My Little Turtle Rescue

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My Little Turtle Rescue

My Little Turtle Rescue was started in 2024 by MA licensed Wildlife Rehabilitator, Melissa Stevens .

Our mission is to rescue & rehabilitate injured & ill wild turtles, and return them to the wild once they are healed & ready for release.

05/08/2026

🐢 Meet Ernie.

Ernie is not a happy camper.

Earlier today, his finder, Sherry, spotted him in the road and did exactly what we hope more people will learn to do this time of year: she slowed down, safely swerved around him, and stopped to help him cross. 👏

But when she got closer, she realized he was already injured.

Ernie had likely been clipped by another vehicle before Sherry got there and he had a fractured shell with active bleeding.

I want to commend Sherry for doing so many things right today.

💚She stopped.

💚She checked.

💚And when she realized something was wrong, she reached out for help.

Because of that, Ernie is now safe, bandaged, medicated, and resting quietly in my care.

Well, sort of! He’s actually been very active in his hospital bin, which I’m taking as a hopeful sign. I’m cautiously optimistic this little guy will make it through. 🤞🙏🏻

This is a good reminder that another way to help Turtles is to simply slow down, be more aware of what’s around you, and when you notice that something is wrong, make the call for help.

Nice work today, Sherry. Ernie has a fighting chance because of you. 💚

05/06/2026

🥚🐢 Even if you think a turtle is dead — or too badly injured to survive — please don’t leave her behind.

Over the next few months, many female turtles will be crossing roads looking for places to lay their eggs.

And sometimes, even when they’re mortally wounded, there’s still a chance to save part of their story.

A gravid (egg-carrying) turtle may still be holding viable eggs, even if she does not survive her injuries.

If that turtle makes it into the hands of a wildlife rehabilitator in time, those eggs can sometimes be carefully extracted and incubated — giving her offspring a chance to hatch and carry on her legacy.

These photos show exactly that:an X-ray of a gravid turtle, eggs recovered after trauma, and the hatchlings that made it because someone stopped, cared, and got help.

Not every story ends this way.

But it never can if she’s left behind.

So if you find an injured turtle — or even one you believe may have died after being struck — please move her safely out of the road and contact a licensed wildlife rehabilitator as soon as possible.

Sometimes saving the next generation starts with not driving away.

And sometimes one turtle is never just one turtle.

05/04/2026

🐢🚗 One of the worst ways to “avoid” hitting a turtle is to straddle it with the wheels of your car. Especially if it’s a snapping turtle.

It might seem like the safer choice but it often isn’t. Here’s why:

Unlike painted turtles and many other turtle species, snapping turtles cannot fully retreat into their shells for protection.

When they feel threatened, their defense mechanism is to rise up, extend their neck, and snap.

That means when a vehicle tries to pass over them, they often lift directly into the undercarriage or tire path — leading to devastating shell fractures, head trauma, internal injuries, or death.

Honor 🐢 (pictured here) came into my care last Spring, after exactly that.

Her shell had been torn and shaved away by a vehicle that likely tried to “miss” her.

She survived. Many don’t.

If you see a turtle in the road this season:

✔ Slow down
✔ Safely drive around it if you can
✔ Better yet, if it’s safe, pull over and help it cross in the direction it was already headed

And if it’s a snapping turtle and you’re not sure how to help, don’t worry — I’ll be sharing a post soon on how to safely move a snapping turtle off the road.

It’s easier (and safer) than most people think.

A few extra minutes for you can mean decades of life for them. 🐢💚

04/21/2026

She didn’t come this far to be rushed. 🐢💛

It’s nesting season—and this mama snapper is doing something incredible. Using only her back legs, she’s carefully digging and feeling the soil, testing temperature, moisture, and texture to find just the right spot for her eggs. Roadsides are a favorite because the sandy/gravelly soil is easy to dig and warms up quickly—basically a natural incubator.

But that also puts them in danger.

If you come across a nesting turtle—whether on the roadside, in your yard, or anywhere else:

🛑 Give her space—don’t touch or try to move her
🤫 Keep pets and people back so she doesn’t abandon the nest
🚧 If it’s safe, you can gently “stand guard” from a distance to slow passing cars
📸 Photos are fine—just keep your distance and let her do her thing
🪺 Once she leaves, you can loosely mark the area to avoid accidentally stepping on or mowing over it

🚗 And please slow down this time of year, especially near wetlands and on back roads

A female like this may lay 30–50+ eggs… and still, it would be lucky if even one hatchling makes it to adulthood.

They’ve been doing this for millions of years. The least we can do is give them a fighting chance. 🌱💛

Have you ever had a turtle choose your yard as her nesting spot?! 😃
📸: Ted Scarlett

04/18/2026

Meet Freedom.
She weighs about 25 pounds… and she’s very possibly 40 to 60+ years old.

Snapping turtles don’t rush life.
A female like Freedom may not even start reproducing until she’s 8-15 years old. After that, she becomes one of the most important animals in her ecosystem—laying eggs year after year, sustaining future generations.

But here’s what most people don’t realize:

She can lay 50+ eggs in a single season…
and less than 1% of those babies will make it to adulthood.

Do the math—
1% of 50 is 0.5 (that’s 1/2 of a turtle 🤔).

That means it would be extremely lucky if even one of her hatchlings survives long enough to replace her.

Between predators, habitat loss, and road mortality, the odds are stacked against them from the very beginning.

So when a turtle like this is killed, it’s not just one life lost—
it can take decades to replace her.

Decades.

And turtles like Freedom aren’t just surviving out there—they’re working.
They help keep our ponds, rivers, and wetlands clean by scavenging and recycling nutrients, removing dead matter, and supporting the overall health of the ecosystem.

Healthy turtles = healthier water.

She has survived winters, predators, droughts… all of it.
And then, in a matter of seconds, a car can undo everything.

This is peak movement season. They’re crossing roads to reach nesting sites—the same routes they’ve used for generations.

Please slow down.
Especially near wetlands, ponds, and those “random” stretches of road that don’t feel random to them.

Because turtles like Freedom aren’t common.
They’re built slowly… and they’re lost far too quickly.

Have you ever seen a snapping turtle this big in the wild? 😃

04/17/2026

In the past two days, I took in my first four turtle patients of the season. None of them survived. Their injuries were simply too severe.

This is the time of year when everything is waking up again—not just us. After surviving a long, brutal winter, turtles are emerging from the mud, crossing roads to reach nesting grounds and summer wetlands.

As you can see, the big snapper in the photo was still covered in pond muck. She had just come up from the bottom… and never made it to lay her first clutch.

It’s a tough reminder: life is everywhere right now. And it’s vulnerable.

Please slow down. Especially near wetlands, ponds, and wooded areas.
Look twice. Give them space.

Because when we rush, we don’t just miss the beauty around us… sometimes we take it out without ever meaning to.

💛🐢

04/14/2026

Don’t underestimate a still turtle. 🐢

Little Oakley 🐢 spent a good chunk of time out in the turtle garden the other day… barely moving. And it would be easy to assume he was frozen, unsure, or not doing much at all.

But that’s not really how turtles work.

After months indoors healing, their first time back outside isn’t just a casual stroll—it’s a lot. New smells, shifting light, the feel of real earth again, the breeze, the sounds of birds overhead… and yes, keeping tabs on me too. Always.

Even when they’re still, they’re taking it all in. Regulating. Reacclimating. Staying aware. Being exactly what they are.

There’s something kind of incredible about that level of quiet presence. 😌

For those who have asked how to support the rescue—I do have an Amazon wishlist that I recently updated for the season ahead as new patients start coming in.

Right now it’s less about the “cute stuff” and more about the unglamorous essentials that keep everything running—gloves, lighting, fixtures, filter media… the behind-the-scenes things these guys rely on every single day.

List below👇 for anyone who feels called to help. ❤️

04/14/2026

Now you see me… now you don’t.” 🌿🐢

In the wild, snapping turtles burrow into leaf litter and soft soil to feel safe, regulate their body temperature, and stay hidden from predators.

For turtles in rehab, this is a really good sign.
It means their bodies remember.
They’re settling, trusting their environment, and doing exactly what they’re meant to do—and that helps reduce stress, conserve energy, and support healing.

Honestly, I’d love to just leave them out there… but the turtle garden isn’t quite secure enough yet—and these early spring nights still dip too cold for turtles who haven’t fully acclimated and are still coming out of months of healing. So I play the role of the very rude landlord and dig them back up and bring them inside for the night.

(Also—quick note: gloves are best practice and I usually do. This was a “caught in the moment” situation. Everyone’s safe, and yes… I showered after 😅)

04/13/2026

Spring has sprung… and apparently so have their escape plans. 😅🐢🐢

Windsor and Muffin found the one hole in the fence and said ‘let’s goooo’—but not so fast, my friends. It’s still a little too chilly out there, and after months in care (and some healing still to do), they’re not quite ready for the wild just yet.

Soon, though. I’m hopeful. 💛🌱

04/05/2026

I was honored to be asked to speak at this year’s annual Turtle Summit hosted by Turtle Rescue League in Southbridge, MA. 💚

All the other presenters were wonderful too, speaking on the topics of:

🐢Rehabilitation at Home
🐢Lab Diagnostics and Nomenclature
🐢Natural History of Massachusetts’ Turtles
🐢Maintaining Public Relationships and Good Standing with State Officials
🐢Parasites in Turtles

And the necropsy lab was fascinating too!

Thank you to TRL for putting on yet another uplifting, educational, and inspiring event. I truly believe that community is at the core of what we do and I’m so grateful to be a part of this circle of true protectors and providers devoted to caring and advocating for the most vulnerable among us. 💚

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Williamsburg, MA

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+19104312202

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https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/3DMJXPWXHE6YK?ref_=wl_share

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