NH Turtle Rescue

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Nottingham, NH
NH Turtle Rescue

501c3 nonprofit organization dedicated to rescuing and rehabilitating turtles native to New Hampshire

Our meeting location for injured turtles is located at the intersection of Case Rd and Mill Pond Rd in Nottingham. See our Location page for more information: https://nhturtlerescue.org/location

To make a donation: https://nhturtlerescue.org/donate

12/24/2024

Merry Chrysemys!

Hope everyone is enjoying the holiday season! One of New Hampshire’s most visible native turtle species (pictured here) is the Eastern Painted Turtle, scientific name Chrysemys picta picta. We can never pass up a good pun!

These eastern painted turtles are all patients who needed to stay with us through the winter to finish healing. They will be all released back home in the spring! Featured here are patients Boja, Viburnum, Cannoli, Euphonia, Quehla, and Betula, as well as a hatchling painted turtle admitted after the nest they were overwintering in was accidentally dug up. Painted turtles are the only species in New Hampshire known to commonly overwinter in the nest before emerging and making their way to the water in the spring.

Happy Holidays! 💚🐢

12/12/2024

Miss Foxglove, a snapping turtle, enjoying her greens 🥬 Foxglove has made a really huge turn around and we’re so proud of her and ecstatic she’s feeling so much better at this point of her healing journey 💚

With how great of an eater she is, it’s sometimes not clear to volunteers if she was fed yet…pellets, greens, fruits, meat. When she sees just about anything edible she eats it! Snapping turtles are amazing scavengers and are the clean up crew of the marshes…we can’t wait to get Foxglove home so she can play her critical role in maintaining her local ecosystem!

*WARNING graphic details*: We were extremely worried about Foxglove for some time - she had some of the deepest sheering injuries we’ve seen and serious beak fractures. These types of injuries happen when a car drives over them and straddles the turtle. For a snapping turtle who is fearing for their life, their natural defense mechanism is to lift their behinds and strike, which can gravely injure them in these situations. Foxglove had a huge portion of her shell ripped off from this. It’s so important to help snapping turtles cross the road, as they are the most frequently hit on purpose due to fear, when really they are just extremely vulnerable on land and are terrified when they run into us. See our website posts on helping turtles and specifically snapping turtles cross the road….you definitely want to know what you’re doing before handling a situation. Thank you for caring! 💚🐢

11/28/2024

Happy Thanksgiving from NH Turtle Rescue!

We are immensely grateful for everyone—humans and turtles alike—who make our mission possible. We are constantly uplifted by the amazing individuals around us and want to give some special shoutouts.

🐢 To the wild turtles: Thank you for playing such essential roles in maintaining a healthy, diverse and well-functioning ecosystem.

🐢 To our incredible volunteers: From our dedicated clinic volunteers ensuring the best care for every turtle, to our transport volunteers ready to assist injured and ill turtles swiftly, and to all others who have given their time volunteering with us—you are invaluable.

🐢 To our generous donors and supporters: Your contributions enable us to continue our mission to rescue, rehabilitate, release and protect turtles, ensuring their wellbeing and future.

🐢 To those protecting our wetlands and vital habitats: Your efforts to preserve these environments for wildlife in New Hampshire are the key to protecting the future of the species inhabiting them. A special thank you to conservation group volunteers, local commissions, and land trusts—you are amazing.

🐢 To the NH Fish and Game biologists: Your commitment to researching and safeguarding turtles and their habitats is deeply appreciated.

🐢 And lastly, to our non-releasable turtle ambassadors: Thank you for educating the public about the plight of turtles and how we can coexist as good neighbors. (Pictured 1st here is our beautiful Elvira, one of our cherished ambassadors 💚)

We are so thankful for you all and hope you have a wonderful day!

11/14/2024

🐢 Meet Miss Plum! 🐢

We couldn’t resist sharing this adorable sploot from Miss Plum yesterday. Plum is a Blanding’s turtle who will be spending the winter with us due to the severity of her fractures, as she wasn’t ready for release before our September cut-off date.

Over the years, we’ve experimented with various setups for our Blanding’s turtles, and we’re excited about our latest prototype for an above-tank dock. The dock is designed to maximize space, sitting atop our favorite large stock tank. It increases the land area without compromising the aquatic environment. Since adding to Plum’s enclosure she’s loving sleeping up there, as well as basking at times, and also spending lots of time swimming around the aquatic area. We’re working on making more for other patients now.

Did you know? Blanding’s turtles are the second largest turtle species native to New Hampshire. These semi-aquatic turtles primarily live in water but also extensively use upland environments, especially when traveling between wetlands and during nesting season.

Thank you for supporting our efforts to give turtles like Plum the best care possible! 🌿💚

11/09/2024

Happy Saturday turtle friends! Meet Donnera, a female snapping turtle who was admitted this season. Donnera is healing up fabulously now, thanks to Dr. Victoria Jardon of Mountain Brook Home Veterinary Care, Victoria Jardon DVM. Dr. Jardon surgically removed eggs from Donnera after it was confirmed she would not be able to lay them herself.

During the height of the season, female turtles are on the move looking for spots to lay their eggs. By far the most common reason we get turtle patients is after being hit by cars while crossing roads that bisect their habitats, with females being one of the most affected by this since they often have to travel far for nesting spots. When we admit gravid females (with eggs) who met this fate, it is critical they have radiographs to determine how many eggs they have, and that they lay all of their eggs before release. This is one of the most difficult aspects of turtle rehabilitation, and we’re so thankful to get to work with Dr. Jardon when handling cases where there are additional complications making them unable to lay, which require surgical intervention. Donnera’s oviduct was perforated and the eggs had gone into her abdomen, so she’s a case which absolutely required surgery.

Donnera now has completed her course of antibiotics and is healing fabulously. She’s eating everything and clearly feeling better. Endless thank yous to Dr. Jardon! We are hopeful for Donnera’s continued healing and that she can be released next spring!

PS Learn more about how to help snapping turtles like Donnera cross the street on our website: https://nhturtlerescue.org/info/turtle-crossing/snapping-turtle

10/27/2024

Hey turtle friends!

It’s been a busy couple of weeks since we updated last - it’s been hard to make time for social media updates since right now we have a small (but amazing!) volunteer crew, and we’re all working really hard to keep up with patient care. We have a full house of patients overwintering with us until we can start releases next spring.

If you or someone you know is interested in gaining experience with wildlife rehabilitation and turtle care, we are currently looking for volunteers to help in the clinic with cleaning and maintenance of aquatic setups. We are looking for volunteers to help in the clinic for 2-4 hours weekly on Mondays, Wednesdays or Fridays. If you or someone you know is interested, please fill out our volunteer form and we will be in contact: https://forms.gle/QpJ3FLfmcy57w9WE9

UPDATE: We are based in Nottingham.

Thank you and we’ll have more patient updates for you soon! 💚🐢

P.S. While we are past the busy season, during these warm stretches you may still find turtles on the road, so keep alert for our shelled neighbors to help them cross the street in the direction they are headed. We are still receiving intakes so we know they are on the move!

10/05/2024

09/28/2024

Yesterday was a busy day for us - turtles are on the move! We have been getting a lot of calls about snapping turtles in particular. In the afternoon Dallas and Drew took a break to talk with Eric Orff, Vice President of the New Hampshire Wildlife Federation, and we had a great time!

09/24/2024

Today we’d like to highlight one of our amazing volunteers at NH Turtle Rescue - John!

John recently completed his Masters degree at the University of New Hampshire in Speech Pathology but he shares an equal passion for the preservation of New Hampshire’s threatened species. Alongside assisting in clinic maintenance and patient releases, using telemetry tracking technology, John participates in helping monitor turtles that have been reintroduced into the wild. Recently these endeavors have included monitoring a Wood Turtle, named Ostrya, after her release earlier this season. John has been a huge help and we are so appreciative he joined the team!

If you are interested in assisting with clinic maintenance, we have roles available - you can request more information using our volunteer sign up form: https://forms.gle/qCJ7AZLaCV8gaUb89 Please feel free to share with anyone you think may be a good fit! Thank you! 💚🐢

09/20/2024

The featured turtle is Orchid, a spotted turtle we released back to her home wetlands this season. Orchid was admitted after being hit by a car on the way to lay her eggs. She had 4 little eggs inside her, and was the smallest spotted turtle we’ve ever admitted who was gravid (with eggs)! We’re so grateful she healed up well, laid her eggs and was ready to return home in August!

Spotted turtles utilize a variety of wetlands and therefore need large, connected wetland complexes to thrive. Thankfully Orchid is from an area with a thriving spotted turtle population and with conserved land! The jackpot! Though as with many places throughout New Hampshire, a road bisects the wetlands on either side, leading to road mortalities. Spotted turtles are a “listed” species by NH Fish and Game in the S2 imperiled category, and need all the help they can get.

NH Fish and Game recently completed a guidance document on safe wetland road crossings for Blanding’s turtles, which also provides safe passage to spotted turtles and many of other wildlife species: https://www.wildlife.nh.gov/sites/g/files/ehbemt746/files/inline-documents/sonh/10nov2023-guidance-for-wetland-road-crossings-for-blandings-turtles.pdf. Turtles are a fantastic “umbrella species” since protecting their habitat and allowing for safe passage for turtles will protect all types of wildlife. Turtles don’t have the luxury of moving habitats quickly and adapting when development threatens them, the way some mammals and birds can, so they are a great advocate for all wildlife. If development is proposed in your town in a critical wetlands habitat, you can recommend this guidance document be used to build a culvert that wildlife can actually use, protecting all sorts of wildlife. 💚🐢

Thanks to Kevin Talbot Photography • Ghostflowers.com for joining and taking photos and videos! Will share those in the comments.

09/13/2024

Happy Friday turtle friends! Today we highlight one of New Hampshire’s native species, the Blanding’s turtle. The featured patients and ambassadors are Blanding’s turtles at different life stages.

Blanding’s turtles use a wide variety of wetland habitats at different times of the year, and utilize upland environments to navigate between wetlands. They are very cryptic - you’re unlikely to see them basking, unlike the painted turtle who you’ll often see in large groups taking in the sun. Blanding’s are very shy…it is clear that they successfully avoid many natural predators by immediately withdrawing into their shell at the first sign of danger. When they are admitted to our clinic we always monitor them using surveillance cameras, or else we’d never be able to accurately determine behavior. But when they feel comfortable, they are very curious turtles. 👀

Blanding’s turtles are listed by NH Fish and Game as critically endangered in New Hampshire. They are also IUCN endangered. They need our help throughout their range! Blanding’s turtles reach sexual maturity around 14-21 years of age, the females being at the higher end of that range, which is a long time to live just to make the next generation, especially navigating a human modified landscape with so many obstacles. Protecting wetland complexes and upland environments is the best way to protect these species. And we can all be on the lookout for them on the roads, and help them cross in the direction they were headed.

Thank you for caring about turtles! 💚🐢 Have a wonderful weekend!

08/29/2024

Today we’d like to highlight an amazing volunteer at NH Turtle Rescue and wish him the happiest of birthdays! 🥳

Daniel completed his Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science at the University of Maine this year. Last year when Daniel was still in school but home on break in New Hampshire, he found an adult Blanding’s female crossing a busy highway. He brought her in for care and started volunteering with us shortly after. She was named “Dino” because she was the largest and likely oldest Blanding’s we had admitted.

Daniel was one of our first clinic volunteers in 2023, and got to see Dino through the rehab journey and even lay 2 clutches of eggs (her hatchlings are pictured; double clutching is very rare for a Blanding’s). He joined us for Dino’s release (where the photos are from) and now is helping us track Dino’s movements using radio telemetry as part of research to better understand the movements of female Blanding’s turtles as well as rehabilitation outcomes. He actually spent his birthday out in the field getting data! We greatly appreciate his dedication to the turtles. 💚🐢

[This turtle research is approved by UNH IACUC and conducted with permission from NH Fish and Game]

08/26/2024

A huge thank you to Regan and Jacob who spent the spring and summer months as a Wildlife Rehabilitation Intern at NH Turtle Rescue. Both Regan and Jacob helped care for so many turtles during the rehab journey, and released 30+ patients each! You’ll likely see some release videos featuring them in the future, but they are starting the school semester so the internship has come to an end. We are so appreciative of their time and dedication to the turtles, and wish them the absolute best as they start the upcoming school semester! 💚

We are at our 94th release of the season, and have a couple more patients ready to go home before our cut off date…wondering if we will make it to the big 100! We don’t release past September 1st, so everyone not healed up in time or that is admitted after that date, will stay with us through the winter.

Jacob is currently a Sophomore at the University of New Hampshire, working on his B.S. in Environmental Science, and Regan is currently a junior at the University of New Hampshire, working on her B.S. in Wildlife Conservation.

Go team UNH College of Life Sciences and Agriculture 💚🙌

08/17/2024

Good afternoon, Turtle Lovers! 🐢

Today, Lobelia had the pleasure of returning to his home after a relatively short stay at the rehab. He experienced some scraping on his plastron and carapace along with a break to his bridge due to a car strike, but mended fairly quickly and was eager to get back home.

Dallas and Raina brought him to a beautiful spot near where he was found on SELT - Southeast Land Trust of New Hampshire property. We are thankful to have SELT properties in New Hampshire to keep our state wild for the species we love and protect.

Thanks for viewing, and have a great weekend! 💚🐢

08/16/2024

Good evening, Turtle Lovers 🐢

I’m coming to you with a late night (but it’s never too late for good turtle content).

Gardenia, a Wood Turtle, came to us after being hit by a car, which resulted in a fracture to her bridge and plastron.

In early July, Raina and Dallas brought Gardenia home. What the video doesn’t show is the hilarious bushwhacking it took to get her to paradise.

Gardenia, though slow to emerge from her shell, swam around and looked with what can only be described as curiosity and amazement at being free again.

I hope you enjoy these videos of her release as much as we do!

Thanks for viewing 🐢💚
(Second video in comments)

08/10/2024

Come visit us at our booth at the Woodman Museum in Dover for the Birthplace of the Ninja Turtles Gallery Opening Weekend TODAY, Saturday August 10th, from 10-6:30pm!

Come visit our booth to learn about New Hampshire’s native turtle species, and meet turtle ambassadors Auggie and Woody! And make sure to enter our raffle for a chance to win beautiful turtle artwork!

You can get tickets here: https://www.simpletix.com/e/birthplace-of-the-ninja-turtles-gallery-op-tickets-175565

This is the Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/1015951579976492/

Address

Pre-arranged Drop Off Location For Injured Turtles: Intersection Of Case Road And Mill Pond Rd
Nottingham, NH
03290

Website

https://www.nhturtlerescue.org/, https://smile.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/38T7DLCQWC2GP?ref_=wl_share, https://www.nhturt

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Videos

🐢 Meet Miss Plum! 🐢 We couldn’t resist sharing this adorable sploot from Miss Plum yesterday. Plum is a Blanding’s turtle who will be spending the winter with us due to the severity of her fractures, as she wasn’t ready for release before our September cut-off date. Over the years, we’ve experimented with various setups for our Blanding’s turtles, and we’re excited about our latest prototype for an above-tank dock. The dock is designed to maximize space, sitting atop our favorite large stock tank. It increases the land area without compromising the aquatic environment. Since adding to Plum’s enclosure she’s loving sleeping up there, as well as basking at times, and also spending lots of time swimming around the aquatic area. We’re working on making more for other patients now. Did you know? Blanding’s turtles are the second largest turtle species native to New Hampshire. These semi-aquatic turtles primarily live in water but also extensively use upland environments, especially when traveling between wetlands and during nesting season. Thank you for supporting our efforts to give turtles like Plum the best care possible! 🌿💚 #Turtles #TurtlesOfInstagram #Wildlife #WildlifeRehab #WildlifeRehabilitation #Conservation #wildlifeconservation #WildlifePreservation #TurtlePower #SupportLocal #NonProfit #NonProfitOrganization #turtlerescue #nhturtlerescue #turtlerehab #turtlesofnh #NewHampshire #blandingsturtles #BlandingsTurtle #emydoideablandingii #emydoidea #Herpetology #HerpsofInstagram

🐢 Meet Miss Plum! 🐢 We couldn’t resist sharing this adorable sploot from Miss Plum yesterday. Plum is a Blanding’s turtle who will be spending the winter with us due to the severity of her fractures, as she wasn’t ready for release before our September cut-off date. Over the years, we’ve experimented with various setups for our Blanding’s turtles, and we’re excited about our latest prototype for an above-ground dock. The dock is designed to maximize space, sitting atop our favorite large stock tank. It increases the land area without compromising the aquatic environment. Since adding to Plum’s enclosure she’s loving sleeping up there, as well as basking at times, and also spending lots of time swimming around the aquatic area. We’re working on making more for other patients now. Did you know? Blanding’s turtles are the second largest turtle species native to New Hampshire. These semi-aquatic turtles primarily live in water but also extensively use upland environments, especially when traveling between wetlands and during nesting season. Thank you for supporting our efforts to give turtles like Plum the best care possible! 🌿💚 #Turtles #TurtlesOfInstagram #Wildlife #WildlifeRehab #WildlifeRehabilitation #Conservation #wildlifeconservation #WildlifePreservation #TurtlePower #SupportLocal #NonProfit #NonProfitOrganization #turtlerescue #nhturtlerescue #turtlerehab #turtlesofnh #NewHampshire #blandingsturtles #BlandingsTurtle #emydoideablandingii #emydoidea #Herpetology #HerpsofInstagram

Happy Saturday! We hope you are able to sleep in this weekend, like Plum here. Plum is an adult female Blanding's turtle in care. She is staying with us over the winter due to the severity of her injuries and not being ready before our release cut off for the year (Sept 1st). But she is healing well, eats a ton, and will be ready as ever to return home in Spring. #Turtles #TurtlesOfInstagram #Wildlife #WildlifeRehab #WildlifeRehabilitation #Conservation #wildlifeconservation #WildlifePreservation #TurtlePower #SupportLocal #NonProfit #NonProfitOrganization #turtlerescue #nhturtlerescue #turtlerehab #turtlesofnh #NewHampshire #blandingsturtles #BlandingsTurtle #emydoideablandingii #emydoidea #Herpetology #HerpsofInstagram

The featured turtle is Orchid, a spotted turtle we released back to her home wetlands this season. Orchid was admitted after being hit by a car on the way to lay her eggs. She had 4 little eggs inside her, and was the smallest spotted turtle we’ve ever admitted who was gravid (with eggs)! We’re so grateful she healed up well, laid her eggs and was ready to return home in August! Spotted turtles utilize a variety of wetlands and therefore need large, connected wetland complexes to thrive. Thankfully Orchid is from an area with a thriving spotted turtle population and with conserved land! The jackpot! Though as with many places throughout New Hampshire, a road bisects the wetlands on either side, leading to road mortalities. Spotted turtles are a “listed” species by NH Fish and Game in the S2 imperiled category, and need all the help they can get. NH Fish and Game recently completed a guidance document on safe wetland road crossings for Blanding’s turtles, which also provides safe passage to spotted turtles and many of other wildlife species: https://www.wildlife.nh.gov/sites/g/files/ehbemt746/files/inline-documents/sonh/10nov2023-guidance-for-wetland-road-crossings-for-blandings-turtles.pdf. Turtles are a fantastic “umbrella species” since protecting their habitat and allowing for safe passage for turtles will protect all types of wildlife. Turtles don’t have the luxury of moving habitats quickly and adapting when development threatens them, the way some mammals and birds can, so they are a great advocate for all wildlife. If development is proposed in your town in a critical wetlands habitat, you can recommend this guidance document be used to build a culvert that wildlife can actually use, protecting all sorts of wildlife. 💚🐢

The babies have started hatching from the incubator! 💚 These babies are from Sherlina, one of the female painted turtles who was admitted during the nesting season this year, who we shared a recent video of her release. The majority of rehab cases we deal with are female turtles getting hit by cars on their way to lay their eggs during nesting season (May-July). Every female has to have radiographs during their rehab journey to determine the amount of eggs (if any) she has, so we can make sure she lays each of them. Egg retention is fatal, and with trauma there’s always the potential for obstructions or injuries that could prohibit her from laying, so it is really important they lay all their eggs before release. Consequently, we will incubate any eggs they lay during their time here. In addition, sometimes we even ask for deceased turtles to be transported as well, because if the turtle was gravid, there’s a window of time in which we can at least extract the eggs and make a small silver lining out of a terrible situation - if you remember Macchiato from last season, she was one hatchling that we incubated successfully where that was the situation. We are so thankful every time one of these little hatchlings pips from their shell, and we always return them back home to a safe area in the wetland complex where mom came from. #TurtlesOfInstagram #HeroesInAHalfShell #TurtlePower #Herpetology #Hatchlings #TurtleHatchlings #HerpingNewHampshire #NewHampshire #NewHampshireOutdoors #WildlifeConservation #WildlifeRehabilitiation #WildlifeRelease #LandConservation #Chrysemyspicta #PaintedTurtle #Nature #Outdoors #WomenInSTEM #wildliferehab

Good afternoon, Turtle Lovers! 🐢 Today, Lobelia had the pleasure of returning to his home after a relatively short stay at the rehab. He experienced some scraping on his plastron and carapace along with a break to his bridge due to a car strike, but mended fairly quickly and was eager to get back home. Dallas and Raina brought him to a beautiful spot near where he was found on SELT - Southeast Land Trust of New Hampshire property. We are thankful to have SELT properties in New Hampshire to keep our state wild for the species we love and protect. Thanks for viewing, and have a great weekend! 💚🐢

Good evening, Turtle Lovers 🐢 I’m coming to you with a late night #tbt (but it’s never too late for good turtle content). Gardenia, a Wood Turtle, came to us after being hit by a car, which resulted in a fracture to her bridge and plastron. In early July, Raina and Dallas brought Gardenia home. What the video doesn’t show is the hilarious bushwhacking it took to get her to paradise. Gardenia, though slow to emerge from her shell, swam around and looked with what can only be described as curiosity and amazement at being free again. I hope you enjoy these videos of her release as much as we do! Thanks for viewing 🐢💚 (Second video in comments) #TurtlesOfInstagram #HerpsOfInstagram #Herping #Herpetology #Turtles #HeroesInAHalfShell #NewHampshire #HerpingNewHampshire #WoodTurtle #Glyptemysinsculpta #NonProfitOrganization #WildlifeRehabilitation #WildlifeRelease #SupportLocal #WildlifeConservation

Come visit us at our booth at the Woodman Museum in Dover for the Birthplace of the Ninja Turtles Gallery Opening Weekend TODAY, August 10th, from 10-6:30pm! Come visit our booth to learn about New Hampshire’s native turtle species, and meet turtle ambassadors Auggie and Woody! And make sure to enter our raffle for a chance to win beautiful turtle artwork! You can get tickets here: https://www.simpletix.com/e/birthplace-of-the-ninja-turtles-gallery-op-tickets-175565 This is the Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/1015951579976492/

Today was the big release day for a young female wood turtle named Trillium! Trillium was found on June 15th after her finder found her injured on the road, and she healed up fabulously. Trillium was a fabulous eater, she never passed up a meal, as shown in this video. She also wasted no time and booked it as soon as she was put down! 😆💚 Wood turtles are “listed” by NH Fish and Game as a species of special concern. Having once been the most common species in New Hampshire, wood turtle populations are NOT AT ALL once they once were. Wood turtles are habitat specialists, requiring slow moving stream and river habitats - they are a great indicator of water health in an area. It is so important we protect these habitats, many of which are under constant threat of development. To help wood turtles and other turtles, please never disclose the location of any you find in the wild. This is especially important for wood turtles, as they are the highest risk of poaching for multiple reasons. ONLY NH Fish and Game should ever receive location information, and they will never ask via social media, as it is critical this information not be spread online. You can report locations via the RAARP program: https://www.wildlife.nh.gov/wildlife-and-habitat/nongame-and-endangered-species/reporting-nh-reptile-and-amphibian-sightings Thank you! And thank you to NHFG biologists for helping us select her release spot!