Dancing Turtle Rescue and Education Program, Inc.

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Schroon Lake, NY
Dancing Turtle Rescue and Education Program, Inc.

Our mission is to save native freshwater turtles and their wetland habitats in New York's Adirondack Park through rescue, advocacy, and education.

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 resou

rces 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

09/06/2024

Reminder! We will be at the Fairy and Magickal Creatures Festival in Elizabethtown, NY, tomorrow, Saturday, September 7th. Please stop by and meet the magickal turtles!

09/04/2024

Hi friends! It's me, Big Mama, back on the socials with all the good turtle news. The humans have been releasing healed turtles back to their homes. This snapping turtle, Uncle Sam, came in on the Fourth of July. (Uncle Sam is kind of creative. I'm surprised he didn't get named July or Fourth or something lazy.) One of our friends at North Country Wild Care rescued him and was there to release Sam, too. It was his first encounter with a snapping turtle and he did a great job! We are glad Uncle Sam healed quickly and is already back where he belongs. Good luck out there, friend!

09/02/2024

Hi friends! Big Mama here. The humans tell me today is Labor Day and many of you have the day off. Good, that means you will be looking at your socials and you won't miss this VERY IMPORTANT POST. What's that, human? That sounded a bit threatening? Fine, I apologize for using a threatening tone to get your attention. And happy Labor Day, I guess. Anyway, this IS a very important post. Last week I said we had a special hatch at Jen's house. This tiny baby, who is smaller than a quarter (Was putting the turtle on spare change really necessary? Oh, scale, sure.) hatched from an egg that was found in water, either from a disturbed nest or washed out by rain. Most eggs do not develop if they are submerged but this one did. What kind of turtle is it, you ask? This grumpy face belongs to a musk turtle! Common musk turtles, or stinkpots as they are sometimes called, are among New York's smallest turtles. Welcome to the world little stinker!

08/31/2024

One week away! We are excited to be at the Fairy and Magickal Creatures Festival in Elizabethtown, NY, on Saturday, September 7th. The festival is behind the Adirondack History Museum on Court Street and our booth is right behind the museum by the fairy garden. Our turtle ambassadors will be there along with a surprise guest or two. While you're enjoying the festival, be sure to stop by and meet some truly magickal creatures!

Thank you to Solstice LLC, the festival organizers, for sponsoring our booth.

08/30/2024

Hello! It's Big Mama here with Hector, who is looking very handsome. He said he would rather the humans fill his food dish instead of taking pictures, but it's hard to look annoyed when you have a beak instead of lips that move. The humans assured me Hector was fed right after the picture.

08/29/2024

Hi there! It's me, Big Mama, and I'm back reporting on what's been going on that's distracted the humans from giving me good gossip, I mean, news. The educational ambassadors and the humans spent their day with a bunch of horses! Don't worry, no turtles where stepped on. We were invited by Dancing Horses, LLC to set up our booth during a special event day. Frankie and Jimmi lounged in the pool and Hector got to walk around in the pen saying hello to all the kids. Both the turtles and the humans said it was great fun and they are looking forward to going to the Fairy and Magickal Creatures Festival in less than two weeks. Hector arrived after last year's festival so he was especially excited to learn he got to meet the fairy folk. Careful, Hector, I think the humans were eyeing up costumes for turtles.

08/27/2024

Hi friends! It is I, Big Mama, and I'm here after weeks of being IGNORED in Turtle Hall just because of storms and power outages and babies hatching. Okay, so maybe baby turtles were worth being ignored. They are so cute! There are painted turtles and snapping turtles. I also heard there is a turtle species at Jen's house that we've never hatched in an incubator before. I will try to get pictures. The humans have also been working together and with other wildlife rehabbers on some tough injuries that didn't all have happy endings, so I guess I can forgive being ignored. As long as I get fed and the wifi stays on, I'm good. But let's not tell the humans that.

08/03/2024

Hi from your friend Big Mama! I hope you find yourself a nice pond deck to lounge on this weekend like Patti did!

08/02/2024

Hey there! It's Big Mama here with Tanya, who I had to look really close to find. I guess you take your duties as the resident eastern mud turtle very seriously, Tanya. You are representing your kind well. What's that? Mud turtles are endangered in New York because humans keep messing with all the good mud? That's sad. Well, the humans here will make sure you have plenty of mud to keep you happy.

08/01/2024

Hey friends! It's me, Big Mama, lounging on the basking platform with Delilah, while the ambassador turtles have to spend the day in a tent talking to people. I guess it pays to be bitey, right? Anyway, if you are in the Lake George, NY, area, stop by the Roaring Brook Ranch Resort and visit with my friends. They need to do some work! I'm just going to sit here and tan my legs. What's that, Delilah? You don't see any sign of the lunch lady and you are afraid we are going to have to wait to eat? I hadn't thought of that. Oh well, at least we have some peace and quiet around here while we wait.

07/31/2024

Hello friends! It is I, Big Mama, with big news! Well, very little news. Anyway, the first baby turtles to hatch in our incubators have made their way into the world. These painted turtle hatchlings emerged from their eggs weighing 4 grams each, except that last one who weighed 5 grams. There are four babies in total and they are all doing well. Baby turtles hatch knowing how to turtle, so they are already swimming around. Their mom didn't survive her injuries after she was hit by a car, so these babies will be kept safe for awhile so they have a better chance of surviving once they get back to mom's habitat. They have the important job of replacing her to make sure the population stays stable. That's a lot to put on a bunch of tiny babies, I know, but we are losing too many turtles from the world every year.

07/30/2024

We will be set up at Roaring Brook Ranch Resort in Lake George, NY, on Thursday, August 1st. Visit our tent and meet our educational and rescue ambassadors and learn about turtles in the Adirondacks and beyond.

07/29/2024

07/27/2024

Hey, um, Vicki? Were you trying to do that? What's that? You don't think I, Big Mama, should post a picture of you at a very awkward moment to the socials? Oops, too late. Don't worry, I won't tell them the humans had to rescue you. I'll say I'm impressed you got yourself out of that. Really.

07/26/2024

On Sunday, July 28th, we are heading west again (but not as far) to bring our educational program to Abanakee Studios in Indian Lake. The program starts at 2:00pm, but you will want to arrive early to check out the amazing art and craftwork in the store.

07/26/2024

Hey friends! Big Mama here! I thought I would show you my summer home - Turtle Hall. Delilah and I share the tub in the back left corner, and Gordon, our snapping turtle ambassador, is in the one at the very front left. The snapping turtles get those pieces of insulation for shade, because they don't have big basking spots to hide under when the sun is intense. This is the first year since the humans built this thing that we've had so much vegetation. That makes some nice shade, too. The sun and shade helps us turtles thermoregulate. The humans borrowed the side over by me to grow cucumbers. I hope they are planning to share!

07/24/2024

The beautiful wood turtle is native to the northeastern United States and parts of Canada. They like clear streams and creeks, but are often found on land, probably hunting worms. Much of their original habitat has been lost or fragmented. Now they usually find farm fields alongside the streams. Agricultural equipment is a leading cause of injury and death, and is further contributing to their decline. The wood turtle is a species of special concern in New York and in every state and Canadian province within their range.

07/23/2024

Hey friends! Big Mama here with Mini (on his basking spot) and Micro (lounging in his water dish). These are our two worst metabolic bone disease patients. Mini is doing well, eating healthy food, and spending lots of time under the UVB light so his bones are getting stronger. Micro has needed medical treatment and had a complicating vitamin A deficiency. The humans are excited, though, because after all the weeks they were swollen shut, Micro has finally opened his eyes! Now they are hoping he will eat on his own. None of us turtles appreciate having a tube shoved down our throats to put food in, but I know the humans were only doing it to save Micro's life. Keep getting better you two!

Address

On The Hill
Schroon Lake, NY

Website

http://www.dancingturtlerescue.org/

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Videos

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!

This eastern painted turtle girl came into rehab in May. With the help of her rescuer, Renee, she went home last week 💚 It took a few tries to find enough water in the vicinity but we decided on a nice creek near the place she was found. It took her awhile to swim away, but she finally did (after the camera stopped rolling)!

Goodbye Joe! This small male painted turtle was one of our first intakes this season. We were glad he healed from his injuries and could go home. Stay off the road, friend, and have a good life.

This little snapper (who jumped before the video started recording) had a quick stay with us after being found in the road covered in something smelly. Not sure what was going on, his finder brought him to us to get checked out. Whatever it was must have been picked up from the environment, because he was uninjured and healthy. We cleaned his shell in case it was something toxic, gave him a snack, and sent him home. Thanks, Tammy, for making sure he was okay!

First release of the weekend! This male Eastern painted turtle has had time to heal and was released into a quiet pond surrounded by lots of woods and wild grassy areas. Cameo by a cute frog 💚

Willow, another Eastern Painted Turtle, was released to her home this week after a couple of months in rehab. We suspect she was chewed on by a dog. She did a great job healing and was ready to say goodbye!

This little Eastern Painted Turtle was saved from the road in early June by her rescuer, Kim. After resting & healing, she was released yesterday with Kim’s help, in a stream near where she was found. She immediately found some good hiding spots in the water 💚

These snapping turtle siblings have had distinct personalities since their hatch day. One was active and curious, the other, well... In any case, they are both in the wild now to finish growing up. They were released earlier this month into a lovely protected wetland near where mom was hit by a car. (Mom healed and has been released too.)

Tracy the troublemaker came in last week with a fishhook in her mouth that her finder couldn't remove after she stole the bait. Then she managed to get it loose herself while we were driving to the vet for sedation. We monitored her mouth for a week to make sure it healed, during which time Tracy almost escaped her hydration soak a number of times and upended everything in her tub. She made it very clear she wanted to go back to her pond, and we were happy she could. Be well, and leave those too-easy meals alone!

Another release from earlier this month was Speedy, a juvenile painted turtle who got clipped by a lawnmower last fall. The bit of shell that was scraped off healed up over the winter and he went speedily back to his pond. Have a good life, Speedy! We're glad you get to finish growing up.

Today was our first turtle release of the 2022 season!! This is Priscilla Godzilla, a 21 lb common snapping turtle who came in late September and spent the winter with Jen. She was very docile and a gentle giant during her stay 💚 With the help of her rescuer/finder, Amanda, she was returned today to her lake. She seemed a little confused but we know that she is happy to be back in nature and free!! Here is a video of her eventually burrowing into the mud for safety and shelter. We also met a very kind, turtle-loving neighbor. There is good in the world 💚🌎🌈