Berkshire County Turtle Rescue
What we do
Wildlife Rehabilitation
We receive many sick and injured turtles every year. We treat their injuries and illness’ and when they are ready, we release them back into the wild.
Many turtles are hit by cars when crossing the road to find the perfect nesting spot. Turtles with fractured shells can be rehabilitated, their shells similar to our bones and can heal!
Head Start Program
10% of hatchling turtles make it to adulthood. To help raise their survival rate, we keep hatchlings over the winter. This gives them a chance to grow more and allows their shells to become harder.
Egg Incubation
We incubate turtle eggs from turtles who didn’t survive their injuries, or from injured turtles who didn’t get a chance to lay their eggs in the wild. Once the Hatchlings are born, we put them in our head start program.
Education
We believe education is key to helping turtles. We help the public on what to do if they find a turtle in need of help. We also offer advice to turtle owners looking to provide the best care possible to their beloved pet.
Wildlife Rehabilitation Clinic for Native and Non-Native Turtles
Native turtles are release back in to the wild once they have recovered. It is important to know exactly where every turtle has come from. They spend their juvenile lives mapping out their territory and habitat. When they are old enough to mate and lay eggs they know exactly where they are going, and they know exactly how to get back to their water source. If you find a turtle that needs help, please let us know exactly where you found them! If you see a turtle that is not injured and is not in harm’s way, please leave them alone, even though it may seem that they are far away from water, they know what they are doing and will be okay!
We are dedicated to helping all turtles. Sometimes we get turtles in that are not native, sometimes people release them into a local pond. When they come into our clinic its because often times they have been hit by cars, traveling to find the right place to inhabit. We don’t want to see them suffer because humans didn’t want them anymore. We will rehabilitate non-native turtles, when they have recovered from their injuries, we will place them in our adoption program. Most non-native turtles cannot survive our winters, and sometimes those that do, end up with severe illnesses.
