Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Grrr. I have not posted a while. My two girls and my 3-year old boxie are doing well. One of the females came out of hibernation with a leg injury in the front (mice, frostbite?) but all are doing fine.
I was driving to work this morning in NJ. My drive to work is mostly on a major highway with little habitat around it. I thought I saw a boxie on the shoulder of the 3-lane highway and pulled onto the edge. Ran back and picked her up. Well, alive, but her skull is crushed, eyes out. The front part of the plastron is damaged, but the carapace was complete. Otherwise was perfect, unblemished, in her prime. Not sure how she got where I found her. A car must of run right over her head. I think I feel an egg in her, which I will try to get out later. Dissapointing and sad though.
To those who know NJ, this was right on 287, close to Route 1, in urbanized central NJ.

She was in bad shape, but still "alive". One eye out, the other shut, and open fractues on her skull. Sad.
Anyway, cut her and found 5 fully formed eggs, one of which was accidentally cut during the process. I assume she was looking for a place to lay when hit, but I don't know where if any habitat she came from. I wonder if she had been with a male or not. In any case, they have a better chance of hatching now then they did this morning.

So sad. Good for you for trying to make the best of a bad situation. Hopefully the eggs will be fertile.

Thanks! The turtle-lover in me hated seeing this female dead. The ecologist in me hated seeing a reproductive female in her prime removed from the population. The biologist in me thought the "dissection" was interesting, looking at the inner workings.
I hope the eggs are fertile. Where I found this female is really odd, unless she was removed from somewhere else. Could there be a male in that area too? However, the readiness of the eggs seems to indicate she was just looking for an open area to lay. I guess I have as good a chance as any. She was still technically alive right before I removed them, and they were calcified and well-formed. I will post in a couple months if they hatch!
I also saved the carapace which I will clean up. I have another from about 20 years ago still in good condition.

Keep us posted.
I stopped on I-64 the other day: large female turtle, crushed skull, shell intact, plastron a little scuffed....I didn't bring her home to open her up because she was HOT from having been on the asphalt for an indeterminate amount of time. It was well over 90 that day, so you know the pavement was much hotter...even if she had been gravid, any eggs would have been cooked.