This is the title card for Turtle Shell Damage and Repair. The words Turtle Shell Damage and Repair are in bold black at the top. There is a picture of a water turtle with a damaged shell and another picture of the same turtle with a bandage over the damage. It says from this, to this next to the pictures. At the bottom are the words Wildlife rescue and rehab, help save the turtles, one shell at a time. The background is a multi-colored, watercolor abstract.

Today, we are going to talk about Turtle Shell Damage and Repair. If you are a wildlife lover, this is a talk for you. It is also a great way to get kids interested in wildlife, the environment, animal rescue, and maybe an animal medical career.

A cool thing happened this week, and we thought we would share it with you. One of the local wildlife rescuers called, she had three turtles that had been hit by cars and were in need of medical help. We handle the turtles as we are familiar and comfortable with “remodeling” their broken shells.

It is very common in the Spring and Summer for turtles to be trying to get somewhere, only to be hit or run over by passing cars that do not pay any attention to the poor things crossing the road. This does not have to be fatal for the turtle, the right wildlife rehabber can and will fix the shells, rehab the turtle and release them back into the wild, where they belong.

This is a section divider with a line of turtles.

It is very important to properly identify the turtle you have. Some turtles live in water and others live on land. This does not seem like much of a difference but it really is.

A water turtle can come out of the water and wander around on land.

But, a land turtle can not swim and will drown if put into water that it can not get out of. It is sad to say but several times we have had well-meaning people tell us that they saved a turtle and put it into a pond or river. When we asked what kind of turtle is way they did not know, they had to describe the turtle to us. On a couple of occasions, it was, in fact, a land tortoise that they “saved”. It is terrible to think that they meant to help the turtle but they ended up most likely drowning it, as they could not identify the kind of turtle it was.

As for these three turtles, they were the native, red slider, water terrapins. They all three seemed to have been hit by cars and had broken and/or cracked shells.

They had been picked up separately and given to a local rescuer to look after. Most animal rescuers and vet clinics will take in injured and orphaned wildlife and then pass them on to the DNR-licensed rehabber. It is important to note that keeping native wildlife is illegal and can cause you great problems with your local DNR officer. Also, keeping wildlife can cause injury to both the animal and you, if you do not know how to properly handle them.

Anytime you find an injured or orphaned animal, it is best to call your local vet and get the name of a local rescue or rehabber that you can get the animal to. It is important that the animal is gotten help as soon as possible. Many of the animals that are injured can be rehabed and released but time is always an issue. The faster an injury is treated, the better the chance that the animal can make a full recovery.

These 2 were handed off from the people that found them to the vet, to the rescuer, and then to the rehabber. We have been helping our local vet with rehab for many years and turtle shells are not that hard to fix. Of course, it does matter what other parts of the turtle are injured or broken. As with all things, internal injuries must be seen by a vet. But turtles that have limited damage to the shells are relatively easy to fix.

Please note, we had a senior moment and forgot to take pics so we do not have pictures of the actual damage to these two of the turtles’ shells. We do have the repair pictures for you.

Turtle one, we will call him, the smaller one, only had a broken back-end flip. That is to say the back rim of the shell between the back legs. It was not a bad break and had already stopped bleeding. There were no missing shell parts and no other damage to the turtle so the process was pretty straightforward.

The damaged part was cleaned to remove old blood and debris, you would not want the turtle to get an infection due to a lazy cleaning job. After the shell was dry from the cleaning, a patch was applied.

This picture shows water turtle one in a cardboard box. The back part of the shell, just above the tail is busted. There is now a mesh bandage covering the cracked part.

This picture shows water turtle one being held. It is a close up of the bandage that was put on the turtles busted shell. There is a white mesh layer and a clear, thick, adhesive layer.

There are many different ways to “patch” a shell, every wildlife rehabber has a way that they like best. You can use, tape, glue, rubber cement, epoxy, and a number of other things, depending on how severe the break is.

As this turtle only had slight damage, a 2 part patch was used. The first layer is drywall tape, the one with the mesh grid that is sticky on the back. The tape sticks to the shell and the mesh weave gives it a good texture to apply the 2nd step to.

The 2nd layer on this turtle was flex tape. The flex tape is waterproof, once it seals down so there is no worry about water getting into the wound or getting trapped under the bandage.

This picture shows a roll of dry wall mesh and a roll of Flex Tape. Both of these items are used to repair damaged turtle shells.

Other rehabbers use epoxy or rubber cement or some other type of semi-liquid glue. All of these work well with the drywall tape as the holding base.

Once the flex tape is applied you rub firmly on all surfaces from center to edges to be sure it seals down. Do be careful NOT to rub your finger into the damaged part of the shell. You want a good seal and then leave it for a while so the patch can finish setting. It is usually best to wait an hour or so and then check the patch to be sure it is a good seal and not wanting to peel up anywhere.

Most turtles handle damage and being treated fairly well. Turtles do not handle being kept in captivity well and need to be released as soon as possible. This little fellow was cleaned, patched, set, and released within a few hours.

There are as many different methods and processes as there are rehabbers. Each different methods require different time frames but the sooner the better with wildlife when it comes to getting them back to their natural habitat. Different products also require different drying or sealing times but that all depends on what product and process the individual rehabber uses.

Turtle 2, we will call him the bigger one, had much more damage but the process was still the same.

His shell was cleaned of all old blood and debris. He was left to dry and then patched. The drywall tape was again the 1st layer and the flex tape was layer 2.

This patch was much bigger due to the larger damaged area but it worked the same.

Again, there were no missing shell parts and no other damage to the turtle so the process was pretty straightforward.

Clean, patch, check the patch, then release.

This turtle also did not take but a few hours to get back to the wild where he belongs.

This picture shows the back part of water turtle two’s shell. The shell is cracked but now covered with a mesh bandage. The turtle is in a cardboard box.

This picture shows the front of water turtle two. The shell is cracked but now covered with a mesh bandage. The turtle is in a cardboard box.

This picture shows water turtle two in a cardboard box. The turtle has a large mash bandage all the way down the center of its shell, head to tail.

Turtle 3 we will call him, we actually remembered to take before and after pictures of him.

This picture shows water turtle three’s shell in a close up. The shell is cracked and missing a small piece.

This picture shows water turtle three’s shell in a close up. The shell is cracked and missing a small piece. The turtle is in a cardboard box.

This picture shows water turtle three in the cardboard box with the shell still cracked.

Again, the process was still the same. His shell was cleaned of all old blood and debris. He was left to dry and then patched. The drywall tape was again the 1st layer and the flex tape was layer 2.

This turtle was held overnight to be sure the patch was sealed as the crack was in an odd place. We needed to be sure the seal was good so water would not get into the open shell. He was then released into the pond.

Yes, we have quite a few turtles in our farm ponds, but not all of them stay with us. Some, after they are healthy again, will move on to other places.

Please note, water terrapins will almost always want to bite. The land tortoise will almost never bite. But there is always an exception to any rule. Be very careful if you find an injured turtle. It is best to scoop it up in a bucket or box and not by hand, just to be sure to avoid getting bit. Be gentle but quick. If you pick up an injured turtle or other wildlife, take it quickly to your local vet, they will be able to either treat it or get it to a rehabber who can.

Again, sorry that we had a senior moment and forgot to take before pics but we did get after pics. Here are pics of the two fellows with their patches at the release. Neither were very appreciative outwardly but we are sure they were grateful deep down.

Here are some of the pictures we took of the release of turtle one.