Reptile & Amphibian Forums

This is an eastern mud we took in recently. It cannot be released back to the wild due to injuries. A good chunk of the shell was crushed and it caused some spinal/nerve damage causing the rear legs to no longer work properly.

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PHWyvern

This is a 55 gallon aquarium I refurbished for the mud turtle in light of his handicapped nature. I divided the tank with plexi and silicone. I created a ramp with another piece of plexi. Because the turtle gets about by dragging himself around with his front feet I had to create a non-slippery surface on the ramp. I spread silicone all over it then with a plastic spoon, smacked the silicon all over to create peaks and ridges. Then I coated the wet silicone with play sand to add some more texture. I siliconed the ramp to the divider to hold it in place. The water depth is at a max 4 inches. The gravel and bricks provide shallow water areas so that the mud at any time can get his head above water to breath when he's swimming. Within a day the mud learned how to get up the ramp to the land area. The land area has gravel for drainage and the rest is filled with sphagnum moss. He currently has a stinkpot turtle for a tank mate.

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PHWyvern

Amazing that it survived the trauma.
That is a great set up too. Nice work.

I was on my way to look at these this AM when the phone rang.. had to leave, just now got to a point where I could sign on again. sheesh! LOL
Did you guys repair the shell? I looks like you did in the 2nd set of pics.
That's a great set up for him very creative!
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PHRatz

Is that old damage? Or does is look like a recent car accident?

>>Is that old damage? Or does is look like a recent car accident?

It's fairly recent..damage occured back in April. We had a big event going on and someone brought the turtle to us. We didn't have the time or resources to deal with the turtle ourselves, but it just so happened that our usual rehabber group was at our event with a booth set up. They took the turtle back with them with the understanding that if the turtle could not be fixed well enough to go back to the wild, we would take him in. I've rehabbed some turtles with major shell damage like that before and the turtle would be fine, but whenever the breaks cross the spinal column, you just never know what the outcome will ultimately be. All in all, the shape of the break to me suggests the turtle may have been stepped on by a horse or large deer and not run over by a car.
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PHWyvern

Interesting. Thanks.
Again, a great job too.