Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hey everyone,
I signed up to this board hoping that someone can help me quickly. On my way home from work, I often see turtles crossing the road. I always stop and help them to the other side. I saw one today and when I stopped to pick her up, her shell was really badly cracked. Her intestines were hanging out a little and what looked like an egg sack was also hanging out. There was yolk on the road, so an egg had also been broken. I assumed it was dead, but when I gave her a little nudge with my foot, her hind leg retracted into her shell. I picked her up and put her in the long grass at the side of the road. I have no idea what else to do with her. I dont know anything about their anatomy, but if the shell was cracked open, will there always be internal organs visible? Can she be saved? The crack was really bad, but it looks like a car just caught the side of her, so there is nothing else damaged. There wasnt too much blood on the road either. Shes not far from where I live, so i can easily go back and get her if you guys think she can be saved. Her head was tucked in the whole time, so I couldnt see if her eyes were closed or anything. What should I do????

When you said an egg sack was hanging, i assume its a baby? Or is it a gravid female? Anyways, there has been many occasions where turtle with bad shells being saved, but this of course requires an expirienced vet. I strongly believe if it is left like that, it might have died. Its a good thing that someone who cared bout turtles came by ^^. And if you do plan to save it, i suggest going to the vet as quick as possible. Good luck
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My "babies" :
1.0.0 Indo BTS (Tiliqua gigas gigas)
0.0.1 Rainbow skinks (Mabuya multifasciata)
1.0.2 RES (Trachemys scripta elegans)
0.0.2 Amboina box turtles (Cuora amboinensis)
1.0.0 Chinese softshell (Trionyx sinensis)
1.0.0 Asian leaf turtle (Cyclemys dentata)
1.0.0 Leopard gecko (Eublepharis macularius)
0.0.1 Whites Tree Frog (Litoria caerulea)
And still growing...

Unfortunately she died last night. I tried my best to get hold of the animal control, but they were all closed at that time. Theres even a refuge not too far away that would take her, but they werent available when I called and returned my message too late. Yes, she was a gravid female. Probably looking for a place to lay her eggs. When I went back to get her, she had gotten rid of a lot of eggs and they were broken on the ground. She was moving around quite a bit, which gave me some hope, but when I went to check on her this morning, she had already died. I feel terrible, but I did my best. Hopefully she felt somewhat more secure in the dark box I had her in than she would've on the road with cars driving by her. I really wish people would be more careful. Its not that difficult to see a turtle on the road in the middle of the day