During our field trip, Tuesday, to Donnelly Wildlife Management Area I had the opportunity to haul a turtle trap out of the water. Inside was a single turtle; a large, female, yellow-belly slider (Traclemys scripta). This was determined by noticing her large size (indicating likelihood of female) and the presence of striped legs ("striped pants"). After I was able to untie the trap and get her out it became clear that she was not a happy turtle. She retracted her head and opened her mouth wide as if intending to bite if I were to put a finger within reach of those jaws. Once inspecting her up close, I noticed a lump of something attached to the back of the plastron, underneath the tail. When I tried to pull it off I realized it was leach. Although there is no reason for a leach to attach to the shell due to lack of blood flow it was not easy to detach the parasite from the turtle. Continued examination led to my discovery of a few more tiny leaches on the carapace. Once everybody got a chance to take a picture or hold the turtle I set her on the bank of the swamp and let her slide back into the watter.
(P.D. Inabinett, SC)
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