We are a volunteer run, busy nonprofit and cannot answer emails, social media messages, or voicemails due to our limited staff and our medical priorities. Thank you for being a steward of wildlife. Never give up as they are the most endangered organism in the world!

The most important thing you can do if you find a turtle in trouble is not leave it, and get help as soon as possible, to ensure survival in limited days of suffering, death and flies eating it, which can take up to five days. Do not put it in the woods or water body. It will not survive or be there if you leave and come back to get it.

Never release a turtle in the ocean. We do not have any native ocean turtles. Take it with you now. Do not feed or treat it yourself. It is illegal and does more harm than good. If the animal is in the middle of the road, call 911 and wait with car flashers on, or help it yourself by placing a towel or a cloth over entire body, including head, and carefully lift, approaching from the back only, with two hands up and down into a nearby box, not by the tail or you can slide it onto a car mat, grabbing by the back of the shell edge and keep it covered inside your car, not the back of a pick up, in a quiet, dark, warm location away from children, and pets to limit shock.

Although you may have look dead, it probably isn’t. We are open daily 24/7. Bring it to us 111 Manor Ln. Jamesport, New York, or the nearest 24 hour emergency vet or a local vet calling first to make sure they take Wildlife for free and we instructed you to do so. You can also Google Wildlife Rescue, or Wildlife Rehab, NOT wildlife removal, with your town and state. Do not give up as you are their only savior. 

If you find a turtle crossing the road, please, place it in the direction it is headed off into safety does not mean the center divider of a four-lane highway, as you can go as far as a football field away from the dangerous location originally found. Do not put it back where it was coming from, it will only turn around and go back into a dangerous situation as soon as you leave.

Please examine the animal before you walk away. There should be no bubbles by nose, bumps by side of head where ears are, no open mouth breathing, no smells, no fly or fly eggs which look like sawdust, no cracks on shell, or bleeding from arms and legs. The eyes must be open at all times, and you should not see any eyelids. If the turtle is boxed up, and you cannot see its face, please put it down in a grassy area and quietly stand behind it. As soon as he thinks you have left, which may take a couple of minutes, please be patient, it will come out.

This is the most important. Do not release any turtles in the water or woods without a proper ID and health check as it can be the wrong environment and a death sentence. Never release into the ocean, we do not have any native ocean species. Never pick it up by the tail as it can paralyze them. 

Please text for a quick ID.

If you see a turtle on your property, do know that is where they live, even if you never saw them before, as they live underground, and it is illegal to remove them from their habitat. Your property is in the wild. It is not yours to take inside as it will not survive, and it is illegal to do so, as they are protected by the department of state. They have a football field size territory, and removing them is a death sentence as they have home burrows that they overwinter in, their yearly nesting area close by, with familiar food and water locales.

Spring time is nesting season and they are most active then and in the fall and have a journey they must take without any interruptions. Do not touch them. It can take many hours for a nesting female to find her location that is safe for her babies. At this point, you should keep your children and pets in the house away from The Turtle as it will only delay this further. She may even overnight onto your bushes and get an early start, and be gone before dawn the next day. You must not interrupt her important journey. Let them be on their way, unless they are caught up in a fence, a window well, or a ditch. At this point, they will need medical attention to make sure they are not injured. This is the time you would text us, as soon as possible with a picture of the situation to get help. Don't wait. You should not see any turtles from October to April, if so, please text a picture of its face to us. Do not release any turtle in the water or woods without proper ID as it can be the wrong environment and a death sentence. Please text us for a quick ID. Never release into the ocean as we do not have any native ocean species. Never pick up by the tail as it can paralyze them. 

If you are out of New York State, please Google, Wildlife Rescue, or Wildlife Rehab, NOT Wildlife Removal, with your town and state and start calling as soon as possible. Don't hang up. If a voicemail picks up, please leave a message as they are busy.

Do NOT leave the animal before you get it help, as it will NOT be there when you return! This is most important. Bring it with you now, inside your house or car, not in the back of a pick up. Please keep it covered in a dark box with a towel away from children and pets to limit shock. Continue trying to find help. You can also call the 24 hour veterinary office or a veterinary office calling first to be sure they take Wildlife for free and instructing them that we tell you to do so. You are their only Savior. Don’t give up.

Also, Google AnimalHelpNow Do not take it upon yourself to release it. They all look similar, text us for a quick ID that will save its life. Do not release any turtle in the water or woods without proper ID as it can be wrong environment and a death sentence. Please text for a quick ID and health check do not pick up by its tail as I can paralyze them.