It could not have been more perfectly timed – 2024 is the 10th anniversary of the turtle egg incubation program at Dane County Humane Society’s (DCHS’s) Wildlife Center. We were so excited to hatch a group of turtles from a species of special concern in Wisconsin: Blanding’s Turtles. Not only that, but we had the hatchlings of this species and their mother in care at the same time!
This mother Blanding’s Turtle and her precious cargo arrived in late May after being hit by a car, which resulted in fractures along both her top and bottom shell. She was likely moving across the roadway in an effort to find a good place to lay her eggs, but sadly, she did not make it across.
Upon realizing that the adult Blanding’s Turtle was gravid (the turtle version of pregnant), our Wildlife Center’s licensed rehabilitators began to check for eggs in her enclosure daily. In the wild, turtles lay their eggs and leave them to hatch on their own, so after our turtle laid her eggs, we collected and sent them to our wonderful volunteers performing turtle egg incubation for DCHS’s Wildlife Center from their own homes. Having this incubation process off-site saves precious space at our Wildlife Center to provide specialized care to injured or sick Wisconsin wildlife. Our volunteers maintained the incubators at specified temperatures and humidity levels, and they carefully inspected each egg periodically to see how they were developing.
The mother turtle had suffered significant shell damage. Our licensed rehabilitators promptly got her into surgery, placing six metal plates with screws to secure the fragments so her shell could heal. She was bright and active, but her prognosis was nonetheless guarded. It was hard to know whether the shell pieces would have enough blood flow to heal or if they would die off.
While their mother healed, her eggs were on their way to developing into baby turtles. Turtle eggs can be “candled” – a technique that involves shining a light against the shell to see when a fertilized egg is developing into a little turtle. Turtle eggs take about 90 days to develop and hatch, so there is a lot of watching and waiting involved, with our team ever hopeful. This patience paid off for our Wildlife Center staff and volunteers when little Blanding’s Turtles started to emerge, poking through their shells.
Hatchling turtles do not need to stay in care for long since they come out of the eggs fully formed and independent. We confirmed each tiny turtle looked healthy before sending them for release in a State Natural Area near where their mother was found – a perfect Blanding’s Turtle habitat!
The mother turtle remains in the care of our Wildlife Center’s rehabilitators. All summer, she showed her resilience as she slowly mended with the compassion and attention of our Wildlife Center team. Her shell needed the entire summer to heal enough for the hardware to be removed. She still needs more time until her shell is fully healed over where the screws once held it together, but the hardest part of her recovery is behind her.
Everyone at the Wildlife Center is eagerly counting down to spring, when we can finally release her back to her home!
Sarah Karls is the Wildlife Rehabilitation Coordinator
