NH Turtle Rescue

07/10/2025

Update: Kim transported the turtle to Nottingham. Thank you so much to everyone who tried to help 💚💚🐢

⚠️ URGENT HELP NEEDED ⚠️
We need to arrange transport for an injured turtle from Franconia to Nottingham but our transport network is unavailable. If you are able to transport the full way or part way, please reach out to us via text at 603-417-4944. Thank you so much!

07/06/2025

Today, we want to shine a spotlight on the incredible veterinarians and vet staff who go above and beyond for wildlife. As a wildlife rehab clinic, we know how rare—and how vital—it is to find vets willing to work with wild animals. Their compassion and commitment make all the difference.

Just yesterday, we were reminded of how lucky we are to have such heroes in our corner. We received two Eastern Painted Turtles from completely different parts of the state—both had swallowed fish hooks lodged too deep to remove without anesthesia. These are true emergencies: the longer a hook stays in, the greater the risk of fatal internal injuries.

Dr. Jardon of Mountain Brook Home Veterinary Care, Victoria Jardon DVM fit us in after 8PM on a holiday weekend. Thanks to her one turtle had its hook safely removed from his throat. Unfortunately, the second turtle’s hook couldn’t be located—someone had cut the fishing line, making the situation much more dangerous. (⚠️ Please never cut the line if you catch a turtle—call a wildlife rehabber immediately! See the comments for a great example of what to do when you are in this situation)

Behind the scenes, we were also in constant contact with other amazing veterinarians: Dr. Campbell (who we’re grateful is also a dedicated Board member), Dr. Fraysse, and Dr. Brown. Dr. Fraysse and Dr. Campbell are helping by volunteering their time to get radiographs this morning, so then we can all come up with a game plan.

Most clinics are closed on weekends, especially during holidays, but these incredible people made time - for turtles.

We are endlessly grateful to Dr. Jardon, Dr. Campbell, Dr. Fraysse, and Dr. Brown. Your compassion, expertise, and willingness to help wildlife, especially during your time off, means the world to us. 💚🐢

Pictured are Dr. Jardon performing surgery (a different surgery, we didn’t take any photos this time) and Dr. Campbell releasing a young snapper.

07/05/2025

Happy Saturday turtle friends! This week we were able to release Paprika, one of the largest snapping turtles we’ve ever admitted, who was rescued by NH Fish and Game Conservation Officer Sergeant Hawkes, after being hit by a car. Sgt. Hawkes even got to join us for her release! Paprika was very excited to get back home, and wasted no time heading straight into her marsh when Drew released her.

Females are still on the move looking for suitable places to lay their eggs, so be on the lookout for turtles crossing roads. However, snapping turtles and painted turtles in particular often nest on the side of the road, so we only want to move them if they are actively trying to cross. Sometimes taking a couple minutes to observe, assuming they are out of harms way, can help determine the best course of action. We are here if you ever want advice on a situation - text or call us anytime at (603) 417-4944.

If you would like advice on how you can help snapping turtles cross the road, check out this resource on our website: https://nhturtlerescue.org/info/turtle-crossing/snapping-turtle. There is a video from the Toronto Zoo which has many tips that require minimal handling, which is linked on our website. Snapping turtles are such amazing, gentle beings, and are NOT aggressive - their snap is their only defense since they are so vulnerable outside of water - that snap is the only thing keeping them alive! They don’t understand our intentions when we try to help, and only snap because they think we are trying to hurt them. Snapping turtles can use all the advocates they can get, there’s a lot of misunderstanding out there and unjustified hate when they are just trying to live their lives. And if you’re seeing them on land, it’s likely just a mother trying to lay her eggs and return to her wetlands as quickly as possible.

Thank you for caring about New Hampshire’s wild turtles! 💚🐢

06/21/2025

You may have noticed that we've been quiet this past week. We've been so inundated with patient intakes that we really haven't had much time for anything else! Here are a few updates about what we've been up to:

• This morning we admitted our 140th patient of the season; our intake rate has been about double what it was last year. It's a lot to keep up with, but we're making it through with the support of our wonderful interns and volunteers!

• We've been able to release 51 patients this season, including some that have been recovering with us for multiple years!

• We've got incubators full of eggs! These include eggs laid by our patients naturally while in our care, patients who have been induced in order to help them lay their eggs, and some that have been extracted from patients who passed away or were found already dead on the road.

• We have more turtle crossing signs back in stock! If you would like to purchase some to make drivers aware of turtle crossing areas, we are offering two signs and two stakes for $20. Email us at [email protected] to arrange for pickup from Nottingham (the signs are too large to ship economically).

We hope to be able to share some of our patient stories soon, but for now, enjoy these pictures of Elvira, our ambassador Blanding's turtle who's wearing some of her moss as a mustache, and Auggie, our ambassador Eastern Box Turtle wearing some dirt as a very dapper hat!

Have a great Saturday everyone and keep an eye out for turtles! 🐢💚

06/14/2025

A huge thank you to Cpl. Locke with the Pelham Police Department and our transport volunteer Laura for helping to get a very badly injured adult female Blanding’s turtle to us this morning.

She was hit by a car and sustained severe trauma to the right side of her shell along with fractures to both of her bridges, so her entire plastron (lower shell) was detached from the carapace (top shell). Her coelomic membrane (the tissue that surrounds the internal organs inside the shell) had been ruptured, and some of her internal organs were outside of her body.

To top it all off, this injury had been sustained a day or two ago, and she was completely infested with fly eggs all over the exposed tissue, including inside of her body cavity. Dallas and Drew spent hours this morning extracting and flushing out as many of the egg masses as they could find, but we suspect there are likely more that weren’t visible, which is not good for the patient’s longterm outlook.

Despite all of this, she is very alert and active, and such a positive demeanor does give us hope. But, in our experience, these cases can quickly take a turn for the worse.

One thing is for sure: if Cpl. Locke and Laura hadn’t been so proactive in getting her to us so quickly, she would have absolutely zero chance of survival whatsoever. We are deeply grateful that she is at least getting a shot at recovery from these horrible injuries.

Thank you again, Cpl. Locke and Laura! 🐢💚

06/12/2025

Turtle scritches! We noticed Woody, our Eastern Box Turtle ambassador, rubbing his back against the lip of his water dish recently, and wondered whether he was trying to scratch an itch.

While doing some maintenance in his enclosure, we decided to give him a couple of scratches to see how he reacted — and it turns out that he really, really enjoyed it! 😆

06/11/2025

And that's a wrap for NH Gives 2025! You helped us blow past our goal and raised a whopping $6,370 to support New Hampshire's wild turtles! We are totally humbled by your generosity over the last 24 hours — we couldn't do it without all of you wonderful people! 🐢💚

06/11/2025

Thank you so much to everyone who has donated so far! NH Gives has 10 hours left and you can still help us to reach our goal! Every donation made will be DOUBLED by matching contributions!

Go to https://www.nhgives.org/organizations/new-hampshire-turtle-rescue-inc and make a difference for our wild turtles — no gift is too small to have a big impact! 🐢💚

06/10/2025

Let's go! NH Gives is now open for donations — every contribution made will be matched 1:1 to DOUBLE your impact for New Hampshire's wild turtles! 🐢💚

Give a little or a lot, every bit counts!

Visit our NH Gives page at https://www.nhgives.org/organizations/new-hampshire-turtle-rescue-inc and help us reach our fundraising goal!

06/10/2025

Tonight at 5PM! Go to https://www.nhgives.org/organizations/new-hampshire-turtle-rescue-inc and help us achieve our NH Gives fundraising goal! 🐢💚

We’re very excited to be a part of NH Gives this year! You can support our campaign by visiting nhgives.org and donating on June 10-11 from 5PM to 5PM.

This year we have over $3000 in matching contributions from generous individuals, local business, and the NHTR Board of Directors! That means that every donation you make will be DOUBLED dollar-for-dollar to help us achieve our fundraising goal during the 24 hour event!

Please mark your calendars and spread the word by liking and sharing this post to help us raise the money we need in order to provide the best care possible to our native New Hampshire turtles!

02/14/2025

Happy Valentine’s Day! 💕🐢💕

We have some new Valentine’s Day cards featuring New Hampshire’s native turtle species. Last year’s cards are available in addition to this year on the website: https://nhturtlerescue.org/resources.

Sign up for our newsletter to get updates on additional resources added to the website. The sign up form is in the footer (bottom) of any page on our website. We are sending out a special Valentine’s Day newsletter, let us know if you sign up but want to get today’s newsletter and we can get that to you.