Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Last summer my brother brought me a turtle that was struck by a car (I affectionately named her Speedbump). Her back legs were mangled and she had to have one amputated. She also had an ear infection and the bone in her other back leg was shattered. Her recovery took an enormous amount of hands-on care, including daily injections, flushing, and sterile soakings.

Over the colder months (and as she recovered) she was kept indoors where she delighted us with her antics and enormous personality. By the beginning of this summer, her wounds had healed and she was strong enough to be placed outside with my EBT Daisy. It was adorable to watch Speedbump follow her around the enclosure and gently take strawberries out of her mouth (she was quite the little thief!).

Unexpectedly, Speedbump passed away just recently. The morning of her death, she was walking around the enclosure as usual, picking at bugs. Early that afternoon she was found on her side. We dont know what killed her - she was eating and drinking normally and didnt seem to have any signs of an infection. Her enclosure-mate, as well as the boys on the other side of the divider, are perfectly healthy. I thought that maybe she flipped over and overheated in the sun, however, it was a cloudy day when it occurred and she has proven to be able to right herself if on her back. The other possibility is that she had some underlying condition from her car accident.

Regardless of what led to her death, she was a great pet and a real survivor. The day she got hit by the car, she ate a piece of watermelon out of my hand. She never tried to bite anyone and always followed you around a room, even if she had trouble walking. She was a great turtle and I have missed her tremendously. I hope I gave her a good last year to her life.

RIP Speedbump.

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1.0.0 Jack Russel Terrier: Skipper
0.1.0 Miniature Pinscher: Bambi
1.2.5 Eastern Box Turtles: Dozer, Daisy, Speedbump, Magnum and 4 hatchlings
0.1.0 Red Eared Slider: Rosie

Sorry about your loss. You did good for her. She looked like a sweet little pet.
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Vichris
"The object of life is not to be on the side of the majority but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane"- Marcus Aurelius

Vichris Variables

I'm so sorry to hear about Speedbump. Thanks for saving her in the first place.

Poor, Speedbump. So sorry for your loss. I lost a old 3-toed female I adopt last summer after only a few weeks of having her. It must be much worse to lose one you invested so much time and energy in helping save. I'm sure Speedbump had a great life while she was with you.

This is so sad. I'm sure this has happened to all of us at one time or another. What a wonderful life you gave her!

So sad to hear that, my deepest sympathy.
I'm sure you gave her the best year of her life and it's definately not your fault she died, we all got it coming sooner or later.
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Jeff Benfer
gartersnakemorph.com

I am so sorry to hear about this.

I have had the exact same thing happen to me with an otherwise extremely healthy turtle. He just couldn't (or didn't) flip himself back over. Even on cloudy days, they can heat up very, very quickly. Don't beat yourself up about it, it just sounds like an unfortunate accident. I have heard that just a few minutes of heat on the plastron like that can lull them into a trance, which is why you will sometimes find only very slightly damaged turtles deceased on their backs on the highway. I thought that maybe this information would be of some comfort to you.

Everyone,

Thanks so much for your words of sympathy.It's nice to have people who can relate to this type of loss (not many people understand how easy it is to get so attached to turtles!)

Thanks again,
Lisa
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1.0.0 Jack Russel Terrier: Skipper
0.1.0 Miniature Pinscher: Bambi
1.2.5 Eastern Box Turtles: Dozer, Daisy, Speedbump, Magnum and 4 hatchlings
0.1.0 Red Eared Slider: Rosie