We thought we lost our 3 year old painted turtle. He had hibernated at the bottom of his pond the past 2 years. This year, when the pond warmed up, he was nowhere to be seen. We assumed he got out and pretty much gave up. Today, the first warm day here in the Northeast this spring, he reappeared!! He must have gotten out of the pond and dug in the nearby dirt for the winter. We found him about 10 feet from the pond. Not wanting to drop him into the still cool pondwater, we put him in a small tank with warmed pond water. He's awaken, but it appears that both his front legs are missing their claws. More specifically, there are 2 small stubs where the front claws used to be. We're thinking that he may have suffered frostbite. There's no open wound. Does anyone have experience dealing with something like this? We're concerned about his ability to swim and climb on his log to bask. Eating isn't a problem, as he doesn't use his front legs to eat and has eaten a little already.

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