It must have been the middle of April, after all frost passed, that we met our friend. We live in a rural Missouri area that borders Shoal Creek, a tributary of the Spring River. It is an area where we get to see the majestic bald eagle, great blue herons, black-crowned night herons, white herons, various kinds of hawks, and many other birds.
There are also turtles, several species of snakes, frogs, toads, salamanders, crawdads, and fish, black bass, sunfish, catfish, crappie, rock bass, walleye, and more.
While attending the afternoon VVC class with Kat McDonald, my husband - who was in the middle of our quarterly or so burn on our farm - came in the house with the turtle. It was a male, and we could see he was burned. He was in dire condition, but we decided we would not give up on him. Having owned 2 slider turtles for the past 28 years (and counting) we felt confident we could care for our friend.
My husband assessed him noting that Smokey (as he named him) was burned on the face, nostrils, left front leg, and left top front of the shell. Also noted was the swollen skin around the front legs and the top of the neck, causing him to stay still and not being able to retract into his shell. He checked on Smokey constantly, even waking up during the night to check on his condition.
To our surprise, even with difficulty, after about a week of treatments and gentle hydration, Smokey started moving around and even trying to retract into his shell. He was favoring his left side, but he started moving around and even eating lettuce, strawberries, and mealworms. He never gave up. What a relief!
It would be another 6 or 7 weeks (about 1 and a half months) before we felt we could return him to his home. We chose a shady spot near a pile of wood and shrub and gently placed him on the cool grass. He didn't move much, but after I'd say 25 minutes or so, he started moving around. He even moved (with caution) his left side!
The next day my husband went to see if he could check on him, and although in the same general area, he seemingly moved quite a bit. The day after that, it seems that Smokey went out to newer, better adventures.
So long Smokey, it was a privilege serving you.
