been researching the negative long term side effects of doing this. He said that nasty infections under the repaired layer, even if re-grown on the outside, are killing turtles 3-4 years down the road. I plan on talking to him again this week to update him on "Snappy" and I want to ask him again about the shell so I can get more information about this.

guidofather, it's amazing to me that I have found this turtle so shortly after being inspired by your thread. Before finding Snappy I was immersing myself in snapping turtle info. because of the interest that was re-sparked in me by you and your Tank. I can't help but think it's a test of compassion and a blessing from the Great Spirit.

And thanks for the tip on the parasites...something I haven't even thought about yet!

Thank you for your kind words.
I should have mentioned the use of the Drontral+ was under a Vets. care. I don't know much about repairing broken shells but I would think there would be a better way to secure the shell. I think you want something you can remove after the shell has scared/healed up. Fiberglass would not allow the shell to grow and expanded in the future.
These animals are tough and recover from horrific injuries. With the Vet and you helping the chances are good for a recovery. I'm looking forward to reading updates and "Snappy" in in our family prayers.
If you would ever want to talk snapping turtle leave me a message on my YouTube channel(Thamnophis14) and I'll give you a call.

guidofatherof5 · 11-17-13, 12:35 PM

Sorry about the typo above.

Drontal Plus (praziquantel/pyrantel pamoate/febantel) Taste Tabs Veterinary Information from Drugs.com