Dancing Turtle Rescue and Education Program, Inc.

Dancing Turtle Rescue and Education Program, Inc. Let's save turtles! Wild turtle rehabilitation, turtle education programs, and conservation-focused outreach in northeastern New York.

Support our work: https://dancingturtlerescue.org/donate At Dancing Turtle Rescue, we rescue, rehabilitate, and release turtles injured by cars, fishing gear, or dogs in Essex, Warren, and Saratoga counties. We are New York State Department of Environmental Conservation licensed wildlife rehabilitators. We specialize in native freshwater turtles, such as painted and snapping turtles, nonvenomous

snakes, frogs, and salamanders. If we have space and resources available, we also take in orphaned baby squirrels and opossums. If you find another species, please see the resources below to locate a rehabber. We love turtles and share that love through public education programs. Our ambassador turtles join us to introduce children, teens, and adults to the wonder of turtles and their wetland habitats. We bring our programs to schools, nature centers, scout meetings, senior centers, and many public events. Please contact us if you would like to learn more about our programs. Dancing Turtle occassionally rescues non-native turtles. These turtles are either former pets who were released into the wild and end up sick or injured, or pets that have been abandoned or neglected. Some of our rescues are available for adoption. If you are interested in adopting a turtle, please visit our website at www.dancingturtlerescue.org for more information. To find a wildlife rehabilitator near you:
Animal Help Now nationwide listings (recommended): ahnow.org or download the app

North Country Wild Care (northeastern NY): 518-964-6740

NYS DEC wildlife rehabilitator listings: https://www.dec.ny.gov/cfmx/extapps/sls_searches/index.cfm?p=live_rehab

Sending a big thank you to Sheri for the box of supplies from Chewy we received on Monday. We appreciate your generosity...
04/02/2025

Sending a big thank you to Sheri for the box of supplies from Chewy we received on Monday. We appreciate your generosity! With turtle season rapidly approaching, we will soon be using everything we received. We exceeded our goal for the Wishlist Spring Fling thanks to all of you! Thank you to everyone who donated, and liked and shared our posts. You are saving turtles along with us.

Did you know that freshwater wetlands are often connected to agricultural fields and industrial areas? This we are dra...
04/02/2025

Did you know that freshwater wetlands are often connected to agricultural fields and industrial areas? This we are drawing attention to the pollution that threatens wetland biodiversity. The pollution can come from various sources like fertilizer runoff and manufacturing discharge, and can effect wetlands even if they are at a distance from the pollution source. Advocate for clean water regulations and support local organic farmers to help keep wetland habitats healthy for turtles and all life.

It's (no fooling) so let's celebrate the resilience of turtles. This wee musk turtle hatched in Jen's incubator last s...
04/01/2025

It's (no fooling) so let's celebrate the resilience of turtles. This wee musk turtle hatched in Jen's incubator last summer, the only survivor from eggs that were found in a pond. It is presumed the eggs washed out of the nest during a storm since musk turtles don't venture far from the water to lay their eggs. Eggs that have been submerged usually don't develop, but Jen took a chance, put them in her incubator, and was happily surprised when this darling emerged. The adorable musk turtle is now seven months old and eats very well. We look forward to releasing a strong, healthy yearling into the same pond this summer.

Another box of supplies arrived yesterday so we are saying "thank you" to Kim and Bill! Not only did they generously sen...
04/01/2025

Another box of supplies arrived yesterday so we are saying "thank you" to Kim and Bill! Not only did they generously send us some needed supplies, Kim and Bill just gave one of our rescued red eared sliders a forever home. We are so glad you added him to your family and we were so happy to hear he is doing well.

Okay, who gave the kids those nose and glasses things?!?Have a fun April Fools Day! We sure are here at Dancing Turtle.📷...
04/01/2025

Okay, who gave the kids those nose and glasses things?!?

Have a fun April Fools Day! We sure are here at Dancing Turtle.

📷: common snapping turtle, 7 months old, hatched from an egg recovered from a mom who didn't make it

We received another wonderful box of gifted supplies from our Chewy wishlist yesterday. Thank you! And this morning we w...
03/30/2025

We received another wonderful box of gifted supplies from our Chewy wishlist yesterday. Thank you! And this morning we woke up to a Chewy eGift Card from another donor, so we can order a few more things we need. Thank you! We appreciate your support.

Some of our patients overcome great challenges. ZZ, a painted turtle, was hit by a car and her carapace (top shell), pla...
03/30/2025

Some of our patients overcome great challenges. ZZ, a painted turtle, was hit by a car and her carapace (top shell), plastron (bottom shell), and bridge (the side part) were all broken. We took her to the Janet L. Swanson Wildlife Hospital at Cornell University for surgery and she pulled through. Now she is with Jen working on regaining strength in her back legs. We are hopeful that this tenacious turtle will one day be ready to return to her wild life.

We received a box of supplies from Chewy yesterday. We don't know who sent them - Chewy doesn't tell us - but whoever yo...
03/29/2025

We received a box of supplies from Chewy yesterday. We don't know who sent them - Chewy doesn't tell us - but whoever you are please know they are greatly appreciated. Thank you for supporting Dancing Turtle!

We've been looking back at our 2024 education programs. There were some special memories from last year, like the first ...
03/29/2025

We've been looking back at our 2024 education programs. There were some special memories from last year, like the first (and last) time Big Mama went to a program with us. For those who don't know Big Mama, she is a large female red eared slider turtle who, even though she isn't a native turtle species, was living in the wild and got hit by a car. She was one of Debbie's first intakes after she began rehabilitating wildlife. Her shell healed but, because red eared sliders are considered an invasive species in New York, Big Mama couldn't be released again. Instead, she became our first rescue and has been in Debbie's care for seven years. Mama likes to "help" with the social media and we thought some of our followers might like to meet her in person, so we took her to a program. Big Mama was not thrilled with that idea, as you can see. Mama, like most turtles, slows down during the cold months and decided napping was better than posting on the socials, but she told us she'll be ready to help again when it warms up and our busy season begins. Unless the basking is really good that day, of course.

A box of supplies from our Amazon wishlist arrived yesterday. Thank you so much, Jerilee, for helping us help turtles! B...
03/28/2025

A box of supplies from our Amazon wishlist arrived yesterday. Thank you so much, Jerilee, for helping us help turtles! Big Mama is especially pleased with the Jumbo ReptoMin. It's her favorite food and we ran out.

We are still overwhelmed by your generosity during our Wishlist Spring Fling. Thank you! And now, back to the turtles. T...
03/28/2025

We are still overwhelmed by your generosity during our Wishlist Spring Fling. Thank you! And now, back to the turtles. This painted turtle got confused about the timing of things and, instead of staying in his nest all winter, dug himself out in October. Not only was it already too cold for hatchlings, but his nest was in a walkway of compacted gravel dust. He injured his face on the way out but is okay now and should get a "take two" on life in the wild this summer. Until then he will continue to be spoiled by Jen.

Our Wishlist Spring Fling ends today, and we are so very grateful for the gifts we've received from our Chewy and Amazon...
03/27/2025

Our Wishlist Spring Fling ends today, and we are so very grateful for the gifts we've received from our Chewy and Amazon lists. We received a box of syringes from Amazon and a light fixture from Chewy yesterday. Neither had a name on them, but please know that your generosity is appreciated.

Heading into turtle nesting season well-stocked with supplies frees us up to do the work of caring for injured turtles. While we won't be posting our links as often and will share more of the cute turtles we know you want to see, please know that we are happy to receive items off our wishlists whenever they arrive. Thank you for supporting Dancing Turtle!

Chewy wishlist: https://zurl.co/6G77S

Amazon wishlist: https://zurl.co/8RN3V

We are feeling emotional about the overwhelming response to our Spring Fling. Having so many supplies on hand means we c...
03/26/2025

We are feeling emotional about the overwhelming response to our Spring Fling. Having so many supplies on hand means we can simply focus on the injured turtles who will come in when they start crossing the roads next month. You helped make sure we can reach for whatever we need to care for a turtle and it will be there. Yesterday we received a box of tank maintenance supplies off our Amazon wishlist from Jessica. Thank you, Jessica, for your support!

Our Spring Fling campaign is coming to an end, but our need for supplies won't. Our wishlists are always active and we appreciate your support.

Chewy wishlist: https://zurl.co/6G77S

Amazon wishlist: https://zurl.co/8RN3V

It's and we would like to highlight some very special release sites for healed turtles - wetlands on private land. Man...
03/26/2025

It's and we would like to highlight some very special release sites for healed turtles - wetlands on private land. Many of our wild turtles live in ponds, marshes, and streams on or bordering private property. It is always a joy to see the connection the homeowners have with "their" turtles and how well they steward their wetland habitats. We love to get updates from folks when they spot the turtle again. Some have kept us posted for years about all the life in their ponds and we couldn't be happier. Thank you for making your land friendly to turtles!

Yesterday we received a box of supplies from Chewy thanks to a generous donor. Chewy doesn't share your name with us so ...
03/25/2025

Yesterday we received a box of supplies from Chewy thanks to a generous donor. Chewy doesn't share your name with us so please know that we are very grateful for you!

Included in the box was a light bulb. The basking bulbs we use provide both heat and visible light and are designed to be splash-proof, meaning they don't break if water is splashed on them. That's an important safety consideration for the turtles and humans alike. While the bulbs last a while, we always need to have more on hand to replace them as they burn out and to make sure every turtle ready to go into water has a warm, bright basking spot. We always have bulbs on our wishlists and appreciate your support.

Chewy wishlist: https://zurl.co/6G77S

Amazon wishlist: https://zurl.co/8RN3V

Would you like to meet another of our educational ambassador turtles for ? This is Dolly, a common musk turtle. Musk t...
03/25/2025

Would you like to meet another of our educational ambassador turtles for ? This is Dolly, a common musk turtle. Musk turtles are small, highly aquatic turtles native to the lakes in our region. Dolly wants you to know, though, that she is anything but common! Musk turtles are also known as stinkpots because they have a foul defensive odor. Luckily Dolly doesn't musk when we handle her due to being raised in captivity. Dolly's favorite time of day is lunchtime, because that's when the human feeds the turtles. Musk turtles have a sharp, powerful beak for eating mollusks and crayfish, their favorite foods. When Dolly doesn't feel like being held it's easy to see why the humans are very careful to keep their fingers away from her face. You can look forward to meeting Dolly at one of our public programs. When are they? We are working on our summer schedule now. Please message us any ideas for program hosts.

We received a great water dish off our Amazon wishlist today, but it didn't come with anything to say who sent it. Thank...
03/24/2025

We received a great water dish off our Amazon wishlist today, but it didn't come with anything to say who sent it. Thank you very much, whoever you are!

We prefer to use special reptile dishes when we provide drinking water for our turtles whose injuries need to stay dry because they have flat, heavy bottoms that keep them from tipping if the turtle climbs up on the edge. We switch to other kinds of dishes when we run out of these, but more often than not we just end up with wet towels and a thirsty turtle. We have a couple of sizes of these on our Amazon and Chewy wishlists so we can have enough for all our patients. Thank you for supporting Dancing Turtle!

Chewy wishlist: https://zurl.co/6G77S

Amazon wishlist: https://zurl.co/8RN3V

Address

On The Hill
Schroon Lake, NY

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Dancing Turtle Rescue and Education Program, Inc. posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Business

Send a message to Dancing Turtle Rescue and Education Program, Inc.:

Videos

After some downtime on our socials, we are back! We chose this day to make our reappearance because it's a special day for turtles and all our wetland friends. #wwd2025 #WetlandsCOP15 #WorldWetlandsDay

On behalf of all the turtles who got a second chance at a wild life, let's give a shout out to the wildlife rehabilitators on Wildlife Rehabilitator Appreciation Day. Thank you!

Shortcuts

Share