Chattahoochee Nature Center Wildlife Rehabilitation

06/20/2026

Case 26-0474, arrived June 20:

This adult male Eastern box turtle was found at a Marietta farm suffering from an extensive pe**le prolapse. This can occur due to injury, infection, or more likely for this fellow, aggressive mating. The area already had fly eggs so we have cleaned the tissues, administered appropriate treatments, and will be transporting him to our reptile vet Monday for surgery.

06/20/2026

Case 26-0473, arrived June 20:

A very large adult common snapping turtle was struck by a car this morning on a Monroe roadway. The finders collected the turtle and as much of its shell as they could and transported it to CNC. The top of the turtle's carapace had been completely sheared off, it had lost a substantial amount of blood, and the left lung was no longer present, among other injuries. The turtle passed away as we were administering pain medications.
We would like to thank the finders for their very generous donation to our wildlife rehabilitation program.

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06/20/2026

Case 26-0472, arrived June 20:

A Winder resident found an adult female Eastern river cooter who had been struck by a vehicle in front of her home. She collected the turtle and brought her to CNC. The rear 1/3 of the turtle's carapace has been shattered and multiple organs were visible. Sadly, the turtle passed away en route and was DOA.

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06/20/2026

Case 26-0471, arrived June 19:

This male red-eared slider/yellow-bellied slider intergrade was struck by a car on an Alpharetta roadway. As with the previous case, he sustained a fracture to the rear of his carapace. We are treating with appropriate medications and expect a full recovery.

06/20/2026

Case 26-0470, arrived June 19:

This adult female red-eared slider/yellow-bellied slider intergrade was struck by a car on a Concord roadway. The turtle has old damage to the front of her carapace but sustained recent fractures to the rear of her carapace. We are treating with topical and injected antibiotics, as well as injected pain control medications.

06/20/2026

Case 26-0469, arrived June 19:

This adult female Eastern river cooter was struck by a car in downtown Acworth. She has abrasions to her plastron and a severely lacerated front right foot. We are treating with appropriate medications and she will be going to our reptile vet Monday for surgical repair of the foot.

06/20/2026

Case 26-0468, arrived June 19:

This adult female Eastern box turtle was struck by a lawnmower in a Kennesaw yard last week. The blade sheared the keratin scutes, revealed in carapace bone and fractured the shell. Luckily, the injury did not pe*****te the coelom or shoulder girdle. We are treating with topical antibiotics and injected pain control medication and expect a full recovery.

06/20/2026

Cases 26-0466 & 26-0467, arrived June 19:

Volunteers from Georgia Wildlife Network transported two cases, and sadly, both required humane euthanasia:

Case 26-0466 was a juvenile Red-shouldered Hawk who was found grounded in Buford. The bird was emaciated and had sustained trauma to the left wing. The humerus had multiple fractures with bone shards piercing the skin and the head of the humerus dislocated from the shoulder and rotated 90 degrees.

Case 26-0467 was a nestling Cooper's Hawk who was being swarmed by flies and wasps at a Gainesville home. While we were unable to determine the original injury, the left wing was covered in hundreds of maggots of various ages. They had consumed all of the soft tissues between the elbow and wrist, with only bare bone present. Remaining skin of the wing had already begun to liquify from the parasites.

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06/20/2026

Case 26-0465, arrived June 19:

Roswell residents found a juvenile Red-tailed Hawk grounded in their yard. They collected the bird and brought it to CNC the same day. An exam revealed it was thin and had significant trauma to the base of the tail. Hundreds of large maggots were present in the wound and had already eaten into the body cavity. Sadly, humane euthanasia was necessary.

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06/20/2026

Case 26-0464, arrived June 19:

This juvenile Turkey Vulture was found on the ground after recent storms and the homeowners believed it fell from a tree. Georgia Wildlife Network brought the young bird to CNC the following morning, mentioning that at least one parent was flying overhead when she arrived at the home. The young bird was quite defensive, had perfect weight, and was completely uninjured. It was REUNITED with its family the same day!
An interesting fact about vultures is that they typically nest on the ground, though they have been known to nest in caves, rotten tree stumps, or fallen hollow logs. They don't construct an actual nest; they simply trample grasses to flatten the area and lay their eggs!