12 Jul 2004: Last week RES 6, from the Houston SPCA, was cleaned up and patched by one of the GCTTS vets offices. She had been hit by a car. Her rear carapace section was loose but still attached. One bridge was fractured horizontally to the edge of her skin. She had a layer of algae that had to be scrubbed from the areas to be patched. This is not always an easy job. She was treated locally with a medication for several days to stop bleeding and also started on antibiotics. The bridge patch is probably not sealed completely because of the closeness to the skin in the rear leg area. The tissues covering her body cavity under this fracture could be seen but seemed intact. She will not be allowed into deep water for a while yet because of this area not being sealed. She is starting to eat already and acclimating to her new environment. She will be probably be put into a large in ground pond later and allowed to hibernate this winter. If all goes well, as expected, she should be releasable in Spring/Summer 2005.
Please note that some images of injured turtles may be disturbing.
Long Term Care Cases - Index
Update: October 2004 Good news! RES 6 healed so well, she had her patches removed and was released this month.