So I processed this naturally deceased snapper (Chelydra serpentina) for keyush as a commission recently and just finished. While doing the first part of the processing I found a bit of a surprise: the turtle had several porcupine quills embedded into the roof of his mouth! The quills had actually worked their way through the bone and into the orbital socket, causing a nasty abscess that was likely the cause of death. That's what porky quills do: they slowly work themselves deeper if not quickly removed. Can you say OUCH?

On his new owner's request I cleaned the quills and re-inserted them into place after the skull was done, securing them with a dab of clear cement. They fit nicely back into the little hole they had made in the bone. The quills are pretty badly bent but otherwise in fair shape, at least after I peroxided the hell out of them to remove stains.

It certainly makes for an unusual display skull, doesn't it? One had to wonder how the poor turtle ended up like this, though. Snappers will scavenge dead animals as well as actively hunt, so I had to assume he snacked on a dead porcupine. Hope it was worth it, buddy!