Cohen

“Cohen” is an adult female diamondback terrapin (Malaclemys terrapin). She was hit by a vehicle on the Tybee Island Causeway in 2006 and arrived at the GSTC from St. Catherine’s Island in June 2007.  Cohen suffers from permanent neurological damage resulting in limited use of her rear legs.  In deeper water she cannot keep upright and on land she cannot move fast enough to escape predators.  Unable to survive in the wild, Cohen will remain at the GSTC to serve as an ambassador for her species.

Flint
“Flint” is an adult male gopher tortoise (Gopherus polyphemus) that was transferred to the GSTC from the Flint River Aquarium in Albany, Georgia back in September.  Flint was most likely struck by a vehicle and suffered a severe fracture to his bottom shell (plastron).  Flint is now stable and we have placed fixators and epoxy on the fracture site to keep it as stable as possible while it heals.  Gopher tortoises are unique, they are state reptile of Georgia, they are the “keystone species” of the longleaf pine ecosystem and they are listed as threatened in the state of Georgia and may be placed on the Endangered Species List in the near future.

Herus
“Herus” is an adult male gopher tortoise (Gopherus polyphemus) that was found in Thomasville, Georgia.  This patient was referred to the GSTC after being found with an abnormal mass on the side of his/her face.  Upon examination, we discovered the mass (golf ball size) was actually an ear abscess.  The abscess was surgically excised and cleaned thoroughly and is now regressing in size but may need surgical reconstruction at some point.  Pesticide and chemical run-off in the wild are a possible cause of this condition. More specifically organochlorines inhibit vitamin A synthesis and lead to thickening of the ear canal and eventually to abscess formation within the ear.

Shelldon
“Shellon” is a juvenile male diamondback terrapin (Malaclemys terrapin).  He was brought to the GSTC after many months of poor husbandry (care, diet) in a captive setting.  We are unsure of the exact cause, but Shelldon’s tail was necrotic and the skin slowly sloughed away and needs strict medical attention and debridement.  Shelldon recently began eating on his own again and no longer needs to be tube fed.   Terrapins are a unique turtle species because they live in the marsh where water is “brackish” (salt and fresh water).

Maura
“Maura” is an adult female diamondback terrapin (Malaclemys terrapin) that was found on the Jekyll Island Causeway during the summer of 2009 after being struck by a car while coming up to lay her eggs.  She suffered significant fractures to her carapace, plastron and the bridge of the shell.  After several months of rehabilitation including honey and wound-vac therapies, Maura is almost completely healed.  Unfortunately, her rear limbs still show signs of partial paralysis due to spinal trauma and she is not releasable.  She helps us out at the GSTC as an “education turtle” so that she can be an “ambassador” for her species.

Terrapin Hatchlings
After spending 60 days incubating in the incubators at the GSTC hospital, we successfully hatched over 100 diamondback terrapin hatchlings.  These hatchling were hatched out at the GSTC and raised because their mothers were struck by cars while nesting on the Jekyll Island Causeway this past summer.  Each year, between the months of May and July thousands of female diamond back terrapins cross the Jekyll Island Causeway in order to dig a nest and bury their eggs.  The causeway is ideal for nesting because of the fertile soil and high point of land during high tide.   The causeway is dangerous however, and hundreds of female terrapins are hit by cars each summer.  The live terrapins are brought back to the GSTC to be triaged after being found.  The eggs of females that have died on the causeway are collected and incubated at the GSTC and hatch out in our care.  We raised over 100 of these hatchlings this year!  These baby terrapins will play an important roll in a research project in which we will measure growth rates and sex characteristics. The GSTC is partnering up with the Riverbanks Zoo and the Atlanta Zoo to raise these babies for the next year before being release back into the wild.

Elton
“Elton” is an adult female diamondback terrapin (Malaclemys terrapin) that was hit by a car on the Jekyll Island Causeway this past summer (2010).  She had minimal external injuries (minor scrapes to the shell) however she has not regained proper use of her rear limbs since her accident.  We are working with her to perform physical therapy on the rear limbs as well as provide plenty of exercise so that she will be ready for release this coming summer.

Box Turtles
We have 11 adult, 12 juvenile and estimated ~12 hatchling box turtles (Terrapene carolina) in our outdoor exhibit at the GSTC.  These turtles each have unique injuries ranging from shell trauma to ear abscesses.   The juvenile and hatchlings were raised here at the GSTC and will be a part of an important study to determine if releasing captive born box turtles is an effective tool in increasing local populations.  A survey will be conducted on Jekyll Island and possibly elsewhere in order to get a handle on current population size.  Box turtles are unique because of their high-sight fidelity; this limits their home range to the size of a foot ball field.  If found in one location and released in another, the turtle will forever be in search of its original “home”.

Lime
“Lime” was hatched after being incubated at the GSTC this past fall.  Lime is a hatchling gopher tortoise (Gopherus polyphemus) whose mother was hit by a car and did not survive.  The eggs were extracted from the mother tortoise and incubated.  Lime was one of the lucky 3 eggs that hatched.  The other two hatchlings were released on St. Catherine’s Island, GA.  Lime was not yet ready for release because of his/her habit of flipping over onto his back repeatedly and not being able right him/herself.

Brett
“Brett” is a juvenile yellow bellied slider (Trachemys scripta scripta) that was found with significant trauma to her head. The upper beak was fractured and required sedation and surgical repair.  This turtle was unable to eat due to the injuries so an esophagostomy tube was placed so that we can deliver gruel to the stomach and ensure that the nutritional demands are met.