31 May 2004: RES 5 is an 8" long wild female Red-Eared slider that was found on a road hit by a car and turned into the Pasadena Animal Control. Her carapace and bridge were fractured. A half inch portion of her bridge was hanging by a small piece of tissue and had to be removed. One of her internal organs was poking out from the hole. She was taken to one of the GCTTS vets where she was started on antibiotics. Her internal organ was carefully tucked back into her body cavity and the cavity was flushed with sterile solutions. Her fractures were patched but the hole in the bridge was next to tissue so a sealed patch could not be made in that area.
A decision was made, after RES laid four eggs that she would have to be allowed dirt access. She also has to be soaked for a short time once a day to stay hydrated. This complicated trying to keep the hole under RES's unsealed patch clean. An x-ray revealed RES had 7 more eggs inside. She needed access to dirt to so she could lay her other eggs. Over the first week we had RES, she laid the remaining 7 eggs. Dirt access and soak water can get in the unsealed patch so she will be kept on antibiotics longer than normal to prevent infection. We hope in a few weeks that tissue will fill in the hole under the unsealed patch and keep out debris and water. Shell growth will take a number of months.
Please note that some images of injured turtles may be disturbing.
Long Term Care Cases - Index
12 Jul 2004: One week ago all of the patches on RES 5 were removed by the vet and some dead tissues were cleaned out. An odor developed because the patches started leaking with dead tissue underneath. It has been 8 weeks since she was patched and her carapace and one bridge fracture are sealed with healing tissues. The bridge, where the piece was missing and had the open body cavity, is filling in with tissue and healing nicely. It will soon be sealed with tissue completely. (see new photos) There is now no odor or signs of infection. There is still the possibility that she will be healed enough that she can be released back into the wild before the end of summer. If not released then, she will be placed into a large in ground pond to hibernate in this winter and be released in Spring 2005. We are very pleased with her progress.
Came through hibernation without incident and is healthy as of May 15, 2005. Cracks completely sealed and turtle is scheduled for the next release.
FINAL UPDATE: 12 May 2006 RES 5 was released back into the wild. She was released into a remote body of water so she will never get on a road again.
Click here to see her final photos: