Patient Spotlight: Hazel

I pull back the curtain to see big brown eyes staring right back at me. A long outstretched neck that is the brightest of yellows expands and deflates repeatedly. This is an adult female Blanding’s turtle. Her temporary rehab enclosure is a 110 gallon stock tank filled with water, and the basking platform is anchored near the heat lamp, but it's floated towards the area where I entered so she is surprisingly close. I quickly drop the food and leave to minimize my disturbance.

Hazel was admitted on June 10th, 2023, after being hit by a car. May through July is nesting season, when females are out and about looking for suitable nesting locations for their eggs. We learned from radiographs that Hazel was not gravid, so she likely was on her way back home after depositing her eggs when she was hit. We commonly receive gravid (with eggs) females, but it’s a lot easier for their rehab journey if they have already laid, so we are always happy when that’s the case.

When Hazel arrived there were severe fractures all along the back half of her carapace. The fracture lines branched every which way up her carapace (top shell), some reaching to about halfway up the shell. Some of the pieces were able to fit back together, allowing for the fusing of bone, but others were jagged and had broken pieces that prevented the edges from touching. But more concerning was that she lost a lot of blood, and was in rough shape.

The first 72 hours were a nail-biter, but she continued to improve, and we were becoming increasingly more hopeful she would survive. Our concerns became more directed at her potential paralysis. Hazel was not using her hind limbs at all. She tucked them high up into her shell, and dragged herself around by her front legs.

It wasn’t for another month (mid July) that we knew she was using her legs again. It was difficult to observe her because she is so incredibly shy. The second I would enter her enclosure, she would immediately retreat into her shell. The times when I would be able to peak without her noticing, she was still dragging herself around by her hind limbs. After installing a security camera over her enclosure, we started noticing some hind limb use. It wasn’t clear how much weight she was putting on her back legs, but it was really encouraging progress.

Hazel started using her back legs more and more. We placed her in an aquatic setup and she did great. She swims and swims and swims, and it’s so exciting to see her use those back legs and exercise so her muscle function improves. She also gets up on her basking platform with ease, using both front and hind limbs. We’re so excited and impressed with all the healing she’s done, and grateful she’s made such immense progress.

It’s really encouraging that we are only in October 2023 and she’s exercising her legs so frequently. We feel very hopeful she’ll be ready to return home in the spring of 2024, after spending her winter, when she would normally be brumating, with us healing and building strength. 💪

Hazel has also warmed up a lot. In wildlife rehabilitation we interact with each patient as minimally as possible, and Hazel is still surely scared of us, but it’s comforting to see her more at ease. Hazel went from completely boxing up, retracting back into her shell anytime I was near, to basking with all limbs out, and keeping her neck outstretched as I entered. Part of that is her enclosure, as she got sizable upgrades as her mobility improved. Part of it is also where she’s at in the healing process and her mobility, as she has to feel less cornered now that she can dash away. Overall, she is feeling better and better and it shows. We’re so proud of how far she has come, and can’t wait to help her get back home.

We have teamed up with University of New Hampshire faculty in the College of Life Sciences and Agriculture (COLSA) to monitor female turtles who have been rehabilitated to increase understanding of rehab outcomes and get valuable data on the movements of female turtles locally. This turtle research is approved by UNH IACUC and conducted with permission from NH Fish and Game. Orion, a Blanding’s turtle, and Ma cherie, a spotted turtle, are two rehabilitated turtles who have already been released with transmitters. Next season Hazel will be one of the turtles researched as well, so we’ll continue to have updates post-release as well.