12 Jul 2004: Big Guy is an unusual melanistic male about 8 inches long that was hit by a car. He has brownish black eyes and his coloration is black, gray and olive green with yellow blotches. His eyes look as though they could stare a hole through you! Very interesting turtle. After cleaning up and getting his rear carapace and plastron patched at a GCTTS vets office last week, Big Guy was put into an isolation pool. He's on antibiotics and is already eating fish. He loves to bask during the day and doesn't seem to be as shy as most wild RES's. His prognosis is good and he will be probably be put into a large in ground pond later and allowed to hibernate this winter. If all continues to go well he should be releasable in Spring/Summer 2005.
Please note that some images of injured turtles may be disturbing.
Long Term Care Cases - Index
Came through hibernation without incident and is healthy as of May 15, 2005. He is becoming aggressive toward the other turtles and cannot be maintained in a communal pond.
20 Jun 2005: Here are the latest photos of Big Guy with his patches removed. His plastron crack is looking good and both sides of the crack are solid. He was missing so many pieces of his carapace that he has gaps between the shell pieces but the tissues there are hardening nicely. One piece of the carapace is somewhat mobile so it will be watched closely. We still think Big Guy may be releaseable later this summer. We will keep you informed of his progress.
Good News!! Big Guy was released in August 2005. He healed very well. When released, he quickly dived and didn't look back. He was more than ready to go. Thank you for your donations which helped feed and care for him the past year.