NH Turtle Rescue

05/30/2026

It’s been a busy week here at NHTR! While everyone else is probably bummed out at the cold and rainy weather on this Saturday, we’re breathing a big sigh of relief because we expect the rate of patient intakes to be minimal while turtles hunker down and wait for the weather to warm up. That should give us a little bit of time to catch up on things, including patient stories!

Last Sunday during the Memorial Day weekend, we received a call from a Seabrook resident reporting a large turtle on the beach. We’ve never gotten a call about a sea turtle before, and usually sea turtles don’t go much further north than Cape Cod. We asked the caller to send a picture so we could try to determine the species and figure out next steps.

When we got the picture, we were taken aback. It was an adult snapping turtle wandering around in the sand and surf! Snapping turtles are habitat generalists and can thrive in many types of wetlands and waterbodies, but definitely not the ocean!

The picture and video are from where he was found wandering around on Seabrook beach.

Looking at a map convinced us that there was no way this snapper made his way to the beach on his own. Did someone pick him up and drop him off there? We called our colleague at NH Fish & Game who graciously answered on a holiday weekend (thanks Josh!), and after some discussion we came to the conclusion that this snapper likely got washed down the river into the estuary, and then ended up in the ocean and managed not to get swept away.

The original callers were incredibly helpful in getting the turtle contained in a bin while our transport volunteer Julie was dispatched to pick him up and bring him to our clinic for evaluation. While there were no visible injuries to the snapper, being in cold salt water for an extended period of time on a cold day could lead to severe dehydration and other latent issues.

We held onto Starfish (our name for him while he was in our care) to give him fluids to offset any saltwater intake and to let him warm back up while we monitored him for any signs of sickness from his ordeal. During his exam, we also noticed what looked like healed-over bullet or pellet holes in the back of his carapace. He’s really been through a lot in his life.

Starfish thankfully exhibited no concerning behavior, and after consulting with the state biologist we were able to release him at a freshwater location far back upstream where he likely came from. A wonderful conclusion to a very strange situation!

If you come across a turtle in an odd or concerning place, don’t hesitate to call or text us at (603) 417-4944. Quick action can make a big difference for our turtles!

Also, from now through the end of June, all donations made to NHTR up to $10,000 will be matched dollar-for-dollar by our generous supporters. Visit our website to find different ways to contribute to the care and preservation of New Hampshire’s native turtles. No amount is too small to have an impact! 🐢💚

05/26/2026

Is this your tortoise? Found in a backyard in Nashua. Please reach out to us at (603) 417-4944 if this is your pet!

05/25/2026

If you missed our “Turtles of New Hampshire” presentation on World Turtle Day, you’re in luck! We recorded the talk and have made it available on YouTube for everyone to learn from and enjoy! 🐢💚

Learn about New Hampshire's native turtles, the threats they're fac...

05/23/2026

There's still time to register and join us this morning at 11AM for our virtual "Turtles of New Hampshire" presentation!

Register via the link in the comments below 👇

05/22/2026

Meet miss Harriet, an eastern box turtle ambassador at NH Turtle Rescue - she has been enjoying outside time these past warm days, and she loves a good soak. ☀️

More big news - tomorrow, Saturday May 23rd, is WORLD TURTLE DAY! 💚🐢

To shellabrate such a special day, we are hosting a virtual Turtles of New Hampshire presentation to discuss our native turtle species in NH and the ways you can help them. We hope you’ll join us!

Event details:
🗓️ Saturday, May 23rd at 11am
📍Zoom meeting (registration link in comments)

Check the link in the comments (or on our website > Events page) for the registration page - you will receive an immediate follow up email with the Zoom link - save this email to access tomorrow’s meeting.

We hope to see you there turtle friends!

05/17/2026

On this beautiful spring day, we want to share a reminder to be on the lookout for turtles on the roads. It was a bit chilly the last week, but today is very warm day and turtles are out and about, traveling and crossing roads - we even helped the beautiful snapping turtle in this picture cross one of our local roads this morning.

Up until yesterday we have been primarily admitting male turtles due to car hits, which we commonly see early in the season, but we’re getting to the time where we will begin to see more and more of the mama turtles traveling and looking for a suitable place to nest and lay their eggs. Nesting season is May through July, so we are in the primary time of year where turtles really need all of our help keeping them safe while they make their migrations.

✅ Some advice if you find a turtle in the road:

⚠️ Please be super cautious! Many people are distracted on the roads, so please be safe and diligent anytime you’re near the road and prioritize your safety no matter the situation 👀

🚸 Always help a turtle cross the road in the direction they were already headed. They know where they are going and will just turn around and try again if moved back to the same side they came from. Call/text us anytime when in doubt about a situation, we are here to help: (603) 417-4944.

📝 Special note: snapping turtles will commonly nest on the side of the road, so if they are not actively crossing and you are able to safely do so, observe them before moving them across, in case they are just nesting and didn’t plan to travel across the road.

❤️‍🩹 If you do come across an injured turtle in the road, please give us a call or text at (603) 417-4944. We always greatly appreciate if you’re able to transport the turtle to us, or we can reach out to our wonderful network of Turtle Transporters to arrange for someone to meet you instead.

For resources on how to hold turtles for when helping them cross the road, check the comments for links to our website articles - snapping turtles require special handling, you only hold want to hold the back 1/3rd of the body but NEVER by the tail. If you have a snow shovel you can keep in the car and/or a blanket, this can help a lot with helping them cross with minimal handling.

Our last note is you can contribute to conservation research by reporting sightings of turtles to NH Fish and Game’s Reptile and Amphibian Reporting Program (RAARP) where you can send a photo and specific details about where you found the turtle, which helps NHFG monitor populations and know where they are crossing roads. We will link to the RAARP program where you can report turtle sightings in the comments.

Thank you for caring about our shelled neighbors 💚🐢

05/13/2026

Special news! For World Turtle Day on Saturday, May 23rd we will be holding a virtual Turtles of New Hampshire presentation, and we would love if you would join us!

Event details:
🗓️ Saturday, May 23rd at 11am
📍Zoom meeting (registration link in comments)

Register at the link in the comments (or on our website > Events page) and you will receive an immediate follow up email with the Zoom link. Save the follow up email to access the meeting on May 23rd!

We look forward to spending World Turtle Day celebrating our incredible native species in New Hampshire - hope to see you there! 💚🐢

05/12/2026

Check out this fantastic resource put together by our friends at CCCD! 🐢💚

Are you ready to come out of your shell and learn more about how you can help conserve local turtle populations? Anyone can do it with the proper resources!

If you are interested in learning more, check out our Turtle Resource Page, https://www.cheshireconservation.org/turtle

Image Description: There is a photo of a turtle, and the left-hand side has a grey transparent block over the top. Text in white reads "Turtle Resources! Of the 356 species of turtles worldwide, approximately 61% are threatened or already extinct. Learn more about how you can help conserve local turtle populations through different resources. Learn more: cheshireconservation.org/turtle

05/12/2026

Good morning from Elvira! ☀️

Elvira is an endless source of smiles here haha. Look at the big stretch and yawn 🥱 from her cam after the lights turned on in the morning.

Elvira is a Blanding’s turtle ambassador at NHTR. As much as she brightens our days, she did not deserve to be taken from her home and her tale is a perfect example of why you should NEVER take turtles from the wild. Check the link in the comments if you’d like to read her full story.

At this time of year we are still getting reports of hatchling eastern painted turtles out and about. They have this incredibly adaptation as hatchlings that allows them to overwinter on land in the nest chamber they were hatched in the prior late summer/Fall…there is an incredible clip from BBC Earth, and narrated by David Attenborough, that we will link to in the comments, showing them freezing and thawing in the nest chamber.

✅ Here are some tips if you find a hatchling turtle on land:

🐢 Turtles do not receive parental care and it is completely normal to see them out and about alone

🐢 Hatchling turtles are born with the amazing instincts to find where they need to be - they are thought to use positive geotaxis as well as a number of their senses in their journey to their home wetlands

🐢 If you find a hatchling away from a water body and are concerned, send us a text or call us at (603) 417-4944 and we can help determine a) the species of turtle and b) where that turtle was coming from - you may be surprised how close an appropriate wetlands may be

🐢 Please don’t take them home - their journey is part of their natural life cycle, and they deserve to have a chance to make it in the wild. If you do want to adopt a turtle, we can help direct you to the pet rescues in desperate need of finding homes for the many abandoned turtles, and then you’ll be actually helping and not adding to the many problems turtles are facing

Thank you for caring about turtles! 💚

05/04/2026

🐢 Turtle season is here — and your sightings can make a difference!

As turtles emerge to bask, nest, and wander, it’s the perfect time to get outside — and help protect New Hampshire’s turtle populations while you’re at it.

Join NH Fish and Game turtle biologist Josh Megysey and Harris Center ecologist Nate Marchessault for this live Zoom talk to learn how your turtle photos can contribute to real conservation work. From snapping a quick picture to submitting data, you’ll discover how easy it is to turn a chance encounter into something meaningful.

We’ll cover how to report sightings through RAARP and iNaturalist.org, how that data is used by biologists, and how to share information responsibly to keep turtles safe from harm.

📅 Tuesday, May 12, 2026
🕠 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. via Zoom
🎥 Can’t attend live? Register anyway to receive the recording!

👉 Register here to get the Zoom link: https://tinyurl.com/turtle-sightings

💚 Let’s make this a great season for turtles — and for the people who care about them.

This program is offered through the Monadnock Region Turtle Conservation Initiative, a partnership between the Harris Center, the Cheshire County Conservation District, the New Hampshire Association of Conservation Commissions, NH Fish and Game, NH Department of Environmental Services, USDA NRCS, and Moosewood Ecological.