By Michelle Burgum | Donor Relations Officer
Tiny & Timmy the Broad-Shelled Long-Necked Turtles
Age: Hatchlings Sex: Unknown Weight: 1 gram each
Found: Mum was run over by a car while trying to cross the DAguilar Highway near Wamuran.
Transported to: The Australia Zoo Wildlife Hospital from a veterinary clinic in Caboolture.
Veterinary Assessment: The mother turtle was rushed into hospital with a badly fractured shell. After a thorough assessment Dr Claude determined that her injuries were too severe and she had to sadly be euthanised. However, she was also found to be pregnant and remarkably a number of eggs were unharmed. After a short procedure 11 complete eggs were extracted and placed immediately into an incubator.
Treatment: The eggs are currently kept at a constant temperature of 30 degrees Celsius, and the process helped by keeping them in vermiculite. In the wild, the incubation period for this species can be anywhere between two to four months and dependent on the weather conditions. After just two and a half months in hospital, the first little turtles
have started to appear and have been transferred into a small, water-filled enclosure.
Future: The broad-shelled long-necked turtle is a precocial species and is completely independent at time of birth; therefore once the remaining nine eggs hatch they will be released back into their natural environment in the wild as soon as possible.
AZWH Fact: Fresh-water turtles will generally migrate during dry periods in search of fresh bodies of water, putting them at risk of being hit by cars.
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