My Little Turtle Rescue

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.

šŸŒæšŸ¢ Today we say farewell to two sweet souls who came into my care this week and, despite our best efforts, were unable t...
06/11/2026

šŸŒæšŸ¢ Today we say farewell to two sweet souls who came into my care this week and, despite our best efforts, were unable to overcome their injuries.

One was a male eastern painted turtle. The other, a gravid female named Lady Ottawa by her finder, after the lake she was found near. Lady Ottawa was carrying eggs and was likely on her way to dig her nest and lay her clutch when she was violently struck by a vehicle.

While I couldnā€™t save her, I will now carefully incubate her eggs in the hope that her legacy may live on.

Please, slow down.

The world is especially beautiful this time of year. Turtles are moving, nesting, and simply trying to survive. I know life asks a lot of us, and itā€™s easy to rush from one obligation to the next. But the tasks waiting at our destination rarely matter more than the innocent, vulnerable lives that depend on us driving mindfully and gently.

Please share the road. Please watch for wildlife. And please share this message. ā¤ļøšŸ¢

06/09/2026

From a devastating vehicle strike to a second chance in the wild. ā¤ļøšŸ¢

Thank you to fellow wildlife rehabilitator Danielle Sullivan for recognizing that this 25-pound snapping turtle needed help and getting Freedom into care when it mattered most.

After nearly nine months of rehabilitation, Freedom is finally back where she belongs. There, sheā€™ll continue to play an important role in keeping her pond healthy as one of natureā€™s cleanup crews, helping to recycle nutrients and maintain balance within the ecosystem.

Welcome home to the muck, Freedom, right where you belong. šŸ’š

šŸ¢šŸ’„ Meet No Way JosĆ©! šŸ’„šŸ¢This feisty little snapping turtle was found injured in Belchertown by a kind Samaritan and repor...
06/08/2026

šŸ¢šŸ’„ Meet No Way JosĆ©! šŸ’„šŸ¢

This feisty little snapping turtle was found injured in Belchertown by a kind Samaritan and reported to me by Belchertown Animal Control Officer Anna Fenton. Anna then coordinated transport with one of our amazing volunteers to get him safely to my clinic.

As for his name? Wellā€¦ letā€™s just say this guy has made it abundantly clear that he is not thrilled about his current living arrangements. šŸ˜… Every exam, treatment, and wellness check has been met with a very enthusiastic ā€œNO WAY, JOSƉ!ā€ Hence the name.

Based on the pattern of his injuries, I suspect JosƩ was struck after a vehicle attempted to straddle him rather than drive around him.

Many people do this thinking theyā€™re avoiding the turtle, but for snapping turtles itā€™s often the opposite. When frightened, they stand tall to make themselves look bigger and throw their heads back defensively. When a vehicle passes directly over them, their shell can strike the undercarriage, often resulting in severe shell injuries or head trauma.

šŸš— If you see a snapping turtle in the road:
āœ… Stop and help it cross if itā€™s safe to do so.
āœ… If you canā€™t stop safely, drive around it.
āŒ Please donā€™t straddle it with your vehicle.

The good news? JosĆ© is bright, alert, and full of attitudeā€”which is exactly how I like my snapping turtles.

Please share this post. Many people simply donā€™t know that straddling a turtle can seriously injure it, and awareness is often the first step toward saving lives. ā¤ļøšŸ¢

Welcome, Opal. ā¤ļøšŸ¢This beautiful female Eastern Painted Turtle was found injured on a road in Leverett and brought to my...
06/06/2026

Welcome, Opal. ā¤ļøšŸ¢

This beautiful female Eastern Painted Turtle was found injured on a road in Leverett and brought to my little turtle rescue by caring people who chose to stop and help.

When Opal arrived, she had suffered a devastating shell injury and had already lost a significant amount of blood. Thankfully, her finders acted quickly. Those first few hours can make all the difference, and their intervention may very well have saved her life.

Thereā€™s another reason Opalā€™s rescue is especially important: she is gravid and carrying eggs.

That means her rescuers may have saved not only Opal, but the next generation as well. If all goes according to plan, Iā€™ll be incubating her eggs while she focuses on healing, giving her babies a head start and a fighting chance at the long turtle lives they were meant to live.

Itā€™s also an important reminder that even when an injured turtleā€™s condition appears dire, it is almost always worth contacting a licensed wildlife rehabilitator. Turtles are incredibly resilient, and even if a mother cannot be saved, viable eggs can sometimes still be recovered so that her legacy can live on.

For now, Opal is resting comfortably, receiving pain medication, fluids, and wound care. She has a long road ahead of her, but sheā€™s fightingā€”and weā€™re rooting for her every step of the way. ā¤ļø

Letā€™s welcome little Earl to the family. ā¤ļøšŸ¢This little guy was brought to me yesterday by Abby, a kind soul who found h...
06/03/2026

Letā€™s welcome little Earl to the family. ā¤ļøšŸ¢

This little guy was brought to me yesterday by Abby, a kind soul who found him injured while hiking in Hadley.

Abby shared that she and her friend found Earl out in an open field, which struck them as unusual since there wasnā€™t really a nearby water source. My suspicion is that he may have been picked up by a predator and then dropped there in the field.

What makes me suspect a predator attack is not simply the location or the shell damage itself, but the nature of the injury. Rather than a straightforward crack or fracture, Earlā€™s shell injury is more of a punctured, sunken-in wound ā€” almost as though the shell was crushed inward and opened up.

When Earl arrived at my little clinic last night, he was showing clear signs of significant pain. I immediately administered pain medication and got to work cleaning his wounds and repairing his shell.

Poor little fellow was so exhausted after the ordeal that I found myself worrying about him overnight.

Thankfully, when I headed downstairs to check on him this morning, Earl was bright-eyed and bushy tailed (well, you know what I mean šŸ¢)! He was so squirmy and determined to escape his hospital bin that I could barely get a decent photo of him. šŸ˜…

Hopefully Earl will settle in soon, because this little guy has a long road of recovery ahead of him. But seeing some spark and fight in him this morning felt like a very welcome start.

A huge thank you to Abby for stopping, paying attention, and making sure this little turtle got the help he needed. ā¤ļø

Meet Bella. šŸ¢Bella emerged from her winter brumation not long ago and, like so many female snapping turtles this time of...
05/22/2026

Meet Bella. šŸ¢

Bella emerged from her winter brumation not long ago and, like so many female snapping turtles this time of year, was likely on her way to lay her clutch of eggs when her journey was violently interrupted by a vehicle strike. She arrived in critical conditionā€¦ carrying eggs.

This photo was taken just after one of several shell repair sessions over the last 36 hours. I had just finished slathering SSD cream over Bellaā€™s wounds, bandaging her up, and completing what Iā€™m sure felt to her like a very scary, uncomfortable shell repair procedure. Bella had quite understandably had about enough of me and was backing away from me as I snapped this photo before tucking her in to rest for the night. ā¤ļøā€šŸ©¹

After all the trauma Bella has endured, I can only hope that I can do right by her and help guide her through what will likely be a long road to recovery with the compassion, patience, and respect she deserves. ā¤ļøšŸ¢

05/22/2026

Earlier this week, we said goodbye to Brickā€¦ in the very best way. šŸ¢šŸ’š

After many months in care with my friend, colleague, mentor, and fellow rehabber Tracy Zustra at Berkshire County Turtle Rescue Inc. , this big old snapping turtle was finally healthy enough to return home to the wild.

Brick was originally found injured in Westfield ā€” actually closer to me than to Tracy ā€” but at the time, I wasnā€™t able to take him in. Tracy stepped up without hesitation and cared for him through the long road to recovery. This week, when another injured turtle was being transferred from Tracy to me, Brick hitched a ride with Janet, one of our amazing volunteer transporters, so I could bring him home for release.

One of the things I love most about the turtle rehab community is how deeply collaborative it is. We are all volunteers. We all have full lives and other jobs outside of this work. And because of that, we constantly lean on and support one another to help these animals get the care they need.

So while I may have had the easier ā€” and definitely more fun ā€” job of simply carrying him through the woods to his home pond and watching Brick disappear back into his wild homeā€¦ his release was the result of many hands, many hours, and many people working together.

It truly takes a village. And that village includes not only rehabbers and transport volunteers, but all of you who encourage us, support us, donate supplies, share our posts, and cheer these turtles on every step of the way.

Safe travels, Brick. You are loved. šŸ’š

05/20/2026

This morning started with a cup of coffee and three turtle releases. šŸ¢

Oakley, Honor, and Brick all made their way back home to the wild where they belong. And while releases are always joyful, they also come with a little nervousness too.

Anytime we take a turtle into care, the hope is always that one day weā€™ll be able to return them to their wild home. But after months of caring for them, worrying over them, and rooting for them, letting go can feel emotional. I imagine itā€™s a little like sending your kid off into the world for the first time.

I worry sometimesā€¦ what if they get injured again? What if I didnā€™t release them in exactly the right spot? What if they get lost?Ā 

But the truth is, these ancient creatures know exactly what theyā€™re doing.

The video Iā€™m sharing is Oakley returning to a river that will lead him back to his summer pond. He was likely only a few years old when he came into care last year, so my hope is that he now has many long decades ahead of him ā€” helping keep waterways healthy, cycling nutrients through aquatic ecosystems, dispersing seeds, and continuing to play the quiet but important role turtles have played in nature for millions of years. šŸ’š

Meet William. šŸ¢William is my newest patient ā€” a male common snapping turtle who was brought to me yesterday after a kind...
05/17/2026

Meet William. šŸ¢

William is my newest patient ā€” a male common snapping turtle who was brought to me yesterday after a kind couple, Cat and her husband, noticed something wasnā€™t right. They had seen him sitting in the same spot at a local conservation area for two days in a row, looking very lethargic and weak. On the second day, they noticed an injured front arm and decided to reach out for help. Thank goodness they did.

I named him William because he was found in Williamsburgā€¦ and as it turns out, William was also Catā€™s fatherā€™s name. It felt meant to be.

William arrived extremely thin, dehydrated, and exhausted, with a significant infection in his front right leg/hand area. My best guess is that this injury may have started as a predator bite ā€” possibly from an off-leash dog, as this conservation area apparently sees quite a few. Given the severity of the infection and how emaciated he is, I suspect this injury may have happened last fall.

One thing many people donā€™t realize is that turtles donā€™t really heal during winter brumation. Their metabolism slows dramatically, immune systems weaken, and injuries can quietly worsen for months beneath the surface. By the time spring arrives, some turtles wake up already fighting an uphill battle.

And William is fighting.

After settling into a clean warm recovery tank and receiving antibiotics, I offered him trout, tilapia, and red leaf lettuce overnight. Iā€™m very happy to report that he ate the fish immediately ā€” which is honestly a really encouraging sign. No interest in salad yet, but frankly, same, William. šŸ˜…

Right now the hope is simple: treat the infection, rebuild his strength, and eventually return him home where he belongs.

Please keep this ancient little dinosaur in your thoughts. Snapping turtles are incredibly resilient animals, but recovery is slow work ā€” especially for reptiles.

And as always, wildlife rehabilitation is entirely volunteer-funded. If anyone feels moved to help contribute toward Williamā€™s medications, supplies, water quality maintenance, and high-protein recovery diet, donations are deeply appreciated and directly support turtles like him getting a second chance.

šŸ“± https://venmo.com/u/Melissa-Stevens-47

Fingers crossed for William. One careful step at a time. šŸ¢šŸ’š

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