Turtle Triage Guide

This guide will help determine the severity of injury to turtles.

Please do not attempt to patch or fix a broken turtle shell on your own.  Turtles requiring extensive repair need to be transported to an authorized wildlife rehabilitator or veterinarian for treatment.  


Step I. Determine if the turtle is injured:
 

TURTLE NORMALS:

Head/Neck- Should freely move around, extend and retract. May "pump" head- this is normal. Folds in neck present.

Eyes- Should be clear, open, reactive to stimulus. Cloudy, blue, or crusty eyes are not normal.

Mouth/Nose- Mouth should be shut. There should be no blood, fluid, or bubbles coming out of either opening.

Limbs/Appendages- Should have no open, fresh wounds. Moveable. NOTE: Previous missing legs are OK if an old injury. Should have nothing sticking out of shell but 4 legs and a tail.

Shell- Should be intact, without damage or fractures. Be sure to check both top and bottom shell. Obvious old, healed shell fractures or damage is OK.

Activity- Turtle should hiss, retract neck, try to get away when picked up, and may bite. Snapping turtles may be overly aggressive and even "attack". This is normal behavior and does not indicate a problem.

 

If turtle is injured or abnormal, skip to step 4 to determine severity of injuries.

If turtle is normal, proceed to step 3 for release instructions.


Step II. Determine the type of turtle:

 

Land turtles have a high-domed shell and lack webbed feet. Examples are box turtles, wood turtles, terrapins, bog turtles.

 

Water turtles possess webbed feet and have a flattened shell. Pond sliders, map turtles, river cooters, musk and mud turtles are all aquatic (water) turtles.

 

Snapping turtles have an enlarged head and limbs, with a very long tail that has ridges. USE CAUTION when dealing with a snapping turtle... they have very powerful jaws and can inflict a serious bite.



Step III. Releasing an uninjured turtle:

Before releasing any turtle in the wild, attempt to confirm that the animal is a wild turtle and not a captive pet. Pet turtles will have very shiny, colorful, and clean shells that lack dirt, algae, and a large amount of scratches and knicks. PET TURTLES SHOULD NEVER BE RELEASED INTO THE WILD- transport to appropriate rehabilitator or rescue center.

Wild turtles should be dirty, have algae and other growth on shell, will generally be aggressive if provoked and should hiss and open mouth (except some box turtles, which can be quite docile). They may have a large number of old injuries, fractures, scratches, and knicks on shell. Top of shell may be noticeably worn in older specimens.

Release the animal immediately when found. Do not keep the animal any longer than is necessary to transport to a safe release location or a wildlife rehabilitator. Do not take the animal home with you. Do not release pets or any animal that has been in captivity.

If the turtle is uninjured and does not appear to be a pet, RELEASE THE ANIMAL WITHIN TWO MILES of location found. Acceptable release locations for turtles are:

Land turtles- near a water source, in heavy brush and undergrowth
Water / Snapping turtles- release in a large body of water. Temporary puddles and pools do not count.


DO NOT ALLOW CHILDREN AND BYSTANDERS TO WITNESS THE RELEASE. They may return and attempt to catch the animal.



Step IV. INJURED TURTLES- Determine the severity of injuries:

If a turtle has only ONE crack in the shell, and the fracture is less than 2" long, and it is in the center of the shell and not at the edge, and there is no blood present, and there is no gap or separation of shell pieces, and the pieces are not moveable…

Apply antibiotic ointment to crack and release the turtle per instructions on the previous page. DO NOT permanently patch… the injury may become septic and this will trap infection under the shell. The animal can die if this happens.

MINOR INJURIES & PROBLEMS

Transport turtle to an appropriate authorized rehabilitator for treatment if the animal has any of the following:

Shell fractures that need more extensive care:

Any fracture over 2" long
Crack is at edge of shell
Any shell pieces are moveable
Blood or tissue is present through crack

 

Open fracture where you can see inside shell
More than one fracture
Internal organs exposed
Maggots present

 


Other minor medical problems that need professional care:

- Eye problems: crusty, blue, opaque, or missing eyes
- Mouth / nose problems: discharge, blood, fluid, or bubbles present
- Foot and toe infections, missing limbs if new/fresh injury
- Anything that doesn't look right and you're not sure about


 

MAJOR INJURIES / LIFE-THREATENING CONDITIONS

Transport turtle to an authorized rehabilitator, veterinarian, or shelter for euthanasia if the animal has any of the following:

-Gurgling, bubbles, and/or blood from mouth accompanied by a severe shell fracture
-Skull fracture or crushed head
-More than 1/3 of shell missing
-Large pools of blood accompanied by trauma
-Obvious major internal injuries, entrails or organs prolapsed outside shell

 

*NEVER ATTEMPT TO SUPERGLUE OR PATCH A FRACTURED SHELL.  YOU CAN TRAP INFECTION IN THE WOUND, ULTIMATELY CAUSING DEATH.  ONLY APPROPRIATELY TRAINED INDIVIDUALS SHOULD ATTEMPT SHELL FRACTURE REPAIRS.