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Turtles of the Mountain

allen griggs

I have a steep mile long driveway in the NC mountains.   The turtles like to hang out on the driveway.


There are ditches on the side of the driveway, about 10 inches deep.  These turtles love to lay around in these ditches, there is about 2 inches of rainwater there and they love to lay around in the water on hot summer days.
I am showing pictures here of 3 different turtles.



I pulled this guy out of the ditch today to get a photo of him.



This guy has suffered a terrible injury.   Yet, he has fully recovered, all legs and paws are intact and he can walk around just fine.   It is unbelievable that a turtle could recover from such an injury.
6

Comments

9 comments

Date Votes
  • bustedknee
    Black magic marker.
    Draw stitches across his shell before you let him go.
    0
  • dreher
    I have messed with a lot of box turtles but have never seen a box turtle with a damaged shell.  Seeing that is a first for me.
    0
  • He Dog
    Injuries are not uncommon, I would guess that resulted from being stuck in a plastic ring of some kind, perhaps a six pack holder.  Restricted shell growth until it broke.  Where they climb in rocky areas chips on the margins of the shell are common enough, that I have two with such damage.  In a forested area the road likely offers more sun to bask in that the wooded areas, and of course the ditch allows access to water.  They like to soak.  Find any inner tubes or blow up seahorses?
    0
  • yoshmyster

    Man that second one is sure purty. Nice and Orange.

    I don't think a sixer rings did that. Seems more like an impact.

    0
  • allen griggs
    HeDog it is not just a chip in the shell, you can see that the shell was fractured about two inches high.
    Interesting that you say caught in a plastic six pack holder.  I was thinking he might have gotten run over by a car.
    You "have" some turtles?  Do you keep some turtles in some kind of enclosure?  What kind of turtles?
    0
  • jimdeere
    I have been known to stop the car and assist them with crossing the road.
    3
  • He Dog
    Desert box turtles, the western species.  They are in our walled back yard.  We have produced over 500 in the past 30 years.
    0
  • gartman
    Thanks for the pics. Always found turtles quite interesting.
    0
  • Okie
    That one has a cleft lip shell.
    0

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