The turtle was given antibiotics and will soon be released back into the wild.
A Florida woman rescued a turtle that got hit by a car while on a road trip and it turned out to be gravid. Laura Pinto was on her way to Melbourne, FL when she saw the reptile upside down on the road.
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The rescued turtle looked very similar to a peninsula cooter and not a box turtle as described in the news report.
"I just thought like, if I don't take her, nobody is going to take her," Pinto told WOFL FOX 35. She placed the turtle on the floorboard on the passenger side of her car and fed it strawberries, and then noticed the reptile had laid eggs.
Thanks to the great news coverage regarding a recent patient. She is just one of over 100 current patients and they…
Posted by Florida Wildlife Hospital & Sanctuary on Thursday, May 17, 2018
"I just heard something like ‘pop’ and then there was babies,” Pinto told FOX 35. “Oh my God, I am a mother or a grandmother!”
Pinto then brought the reptile to the Florida Wildlife Hospital in Melbourne where the animal was assessed. The turtle’s shell was cracked and her eggs were not viable, according to FWH’s Tracy Hampton. “But if we can help her along and breed, she will have eggs again in the future.”
Hospital staff administered antibiotics and the reptile is swimming and eating just fine. The hospital deserves credit for saving the reptile, especially given the hospital is funded by donations from the community, Pinto said.
