Niche was a big female Red-eared
Slider turtle. This is an aquatic turtle that usually lives in lakes and ponds.
However, Niche was rescued from a lake where she could never survive. This
lake was polluted and was fed partially by saltwater. These freshwater turtles
cannot survive long in saltwater, just as a saltwater turtle would not fare
well in freshwater. Nature designed their bodies for specific environments.
Sea turtles belong in the salty sea- freshwater turtles belong in fresh water!
Unfortunately somebody unknowingly
plopped Niche into this lake, maybe thinking they were setting her “free”
or maybe they just didn’t want to care for her anymore. One thing was
for certain; this big turtle did not have proper care for a long time. She
already had a deformed shell due to either bad diet, lack of sunlight or proper
vitamins. The deformed shell would not hinder her from living a healthy life
if she received proper care from now on. Proper care would include either
sunshine or a special light that produces rays like the sun.
Did you know that most turtles
need sunshine not just to warm up, but to stay healthy? This makes them hungry
and more active and helps their bodies to be most efficient. It also allows
them to dry off completely once in awhile so their skin and shell stay healthy,
free of fungus. The ultraviolet rays also help them to make Vitamin D and
maintain good shell strength. The next time you see a group of turtles basking
in the sun, they’re not just resting on a log enjoying themselves; the
sun is necessary to their good health.
When my girlfriend found her struggling
to get out of the lake, she noticed these unreadable initials scratched in
the poor turtle’s upper shell! It was sad that somebody would do that
to a turtle. The shell is a living part of the turtle. These deep scratches
were already partially healed over, which probably took months or even years.
This was a good sign in that she was past this mistreatment and the shell
was healing. This was how my girlfriend named her, after her unique feature
- Niche sounds like initials! I think Niche also referred to her finding a
place to live, her “niche” in a loving home with other turtles!
Some months later, while living
in our backyard, a terrible accident occurred. Poor Niche and 3 other turtles
were attacked by raccoons, natural predators! Raccoons are one of the animals
that can hurt a turtle very seriously, usually causing death. This was a very
sad event to happen to our turtles, and it was my fault as the caregiver.
It is my job to make sure they were always safe from harm, and this time I
kept them in a shallower pool out back while their bigger tank got repaired,
leaving them vulnerable.
I will never leave turtles unprotected
from predators again and, like all pets, their safety is the owner’s
responsibility, as the animals cannot speak for themselves. They didn’t
have a lake to hide and sleep in at night, as turtles would do in the wild,
keeping them safe from harm. From then on, either all the turtles were brought
in at night, or were placed in their safe deep tank with the heavy wood cover.
Niche survived this accident, but
she was in bad shape for awhile. We were uncertain if she would survive. After
the injury, we put her in clean cool water to clean the wound and hopefully
stop swelling and any pain. She didn’t behave like she was in much pain,
I think turtles go into a state of shock when a serious accident occurs. With
the help of some very caring turtlekeepers giving us advice, and our care,
and the strong will to survive that all turtles must have, big Niche was acting
and looking better, her appetite returning and becoming more active.
Niche was now a turtle with a “disability,”
just like some of our human friends who happen to have a disability. Some
are born with disabilities, while some occur as the result of a serious accident,
as in Niche’s case. It takes a long time to heal, but the body has an
amazing ability to heal, although missing limbs will not grow back. Now Niche
was left with only two legs, a front left leg and her rear right leg.
At first we thought, “What
are we going to do!? Are we going to have to hand-feed this poor turtle? Will
she be able to swim and stay in the big tank with the other turtles? What
about the yard during the day – will she be able to move out of the
sun when it gets too hot and she needs shade, like her ‘able-bodied’
turtle friends?” “How do you care for a two-legged turtle?!”
We were very worried.
Well, just as with the toughest
person you’ve ever met - in the sense of bravery and determination -
Niche showed us how tough she really was. After a visit to the vet, in which
he checked out her wounds and gave her a few stitches, she took her first
swim back in her 150-gallon tank with her fellow turtles. As soon as I released
her from my hands, she took to the water paddling her two diagonal legs, swimming
like the pro she had always been! She dove down deep, circled around some,
then hit the surface as if to show off or just say “Hi” to her
mates! We didn’t know what she was thinking, of course, except we seemed
to notice her enthusiasm and sense of freedom she displayed in the water.
Did you know that sometimes turtles
in the wild will lose a leg or paw, due to an accident, and still live and
function just fine for the rest of their lives, reproducing and laying eggs?
They are very adaptable and tough creatures.
When it came time for Niche to
walk about on land, or even to climb out of the water to bask in the sun,
then she became a little clumsy. She would lift her body up by stepping with
her two legs, sort of like a normal turtle does with all four. Then she would
clunk down onto her bottom shell – CLUNK! – and take another step
with her legs! Sort of like limping, but when she was on a hard surface like
the wooden deck, she made allot of noise with her clunky walking. We always
knew it was Niche coming and we sure loved her!
Like many rescued animals, Niche
the Turtle had a difficult life in the past. But this story had a happy ending.
Niche returned to swimming, eating, and basking in the sun with all the other
turtles! She truly illustrated just how strong and resilient these beautiful
animals can be.
Richard Bergins & Rafael Wang– July, 2002
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