Cutest Turtle Bandage Artwork Helps Make Recovery More Colorful

One local turtle learned that if you're going to have your backend bandaged, it might as well be creative and colorful.

The New England Wildlife Center in Weymouth recently welcomed an Eastern box turtle that had a rough go of things. The poor little guy was attacked by a predator that gnawed off a decent portion of his back shell and left him with significant tissue damage.

Due to his backend condition, the turtle was transported to the center's Cape Cod hospital in Barnstable for some surgical care. He had to have the dead tissue removed and then the remaining skin was sutured back into place. He will now recuperate for quite some time at the wildlife center.

Staff say the skin will take weeks to heal and regrow, while the shell itself could take up to a year to heal enough for the box turtle to have any protection when he boxes himself inside.

So, while the little guy is on the mend, his surgical bandages are a source of colorful fun for New England Wildlife staff members.

Every day the small amount of bandaging on his backend has to be removed and replaced, so every day a new piece of art gets replaced along with it.

According to a recent Facebook post from the wildlife center, the staff decided to make fruit the theme for this guy's bandages and they have been having fun getting creative with their paintings.

More fruity art is likely to come, but here are some of the flavorful pieces they've painted so far.