BARNSTABLE, MASS. (WHDH) - A turtle at the Cape Wildlife Center is getting some very colorful care after being brought in for a serious shell injury.
In a Facebook post, the facility explained how an Eastern box turtle was transferred to their hospital after being attacked by a predator. According to the Center, the turtle suffered serious damage to his back shell, creating a severe soft tissue injury that needed sutures and intricate bandaging to help the reptile heal.
To keep the wound clean, the Wildlife Center’s staff have been changing his bandages every week and in the process, have been getting creative.
Calling it “the fruits of our labor,” the facility’s staff have been going with a fruit theme for the turtle’s bandage designs.
Pineapples, kiwis, and watermelon have made up some of the fruitful gauze displays.
After highlighting the bandages, the Cape Wildlife Center emphasized that the turtle in their care was lucky it got the intervention it received.
As they explained, the soft tissue that was damaged may take weeks to heal, while the turtle’s shell may take months to return, possibly taking as long as a year.
They mentioned that the shell will never regrow completely, but should heal to a point where the turtle will able to safely box itself in when taking cover from predators.
“Their one defense is to completely box up in their shell and he did get lucky,” said Dr. Priya Patel from the New England Wildlife Center. “You could see he didn’t have any limbs affected and his head was protected so it did gnaw away at a portion of the shell and get a little bit of the tissue underneath but not too bad.”
The Center also reminded the public to be mindful on the roads, since turtles are on the move once more, traveling back to hibernating spots.
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