Turtle Rescue Team

It’s that time of year again: sun’s out ☀️turts out 🐢

You may begin to notice more of our slow and steady friends basking in the sun or on the side of the road, and some may even appear injured 🤕 But don’t worry: Turtle Rescue Team is here to help!

Read along for our tips and tricks on how to help them get to the other side of the road (or down to TRT) 💚

HAPPY WORLD TURTLE DAY!!! 🐢🥳

We’ve got some ideas on how to celebrate accordingly. Which one would you choose?

🐢 Donate to turtle rescue team

🤕 If a turtle is uninjured, leave it be

🚗 Brake for turtles

🐍 Attend an educational event with an animal ambassador

🎁 Gift something from our wishlist

👩‍🏫 Learn about native NC turtle species

Join our first seasonal intake, Hercules Beetle, as he highlights what we use to deck out our turtles’ enclosures during their stay with TRT 🎬

But we can’t do it without YOU 🫵 (yes, you. the one reading this!) Donations from the public are an integral part of the rehab process - from first evaluation to release!

Feel like you want to provide a totally cool piece of decor? 🐢 Check out the Amazon wishlist here: https://www.amazon.com/registries/gl/guest-view/N3AUKN62NZ2N

BREAKING NEWS 🚨

Turtle Rescue Team recently relaunched our quarterly newsletter!!! All the updates about our events, ongoing research, intakes, and more - shared directly with those who help turtle rescue team keep going (that’s you!) 🐢

Sign up using the link here to receive our newsletter:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdWU-3KNBil-EtyXmYz6WZBCh2iTBxQs1CokJixWeo9lLNW1g/viewform?usp=share_link&ouid=108576078983421847347

If you are alumni of NC State’s CVM 🎓 and want to keep in contact with TRT, fill out the link here:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe35EFXjiLbyGyRTrdCg0MAZ2xIor1YMoq5H3FbRUwE2ZT0ZA/viewform?usp=share_link&ouid=108576078983421847347

Next edition coming soon ✍️

📢 Happy NC State Day of Giving!!!

We wanted to take a moment to highlight the wonderful faculty and alumni who have helped make Turtle Rescue Team a success over the past 30 years 🥳

Turtle Rescue Team has helped so many reach their professional goals while unlocking the passion to treat all creatures, great or small 🐢

This Day of Giving, we hope to raise $5,000 to support the next generation of TRT doctors and help all the animals who have yet to come through our doors

If you’d like to make a donation, use the link below - we couldn’t do what we do without your support 🫶🏼

https://go.ncsu.edu/trtdog26



Photo credits: NC State CVM, Iowa State University CVM, SC Aquarium, Turtle Survival Alliance, The Georgia Aquarium, Greensboro Science Center, Fort Worth Zoo, North Paw Animal Hospital, Illinois CVM, Binder Park Zoo

As March comes to a close, we’re still on the look out for the lucky charms of turtle rescue! These are things we use daily to ensure our patients thrive 🐢🐍

… and did you know: honey is not only a sweet treat, but is also commonly used for wound care? You’d better bee-lieve it 🐝🍯

If you’d like to help us change our patients’ luck, consider donating our most needed items from our Amazon wishlist linked below🍀

https://www.amazon.com/registries/gl/guest-view/N3AUKN62NZ2N?ref_=cm_sw_r_cp_ud_ggr-subnav-share_KZRT0NSPT60YW499DSWY

2026 TRT NAMING THEME!!! 🥳🥳

We are very excited to announce the 2026 patient naming theme for this year as... it’s a bird... it’s a crane... it’s any animal BUT a turtle! 🦔🦆🦀

Our first patient of the year is Hercules Beetle 🪲, a hatchling eastern box turtle that had issues going into brumation. The little one is doing well with some extra support until the Spring season arrives!

We are looking forward to a great year! If you have a favorite animal (the more wild and wacky the better), drop it in the comments and it may just be used! 😄

Happy Holidays from all of us at the Turtle Rescue Team!!! ❤️🐢

Our turtle patients have been very good all year and it is their Christmas wish to have a fridge stocked with fruits and veggies for their salad plates, so if you have any leftover after the holidays or want to grab some from the store, we are accepting these items in our donation bin! It is past this wooden turtle, through the black gate fence, and beside the second door on the left (it’s a black bin with red lid). Thank you! 😊

The 2025 Turtle Ally Program was a massive hit! We ended up hosting 90 attendees for a full day of turtle educational programming!!! 🤩

Attendees received a lecture about general turtle knowledge and common procedures done in the Turtle Rescue Team lab, listened to some students present recent cases, and then got hands on with both live and cadaver turtles to get a crash course in handling, physical exams, blood draws, shell repairs, feeding tube placement, and aural abscess procedures!

This incredible day was designed and ran by our Turtle Rescue Team student program coordinators Katerina and Trina, supported by other student volunteers, and overseen by the one and only Dr. Lewbart. We LOVE turtles and were all thrilled to get to share that with so many folks. We hope all attendees walked away with more confidence in turtle care and lots of enthusiasm to make them apart of current or future careers! 🐢🎉