Savage Hart

Savage Hart Dedicated to protecting wild animals through rehabilitation, conservation, and education. This page is not constantly monitored for messages, tags, or comments.

For wildlife emergencies, please call or text our hotline at (888) 444-1810.

Today’s the day! 🥗🥪 Support orphaned and injured wildlife by dining in or picking up at Panera Midland from 4–8 pm, or o...
12/12/2025

Today’s the day! 🥗🥪 Support orphaned and injured wildlife by dining in or picking up at Panera Midland from 4–8 pm, or order ALL DAY through the Panera app or online using code FUND4U—good food for a great cause!

Patient Update: Eastern Box Turtle 🐢Two months ago, a male Eastern box turtle was brought in after a vehicle strike in S...
12/11/2025

Patient Update: Eastern Box Turtle 🐢

Two months ago, a male Eastern box turtle was brought in after a vehicle strike in Shiloh, arriving with multiple shell fractures and severe degloving of the rear right leg. After sedation, Dr. Carey was able to repair the damaged tissue, and with ongoing care his shell and skin have now fully healed. What he needs most at this stage is physical therapy to rebuild strength and normal limb function.

As we move into winter, his recovery intersects with an important part of box turtle biology—brumation. Unlike mammals that hibernate, reptiles enter brumation, a cold-weather dormancy where their metabolism, digestion, heart rate, and overall activity drop to minimal levels. In nature, box turtles dig into leaf litter or soil, remain inactive, and do not eat again until temperatures rise.

This strategy is essential for their survival in the wild, but it presents a challenge in rehabilitation: a turtle cannot safely brumate while still healing. He needs to remain active enough to exercise the limb, maintain muscle strength, and consume calories to support continued recovery.

For that reason, he’ll stay with us this winter, while we simulate warm-season conditions—maintaining appropriate heat, humidity, and daylight cycles. By doing so, we’re essentially signaling to his physiology that it’s still summer. This keeps his digestive system functioning, his metabolism stable, and his activity levels high enough for effective therapy.

He will be released back to his home territory in the spring.
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To learn more about our work and how you can support injured wildlife, visit our website at https://www.savagehartwildlife.org/

Boop.A few weeks ago, we introduced you to one of our juvenile Southern flying squirrel patients and shared that her fut...
12/05/2025

Boop.

A few weeks ago, we introduced you to one of our juvenile Southern flying squirrel patients and shared that her future roommate was still recovering from pneumonia. Now that she’s fully weaned and medically cleared, we began their introductions—and judging by this nose-to-nose moment, they’ve decided this living arrangement works just fine 🥰.

Flying squirrels are naturally social and often overwinter in small groups, usually 2–8 squirrels, sometimes even more if temperatures drop. Group living helps them conserve heat and share safe nesting spaces. Because they rely on caching (storing food) to survive the colder months, both girls will overwinter with us. The bond they’re forming now is exactly what we hope to see—young squirrels that grow up together often stay loosely connected after release, giving them a stronger start back in the wild.
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If you’d like to learn more about our work—or support the patients currently in our care—visit https://www.savagehartwildlife.org/

12/03/2025

Patient Update 🐢

This gopher tortoise has been with us for about six weeks, and we can say with confidence that she is (by far) our problem child… in the most professional way possible.

Her original habitat lasted approximately five minutes due to her immediate attempts to escape, and because we didn’t want her adding any additional trauma to her fractured shell. So we upgraded her to a larger setup, but her corner-digging quickly escalated, and once she figured out how to open the door, it became clear we needed a new plan.

Thanks to some incredibly compassionate individuals who sponsored our reptile room, she now has a large stock tank with natural sand (a big win now that her fractures have sealed). And we can confidently say she seems the most content she’s been since entering care. Phew 😅

On warm days, she takes supervised outdoor walks where she grazes and absorbs natural sunlight. Indoors, she alternates between her heat lamp, steady snacking, and exploring any safe area we open for her. She has a remarkable ability to locate every tortoise-sized gap in the clinic — under chairs, behind doors, under shelving — so “tortoise retrieval” is now a recognized part of our daily workflow.

We’re grateful for the support that helps us provide specialized care for this patient — an important keystone species in Georgia’s longleaf pine ecosystem.

12/01/2025

Even the most well-intentioned rescue can turn dangerous. Wildlife can carry serious zoonotic diseases like rabies, which is >99% fatal once symptoms begin. Protect yourself and your family by contacting a licensed rehabilitator before attempting to intervene with a wild animal.

11/21/2025

Bobcat in Training: Feral Teenager Needs Lunch Money

Our young bobcat patient has officially entered the final stage of rehabilitation—and he’s got the space (and attitude) to prove it.

He’s now living in a large outdoor pre-release enclosure with everything he needs to prepare for life on his own: room to run, climb, hunt, and hide—just like he would in the wild. But what makes this setup even better is the secure transfer system our team built, connecting this enclosure to a second one. He now has access to two separate habitats, giving him the freedom to explore a wider environment while still allowing our staff to safely monitor and provide care if needed. This expanded space lets him stretch both his body and his instincts—and as you’ll see in the video, he’s making good use of both.

As a strict carnivore, he relies on a whole-prey diet, including rodents, to develop the strength and survival skills he’ll need to thrive on his own. These meals aren’t just nutrition; they’re enrichment. From stalking and pouncing to tearing and caching, every interaction mimics a behavior he’ll need in the wild. And since he’s still growing, his appetite is no joke. He receives whole prey daily, helping him build lean muscle, sharpen coordination, and gain the confidence he’ll need to fend for himself. To mirror that in care, our staff hides his food throughout the enclosure, encouraging him to forage and “hunt” just as he would post-release. It’s more than mealtime—it’s full-contact training for the real world.

Want to help feed him? You can add funds directly to our RodentPro account—basically, his wildcat lunch account. Your donation goes straight toward feeding this future predator until spring release.

➡️ https://rodentpro.com/Charities/DonateToCharity/savage-hart-wildlife

Thanks for helping us give this bobcat the best shot at a wild future.

11/18/2025

Patient Update

This red-shouldered hawk’s journey began back in October with a pectoral girdle fracture—an injury that can significantly compromise survival. Through restricted activity, medications, and focused physical therapy, healing progressed exactly as needed. Radiographs confirmed the fracture was mending appropriately, and flight testing demonstrated strong, coordinated movement.

She also made sure we never forgot she was a wild raptor. Her defensive behavior kept our rehabbers on their toes, and her constant movement in the kennel made her presence known throughout her stay. And yes—she may or may not have seized a well-timed opportunity to bypass her handlers and cruise down the hallway, giving us a spirited reminder that her strength, awareness, and flight response were right on track.

This marks our first successful release under our new USFWS raptor rehabilitation permit, and we look forward to helping many more birds of prey return to their rightful place in the wild.
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If you’d like to learn more about our mission and support injured wildlife on their path to recovery, visit https://www.savagehartwildlife.org/

What a day!Our 2nd Annual Wild Open House & Fundraiser was such a success — and it’s all thanks to YOU! We had an incre...
11/12/2025

What a day!

Our 2nd Annual Wild Open House & Fundraiser was such a success — and it’s all thanks to YOU! We had an incredible turnout, and our community truly came through with their generosity. Rooms were sponsored, supplies were donated, and our Giving Tree is blooming with leaves and animals!

A special thank-you to Cpl. Eric Isom and K-9 Bo from the Georgia DNR for their amazing educational demonstration — it was a highlight of the day!

You can still be part of this event! Make a donation to our Giving Tree, and we’ll add your name or a special message to our wall. It’s a daily reminder of the compassion and encouragement that keep our team going. We also still have a few room sponsorships available for those who’d like to make a greater impact on local wildlife rehabilitation.

Visit our event webpage to learn more. https://www.savagehartwildlife.org/openhouse/

This opossum wants to know… are you joining us TOMORROW for our 2nd Annual Wild Open House & Fundraiser? No wildlife wil...
11/07/2025

This opossum wants to know… are you joining us TOMORROW for our 2nd Annual Wild Open House & Fundraiser? No wildlife will be present (our patients need their rest!), but we’ve got plenty of fun waiting for the whole family. Take a rare, behind-the-scenes tour of our wildlife clinic, meet the team who makes it all happen, and enjoy an exciting K-9 demonstration by a Georgia DNR Game Warden!

While you’re here, help our Giving Tree grow by leaving your name on a leaf with a donation — every gift helps us continue caring for Georgia’s injured and orphaned wildlife. We also still have a few room sponsorships available for those who want to make an even greater impact.

Can’t make it to the event? You can still be part of it by visiting our event webpage to make a contribution and support local wildlife rehabilitation.
https://savagehartwildlife.org/openhouse/

Our clinic doors may close at 5 p.m., but the work never stops.We recently accepted an adult gray fox that had been foun...
11/05/2025

Our clinic doors may close at 5 p.m., but the work never stops.

We recently accepted an adult gray fox that had been found bedded down in a resident’s backyard. After making several calls to different agencies, the finders made the long drive of more than two hours to bring him to our clinic for evaluation.

We treated him to reduce pain and suffering and monitored him overnight with cameras to ensure he remained comfortable and stable. When neurological symptoms continued, our collaborating veterinarian, Dr. Carey, met us at the clinic after 9 p.m. on a Sunday evening to provide further treatment.

Wildlife rehabilitation often means long hours, difficult decisions, and care that extends far beyond the regular workday. It also means compassion from members of the public who go to great lengths to help, from dedicated professionals like Dr. Carey who give their time after hours, and from all of us who answer the call when the wild needs us most.

Thank you for helping us be there for Georgia’s native wildlife, day and night.
We’re deeply grateful for everyone who plays a part in helping Georgia’s native wildlife.
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Want to help perpetuate our mission? Visit https://www.savagehartwildlife.org/how-to-help/

Address

P. O. Box 451
Fortson, GA
31808

Opening Hours

Monday 10am - 5pm
Tuesday 10am - 5pm
Wednesday 10am - 5pm
Thursday 10am - 5pm
Friday 10am - 5pm

Telephone

+18884441810

Website

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