It’s turtle nesting season in Ohio, and with both large and small species on the move, the Wildlife Hospital has assessed nearly 40 turtles in the last two months.
Many are injured from car collisions or other impacts as they cross roadways seeking prime nesting sites. Ten of Ohio’s turtle species are aquatic or semi-aquatic, but females seek out patches of soft soil to dig nests and deposit eggs that are often some distance from any bodies of water.
“Many of the turtles we see during this time of year are females with eggs,” said Casey Philips, Director of the Wildlife Hospital. “They are looking for nests and the males that come in are trying not to lose their opportunity to mate with those females,” she added. 
The Hospital has had 17 snapping turtles, 6 woodland box turtles, 13 painted turtles, and 2 map turtles this spring. To treat cuts in turtle shells, the patients typically have their wounds flushed and cleaned and receive antibiotics and pain control.
According to Philips, there are a variety of wound care management protocols depending on the severity and type of injury, including laser therapy. For shells that have cracks, X-rays are taken and surgery is often needed to stabilize the fracture so that it can heal. These patients may also receive supplemental nutrition and hydration during recovery.
The length of their stay at the Wildlife Hospital depends on the severity of their injuries, Philips said. With the larger sized snapping turtle, a shell wound or injury can also have a significant circumference.
“Shells are bone, so stabilized cracks can heal quickly, but holes in the shell heal by the body filling in the gap from inside out,” Philips said. “It takes time and the fewer ‘puzzle pieces’ that are missing, the better.”
The injury rates for turtles go up when their needs during breeding season require them to cross busy streets and roads, she said. To assist any turtle crossing a roadway it is important to move them in the direction they are traveling, Philips added, otherwise they will return to that path and persist. “They know where they are headed and what they are looking for, so it is best to just help them in that goal rather than try to deter them,” she added.
June is the peak egg-laying month for snapping turtles. They create a cavity in the soil about 4-7 inches deep for up to 80 eggs that hatch in 9-16 weeks. The sex of all species of Ohio turtles depends on the temperature at which the eggs develop. Warmer eggs at the top of a nest may all hatch out as females, while cooler eggs at the bottom hatch as males. Once the eggs are deposited, the nest is covered and the female returns to her home habitat and does not return to the nest site. Young turtle hatchlings navigate their new environment entirely on their own.
It is harmful to remove a healthy turtle from its home territory at any time, Philips said, but if the turtle has been injured or shows signs of shell damage, the Wildlife Hospital can provide the medical treatment needed to address the problems.