WVIR (Charlottesville, Virginia) 17 October 13 Turtle Found with Broken Leg, Painted Shell Recovers
After four months of rehab at the Virginia Wildlife Center, a turtle is healthy again.
Sheldon was taken in by the center back in June, after she was found with a broken leg and her shell covered in nail polish. Since then, the center spent a lot of time gently cleaning all the brightly colored polish because covering turtles' camouflage shells makes them more visible to predators.
Staff members at the center say all turtles in the wild should be left alone, except in one circumstance.
"We have a promise here that we encourage other people to take what's called the turtle promise, which is: 'I promise to leave wild turtles alone, unless I am helping them cross the road,'" said Amanda Nicholson, the center's director of outreach.
The center says the chemical in the paint can also be dangerous to the turtles.
Now that Sheldon is clean and healed, she's heading to the Natural Chimneys campground as part of an educational exhibit.
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