Originally Posted by
RubeRad
I've heard (or probably read somewhere on the intertubes) that (at least for some kind of desert turtle) if you pick him up in the road, he panics and pees, and loses so much water he may end up dying of dehydration because he was helped.
Maybe he pees because he is so excited that he is flying. The other thing to watch out for is getting peed on by a turtle.
The one I rescued was placed in grass near a ditch with water from yesterday's rain, so he probably won't get dehydrated. Also I picked him up from the top of his shell, so no risk of getting peed on. He was about the size of a softball, well, half of a softball.