Stunning Transformation of Wounded Pet Turtle Kept on Kitchen Floor for 50 Years Is Melting Hearts

Turtles are not easy pets to keep. They are long-lived and have a variety of very important habitat and diet requirements. For box turtle Rockalina, her life for the past half century has been a difficult one. She was kept alone on the floor of a family kitchen, with an improper diet and insufficient care that led to a host of health problems. But after being rescued and cared for by a turtle sanctuary, she may finally get to live out her golden years in happiness and peace.

Rockalina was first taken out of the wild back in 1977 by a young boy who thought it would be cool to have a pet turtle. For fifty years, she knew nothing but a slippery kitchen floor and kibble meant for cats. She lived a life of deprivation and severe dehydration, barely able to move on the hard floor, and suffering a host of increasingly painful health issues as a result of her terrible care.

Related: Little Turtle’s Silent Chomps Trying to Eat Fruit Snack Package is Making Everyone So Sad

Stuck on the Kitchen Floor

“Her claws grew upwards and backwards in curls,” the rescue writes, “her joints became bowed, her skin became discolored and started sloughing off, her beak grew too much becoming disfigured and her back legs were suffering from necrosis.”

The issues with her skin were many—the overgrown beak and skin was preventing her from opening her eyes, and years of sliding around on the floor had turned the skin of her legs into a kind of dust mop, embedding cat hair and other debris from the floor into her skin.

The rescue had their work cut out for them. First they gave her a bath, getting off as much dead skin and debris as possible. They trimmed her warped, overgrown nails so she cold use her feet properly again, and set to work reshaping her severely deformed beak.

A Better Life for a Box Turtle

They also began to feed her the appropriate foods. She warmed to soft foods and mashed vegetables, and fell in love with fruits like strawberries and pineapples. As her strength improved, she was able to lift herself up on her legs in a way she hadn’t in decades.

They also put her in a more appropriate environment, an enclosure with a soft, forest floor covers in pine needles, twigs and leaves. Here she can be her best box turtle self, and enjoy climbing and exploring. These woodland animals are not meant to be pets.

“We are thrilled to report that she’s made leaps and bounds in her recovery!” The rescue writes. “Her rehabilitation story is an amazing example of the positive impact people can have on wildlife.”

Remember, if you see a box turtle in the woods, they are not your pet. They live there.

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