Happy Snapper Rescue

We love to post success stories, because truthfully, it’s just easier. The truth is though, that there is a lot more heartbreak going on behind the scenes, but without some level of success, we’d have given up by now.

Thanks to very caring individuals posting to Facebook, and another who went above and beyond to check on this female snapping turtle (thank you Tatjana Ratzenberger!), and who also brought her here even though she had already died. By the time we found out about this it was likely too late already to save her, and she may not have been saveable, but it may not be too late for her eggs, and she certainly didn’t deserve to suffer.

We suspect she managed to lay some already, then after being injured managed to wander to where she was found on the hot pavement. Typically they would be laying up to 30 eggs or more at this size. These eggs were quite warm, and we don’t know at what point she passed away, but we have them in our incubator currently in hopes of some success.

This field is often discouraging due to negative comments regarding snapping turtles, so all who have shown their concern really helps to keep us going. Sometimes we feel like no more than a bandaid. These dinosaurs certainly aren’t valued by all, and we’re still holding on to hope that this perspective changes more over time, before it’s too late.

Just after we posted a happy success story of a Blanding’s turtle requiring surgery, who had recovered from an injury from last year, and was released recently, another came in requiring major surgery.

A degloving injury is not one we’ve had to treat in our 8 years of turtle rehabilitation, and 4 veterinarian opinions later, we were confident amputation was the best route to take as his injury was unlikely to heal with treatment, and more susceptible to infection. We will spare you the before picture.

We are hopeful he’ll still be able to navigate properly with one front leg and time to adjust. For now he’s receiving anti-inflammatory medication and antibiotics to aid in his recovery. He is also recovering from a shell fracture.

Thank you to Orion Oaks Animal Hospital for helping! Thank you to all who have donated as well, as we’ve managed to save enough over time to have funds on hand for situations like these.

She may only have only one eye, and her beak is not as perfect as it once was, but she can eat, she can walk, she can swim and submerge, and she was ready to go!

Found last June 2025, with life threatening injuries, her beak was realigned and stabilized with wire, her proptosed eye was removed and stitched, and a feeding tube was placed at Ark Veterinary Hospital in Utica, Mi. She was also given antibiotics, anti-inflammatory medication, and regular tube feedings for support while she healed. She went in for several check ups, and thankfully despite the head injury, she managed to survive without neurological issues inhibiting her ability to survive back in the wild.

From a human perspective the area she was found was not perfect, and did not come without worry, but we managed to find a wetland on the same side of the road to where she was found, away from the busy road, that made us feel good about letting her back go. Of course, she knows her area, and Blanding’s turtles wander on land frequently, and have a mental map of the wetlands that frequently travel between, so we need to be content knowing she’s been given a second chance. She can do what she wants to in this area where she is familiar, but has likely changed much since she first hatched. We just hope she stays out of trouble.

A year of care, expenses, a lot of overthinking the best spot to release her, a lot of mosquito bites, and a trek up and down the railroad to find access to the “perfect” spot was definitely worth it. We have done our part.

Thank you to all who help look out for turtles, and have helped donate towards their care.

What better way to Shell-e-Brate than some releases! These are not all of them, and there’s still more to come!

All of these turtles spent the winter here, and thanks to you, they’ve all gotten a second chance to go back to the wild!

I screamed 😮, I laughed 😂, I set the 🕷️free!

This is a Dark Fishing Spider, Michigan’s largest spider!

She snuck in and spent some time with our smallest snapping turtle hatchling, who will be released too once we get a little bigger!

We have been very busy with releases and new turtles, and have many updates that we probably won’t get to, but here’s a recent release we had been looking forward to!

Thank you to everyone who helps prevent injuries by helping turtles across the road, and to everyone who finds and secures injured turtles and seek help right away! Everyone out there sharing resources helps more turtles get help, so thanks to you too!

It’s , and other than our love for turtles of course, the other main reason we got into rehabilitating turtles is that they are considered the most imperiled group of vertebrates in the world.

When we’re able to give a turtle a second chance at living the many years nature intended for them to live in the wild, we’re not only helping the individual turtle but contributing to conservation of the species.

4/10 of Michigan’s turtles are on the protected species list which means they are at a greater risk of extinction if we do not help. The truth is that all species, even the seemingly common snapping turtles and painted turtle populations are also in decline.

When you stop to help a turtle cross the road, or bring a turtle in for medical care, not only are you awesome for your compassion, but you are contributing to conservation, and we thought you should know!

Not only has he given us this handsome face to admire, he's even left us some presents!

🧚‍♂️Wings from a predaceous diving beetle
🐌An operculum from a snail

These are both common findings in their p👀p!

This big guy is from White Lake, Mi and healing from a minor carapace fracture, thankfully.

The picture was taken underwater and he did not snap! 📸