Took this snapper to his new home along with the owls.

I’m not experienced with turtles and I thought he would be calm and boring, but he was really cool!

I made sure I got proper handling instructions when I picked him up, since I had watched videos before but never actually was hands-on with one.

In the car, he kept crawling around, and when I looked back, he had climbed up and was looking out the back watching the cars. I could see him track them with his head, so he did seem actively engaged in what was going on. I wonder what people behind us thought! 😆

When we got to the lake, he was all excited and a little more difficult to grab, but I got him securely and set him down at a nice spot.

He must have felt more confident back in nature, as he lunged at me and hissed, when he had been calm at the clinic. I took it as, “I’m going in this lake now, but not because you told me to!”

Mr Turtle shuffled in and gracefully swam away.

I hope you like your home! I released him on the kayak side of the lake as opposed to the more footpath and motorboat launch parts, so hopefully it will be peaceful and full of tasty food and a nice single lady turtle! Good luck, snappy!

  • anon6789@lemmy.worldOP
    28·
    3 days ago

    He’s got some battle scars, but it will continue to heal and the crunchy parts will fall off.

    His intake form was still on his container. He came in last fall (Oct I think, I don’t have the paper with me) and it’s taken this long to heal this much. He was hit by a car.

    Thanks to our rehabber’s great work, he’s back in the wild. Her work using beeswax to regrow their shells back is getting international attention, so we are on the cutting edge of turtle rehab!

    • Optional@lemmy.world
      13·
      3 days ago

      Her work using beeswax to regrow their shells back is getting international attention

      That is super-double awesome! Great job turtle people!

      • anon6789@lemmy.worldOP
        16·
        3 days ago

        From Amanda Leyden

        Turtles are some of the most resilient animals on the planet. Despite an ever-changing landscape, habitat loss, and increasing human interaction, these little survivors continue to beat the odds every single day.

        For nearly 15 years, I’ve rehabilitated turtles, and throughout that time many of my techniques have evolved. I like to describe rehabilitation techniques as having tools in a toolbox, not every case is the same, and sometimes you have to think creatively to give these animals the best chance possible.

        In 2025, I decided to change my approach to shell stabilization by incorporating beeswax as my primary technique. Not only did my aquatic turtle patients thrive, but turtles across all species responded incredibly well, resulting in a 75% survival rate in severe trauma patients and a 91% survival rate overall for turtles admitted.

        Here is the most extreme example from the post:

        Injury photos - pretty graphic

        • troglodyte_mignon@tarte.nuage-libre.frEnglish
          4·
          3 days ago

          Very scary injury, that must have hurt a lot. :-(

          I was wondering what the yellow thing was before clicking, wouldn’t have thought of beeswax.

          (Edit: and now I see that the beeswax was mentioned above, my fault for rushing to the pictures.)

          • anon6789@lemmy.worldOP
            5·
            3 days ago

            I can’t even imagine! 😔

            The shell is fused to the spine and ribs, so it isn’t separate armor, it’s more like if our ribs were external.