RandomWiktor
Critter Keeper
I am a licensed wildlife rehabilitator and though mostly "retired" due to my busy school schedule, I do get in the odd critter here and there. Right now I have two wildlife patients (ok, only one officially; the DEC doesn't recognize bug rehab XD) this winter and thought I'd post updates on their progress.
First, a common snapping turtle! Someone plucked this little baby from a local lake and tried to keep it in a plastic turtle lagoon (illegally mind you), only to have it get out and lose its tail to a curious dog. I'm happy to say that his tail is healed so it's only a matter of keeping him in good condition until spring when I can take him back to where he wastaken (after, of course, some reacclimation to what "the wild" is like a la backyard rubbermaid pond). I just got him a massive rubbermaid for more exercise because even being fed very sparingly, he's getting overweight as snapping turtles in captivity often do, and I don't want it to damage his health.
Before pic of tail w/muscle and bone showing, yeouch!
After pic of fully healed tail
Pic of the lil chunker:
Secondly, I found a baby Zelus assassin bug all cold, dehydrated, and scrawy mashed into one of our hay bales. He's not releasable in this weather and has probably been stuck in that hay since fall! He's been feeding good on roaches and is getting a nice tummy.
When he came in, very sunken abdomen:
Now w/FAT abdomen, chowing on some bugs in the feeding cup:
Woohoo!
First, a common snapping turtle! Someone plucked this little baby from a local lake and tried to keep it in a plastic turtle lagoon (illegally mind you), only to have it get out and lose its tail to a curious dog. I'm happy to say that his tail is healed so it's only a matter of keeping him in good condition until spring when I can take him back to where he wastaken (after, of course, some reacclimation to what "the wild" is like a la backyard rubbermaid pond). I just got him a massive rubbermaid for more exercise because even being fed very sparingly, he's getting overweight as snapping turtles in captivity often do, and I don't want it to damage his health.
Before pic of tail w/muscle and bone showing, yeouch!
After pic of fully healed tail
Pic of the lil chunker:
Secondly, I found a baby Zelus assassin bug all cold, dehydrated, and scrawy mashed into one of our hay bales. He's not releasable in this weather and has probably been stuck in that hay since fall! He's been feeding good on roaches and is getting a nice tummy.
When he came in, very sunken abdomen:
Now w/FAT abdomen, chowing on some bugs in the feeding cup:
Woohoo!
The snapper's release site is only accessibly by kayak (I'm taking him waaaay back away from the main shore where people boat to avoid his recapture) so I'm going to be taking tons of pics of the swamp in bloom.
