UPDATE: terrapin with fish hook

[Marguerite Whilden]

Marguerite Whilden

June 6, 2006 at 10:51 pm #23738

Thank you to all who sent helpful recommendations. I am very pleased to report that the hook was removed today. We retrieved the injured terrapin from a kind park ranger. After evaluating the position and location of the barb, we decided to attempt to back out the hook and remove it. The 2″ hook was lodged in the back of the tongue with barb positioned to the side. Back legs were immobilized with a towel and taped. The terrapin was held upward in a flower pot, she pulled her head back in the shell as far as possible. Mouth was held open and long pliers were used to push the hook back and up. Removal was quick once everything was in place. The tongue was swollen, but there was very little bleeding. After removal we poured a small amount of peroxide in the mouth. After it foamed from the mouth and nostrils, we flushed the mouth again with salt water. She ate soon after we put her back in the brackish water tank. If efforts to remove the hook had failed, we were going to cut back the hook shank as far as possible and try the cotton-feeding technique recommended by a member. We’ll hang on to her for a few weeks to make sure everything is back to normal. Marguerite WhildenThe Terrapin InstituteP. O. Box 51Edgewater, MD 21037Voice 410 370 9171FAX 410 757 9268www.terrapininstitute.org “It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the ones most responsive to change.”

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