Swerved to miss a turtle, and the car behind hit it...

We patched it up, but 1/3 of its shell was also cracked through; some pieces were missing. It is very active, and after using medical gauze tape and a fresh pack of gorilla glue (it's all I had), I mixed up some antibiotics for it to drink. It's now resting. I hope this one pulls through.

This happened on the same road where people often swerve to hit turtles around here. We are doing what we can.

About turtle shells...

Their shell is not armor, but a part of their skeleton. It hurts when they are thumped, much less shattered and cracked like a compound fracture. It's not just bone, but living tissue. The shell has nerve endings that are connected to their body.

The shell is actually fused to their spine and ribcage. The top part (carapace) connects to the bottom part (plastron) with bony bridges. When a shell cracks, it bleeds because it contains blood vessels throughout. It's basically like breaking a bone for them.

When you tap on their shell, they definitely feel it—imagine someone thumping hard on your rib cage. Their shell helps them sense their environment and detect threats, not just protect them. It's a living, sensitive part of who they are.