Early in the morning when I was starting work for my day job, I was typing at my computer when I heard light noises downstairs. I dismissed these sounds initially, as it was not the first time I have heard sounds that sound like they are coming from downstairs, but are originating elsewhere in the house. But the muffled sounds continued, and my suspicion grew. I thought I'd go downstairs just to ease my mind, while feeling pretty confident I would find nothing. I descended downstairs, and soon I could see around the corner and noticed a shadowy figure that was moving. I hadn't yet turned on the lights so it was difficult to see. I stared, squinting hard, trying to make sense of what was in front of me. A quick moment of panic came over me - could that be Drew's hands reaching out for help? But my brain quickly moved past that thought when I realized that I was sitting upstairs and he would have had to pass me first. So what is this shadowy figure? Finally it hit me, it was Quinn! Quinn is an adult snapping turtle who is staying with us through the winter, healing from his injuries. But what? How? Huh?

This escape artist version of Quinn is a totally different turtle from the Quinn who was admitted in June 2023. Quinn had a rough start to the rehab journey. He had severe fractures all over his body. His front leg was swollen and he did not use it - it appeared broken, but radiographs confirmed there were no breaks to his front limbs, just fractures. His back leg however was broken, and it was a bad break. The front of his carapace (the top part of the shell) had fractures as well, and his eye on the same side was swollen, and he often kept it closed. The rear carapace had fractures as well. Poor Quinn had injuries on just about every part of his body.

His demeanor was extremely subdued. As he healed we saw some progress, and he would eat small amounts of food. But after some time it was clear he wasn't making the progress he should be making, and we became more concerned when he stopped eating on his own and was dropping in weight. Diagnostics were run and nothing was found. Due to the facial injuries we considered that there could be neurological damage that could be contributing to the abnormal behavior.

After many months and treatments, Quinn really started to turn a corner. Soon he would eat small bits on his own, which increased over time. I would find him basking, and he'd be in different positions and would move around within his enclosure, and open his eyes far more often. It was so thrilling and encouraging to see!

Every time I look at Quinn now, I am in awe. Turtles have such unique personalities, and some are much bolder than others, so I thought for some time that he may be a particularly shy turtle. His personality has really blossomed, and now he has moved on to the next phase of his journey - the "get me out of here!" phase. Snapping turtles are amazing climbers, as Quinn likes to demonstrate. He's quite the curious explorer. He's also an extremely gentle soul. Snapping turtles will "snap" because it's literally their only defense; snapping turtles have a reduced plastron that makes it so they cannot retract into their shells like other turtles. Quinn has never once snapped in his entire rehab journey, despite going through some of the worst injuries. We would never judge him if he did of course! In fact seeing a wild animal's "spicy" side can be a sign they are feeling better and are properly trying to defend themselves again, as we are predators to them. It's just surprising with all he's gone through, that he's still so gentle.

We are so proud of Quinn and how far he has come. It took a long time to get here, but he has definitely turned a corner, and it's been so encouraging to see him doing so well. He is going to do fabulously when released into his natural environment. We can't wait to keep seeing Quinn improve, and get him back home come spring!