Found Box Turtle

[Newo13]

Hey guys, I'm looking for advice for an Eastern Box Turtle I found walking down Decatur Street in New Orleans, Louisiana. I was bartending and saw him walking down the street so I quickly grabbed him before he got run over by a car or walked on by humans. This section of the city is very much city life. I don't think he could have gotten here from the wild without the assistance of a human. He also has some damage to the edges of his shell (mainly in the front and back), but none seem fresh.



So my questions are:
1. Do you think he is from the wild? If so I know a great spot to bring him, but it is no where near where he was found.
2. Did someone abandon him or he escaped as a pet? If so I will definitely bring him in for a vet visit soon.
3. Does his shell seem like an old wound? What could have caused this?

As I'm making a game plan for whatever is best for this little guy I have him in my backyard in my Turtle Garden. Usually used for when my Red Eared Slider is gravid or for my Eastern Hermann's tortoise to graze. They are both staying in their indoor enclosures till I can figure this out. I've tried feeding him, romaine lettuce, turnip greens, meal worms, crickets, roaches, carrots, tortoise mazuri, dandelions and offered a cuttle bone. He has pooped when I gave him a soaking and I have gotten a larger water bowl so he can soak himself and a large umbrella to have more shadding.



Any advice on next steps would be great! I've called my local exotic vet once already, but no answer. Thanks!

 

[jeff kushner]

Wow, that's one lucky little guy! I'm going to let someone smarter than me give you advice that really counts but his wounds look old, probably a dog or other. If he's pooping during soak, it kinda sounds like he may be an escapee. No matter, he's in good hands....one of the talented folks here can give you release advice

Good luck!

 

[zovick]

Hey guys, I'm looking for advice for an Eastern Box Turtle I found walking down Decatur Street in New Orleans, Louisiana. I was bartending and saw him walking down the street so I quickly grabbed him before he got run over by a car or walked on by humans. This section of the city is very much city life. I don't think he could have gotten here from the wild without the assistance of a human. He also has some damage to the edges of his shell (mainly in the front and back), but none seem fresh.

View attachment 399898View attachment 399899

So my questions are:
1. Do you think he is from the wild? If so I know a great spot to bring him, but it is no where near where he was found.
2. Did someone abandon him or he escaped as a pet? If so I will definitely bring him in for a vet visit soon.
3. Does his shell seem like an old wound? What could have caused this?

As I'm making a game plan for whatever is best for this little guy I have him in my backyard in my Turtle Garden. Usually used for when my Red Eared Slider is gravid or for my Eastern Hermann's tortoise to graze. They are both staying in their indoor enclosures till I can figure this out. I've tried feeding him, romaine lettuce, turnip greens, meal worms, crickets, roaches, carrots, tortoise mazuri, dandelions and offered a cuttle bone. He has pooped when I gave him a soaking and I have gotten a larger water bowl so he can soak himself and a large umbrella to have more shadding.

View attachment 399900View attachment 399901

Any advice on next steps would be great! I've called my local exotic vet once already, but no answer. Thanks!

The Box Turtle appears to be a female. She may have been wandering about looking for a spot to lay eggs, but if she couldn't have come from anywhere near where you found her, that may not actually be the case.

The wounds look like very old chew marks from a dog or some other predator like a raccoon. There is not a need to see a vet to treat those areas.

It is a hard decision as to whether to release the turtle or not if you don't think you know where she originated. Possibly someone picked her up off a road and brought her into the city, then tired of her and turned her loose without considering the consequences.

 

[Moozillion]

Hey guys, I'm looking for advice for an Eastern Box Turtle I found walking down Decatur Street in New Orleans, Louisiana. I was bartending and saw him walking down the street so I quickly grabbed him before he got run over by a car or walked on by humans. This section of the city is very much city life. I don't think he could have gotten here from the wild without the assistance of a human. He also has some damage to the edges of his shell (mainly in the front and back), but none seem fresh.

View attachment 399898View attachment 399899

So my questions are:
1. Do you think he is from the wild? If so I know a great spot to bring him, but it is no where near where he was found.
2. Did someone abandon him or he escaped as a pet? If so I will definitely bring him in for a vet visit soon.
3. Does his shell seem like an old wound? What could have caused this?

As I'm making a game plan for whatever is best for this little guy I have him in my backyard in my Turtle Garden. Usually used for when my Red Eared Slider is gravid or for my Eastern Hermann's tortoise to graze. They are both staying in their indoor enclosures till I can figure this out. I've tried feeding him, romaine lettuce, turnip greens, meal worms, crickets, roaches, carrots, tortoise mazuri, dandelions and offered a cuttle bone. He has pooped when I gave him a soaking and I have gotten a larger water bowl so he can soak himself and a large umbrella to have more shadding.

View attachment 399900View attachment 399901

Any advice on next steps would be great! I've called my local exotic vet once already, but no answer. Thanks!

Hi, Newo13! Welcome to the forum!
I am a fellow Louisianan- I’m in Covington.
The LSU vet school in Baton Rouge is where I take my torts when I need veterinary care. They operate a small animal clinic that is open to the public so that the vet students can have hands in experience treating animals. The patient is seen by a fully qualified vet, along with a Resident and a student. The cost is the same as any vet, if not less, for us, because the fees are based on animal size!

They have a very good Exotics department for reptiles. And it’s my understanding that the LSU Exotics department has a particularly good reputation.
My musk turtle, Nelson, has a misaligned beak with an underbite, and he sees the same doc every 6 months or so to have his beak Dremelled and reshaped. So his doc knows him well!
There’s an exotics doc in Metairie (whose name escaped me at the moment) I’ve used who is very good, too. He’s listed as an avian vet, but he treats exotics, too. I was very pleased with the service we got from him, too.

Good luck!
Laissez les bon temps rouler!

 

[SusanM]

You have a Gulf Coast Box turtle and yes appears to be female. She has old chew wounds on her shell edges which look healed. Since she was found way out of habitat she was probably dumped by someone or is an escaped pet. The best thing to do is to have her checked out by a reptile vet to check for eggs and parasites if you are going to keep her. As to any release intentions I would contact a wildlife rehabber for help and advice. You can find one near you at www.animalhelpnow.org, just put in your city or zip and then select reptiles to narrow it down.

 

[TammyJ]

Good luck and please keep us updated!

 

[Newo13]

Well the vet seems to believe she is wild and I should release her. She also has fecal parasites so he gave her medicine.

She has been thriving in the turtle garden, but I want to do what is best for her.

 

[jeff kushner]

Sounds like she stopped by for a nice makeover! She got her meds, some good food, nice soaks and now she's rejuvenated for the Summer. Excellent job!