CPR But Not Mouth to Mouth...Eeewww!

We found this little fellow in the crab trap the other day.  Crab traps are supposed to have turtle excluders, and ours does, but this diamond-back terrapin got caught somehow.  We estimate he was held under water for perhaps 5 hours.  This looked like a dead terrapin, but hubby is stubborn and watched and saw a tiny movement....

Here is hubby giving CPR after clearing the water inside his lungs by holding him head down for a little bit.  Hubby would gently press on the back carapace and then wait about 30 seconds or so.  (We could have checked on the Internet for proper procedures, but time was of the essence.)

After about ten minutes of this process the turtle lifted his head and sucked in air. (I think he was also smiling.)  While he remained very lethargic, although degrees of lethargy are hard to determine in turtles/terrapins, he continued to lift his head and breathe in air every once in a while while hubby continued the CPR.

Once we determined he was definitely alive but still weak, we kept him in a cooler on the deck overnight with a little fresh water and some fish food. He was definitely too weak for release that evening.  By sunset he had pooped!  Those of us who have raised children know this is a good sign.

When we checked on him the following morning, he responded as all terrapins and turtles should respond, with total introversion of every appendage.  (Go Away!)

We released him into the grassy edge of the river and he was extremely happy.  He tucked under a stick and would pull his head above the water's surface every once in a while.  We went to check out crab traps and upon our return just a minute later he had disappeared into the river.  Hubby saves another life!