Reptile & Amphibian Forums

nathana-- "Have you found and read my notes on palpating yet?"

No i haven't where are they I would like to read it

Be careful! I tried to palp my female when I found her digging a nest, and she clamped her backside down on my fingers and threw her front feet and head out trying to bite me. It was extremely painful and embarassing - I thought I'd never get loose from her. My fingers throbbed all that night. I probably did something wrong, so when you find Nathan's instructions, follow them carefully. ;}

Ohh ouchies ... and they have strong muscles in there .. im glad your fingers are okay

* imagines some one running around the house with there fingers stuck in a turtle shell *

Hee, hee - I was actually hollering and stomping around in the backyard while my husband (not hearing me) was mowing the front. I guess I could have gone over to the fence and asked the neighbors to help, but they think I'm a little eccentric anyway, and this would have taken the cake! :}

There's no help for it that I know of, except one thing I read. A little boy had his finger stuck in a box turtle and the parents called the paramedics, who used some N2O gas to relax the turtle and it eventually released. It's more likely that the turtle finally fealt safe enough to release, since everyone was quiet and calm and the boy wasn't trying to pry it off any longer.

I have found that if I stick my finger (with attached turtle) underwater, they tend to release fairly quickly.

i told my fiance about that and he looked at me like i was nuts .. and then was like okay i dont want to know where her fingers were .. and put his fingers in his ears so he couldn't hear cause i was trying to tell him

* giggles*

you may very well get your fingers smashed or trapped for a while, or both. I've often looked quite the fool for a few minutes while one of my turtles acted as a pair of chinese fingercuffs. Only the really large ones hurt me all that much, and it's akin to having your finger stepped on, but should not seriously injure you or be unbearably painful. If you hold the legs right, though, you should be able to get your fingers in and out without a smush, since the legs block the closing of the shell from completely clamping. If your fingers are small and narrow, you will have more luck, since they will be more comparably sized to the turtle's rear legs.

PennyGirl, an ENOURMOUS female we have did leave a painful bruise on the top of my finger when I released her leg too soon before extracting my finger once. I also had to resist hopping around and shouting and instead sit calmly with her on the grass next to me while I waited for her to open up and turn me loose.

point the turtle away from you and make sure it is properly upright (it's normal state, bottom down). You may have to submerge it in water to get it to stick out a rear leg. Some of my gals need to be held under and sometimes even spun around in the water for a couple minutes before they will extend rear legs to try and swim for air. Others will just let me do this with no hassle.

Grip the rear legs between your thumb and middle finger. Extend the legs back a bit. Use your pointer finger to gently feel the soft body area in front of the rear legs, in the spot where the rear legs go to when the turtle is clammed up. Do not feel by the tail or behind the rear legs. In this soft tissue of their sides, you can gently probe your fingertips (gently, GENTLY) and you can feel solid eggs once they have calcified.

It can take a bit of getting used to, mainly to get the right grip, but once you feel eggs you will never forget the feeling again.

This turtle will stick her legs out all the way .. now her head depends when im carrying her around.. usually i put my hands under her so she doesnt feel like shes falling .. but then she thinks she can walk away *LOL*