Last month, we found a box turtle under the edge of our bottom deck. She stayed there several days, left and then came back again. My husband noticed she had a large ear abscess.
So, I called the Southwest Wildlife Center in Roanoke. I brought the turtle to Blacksburg so someone could bring it to the Wildlife Center. They worked on the turtle and called me this week to say I could pick her up. They had gotten permission from the state because she was in good health and could find her place for hibernation.
Here is "Fire" right before I released her. As you can see there is no ear abscess and she was rearing to go!
I found a location near where we had found her but in the woods. She scampered off quickly for a turtle. Hope to see her next year.
