• Menu
  • Skip to right header navigation
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Turtle Guardians

Kids & Communities Helping Ontario's Turtles

Header Right

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • Shop
  • Events Calendar

Mobile Menu

  • Home
  • About
    • Why Saving Turtles is Important?
    • What is a Turtle Guardian?
    • Become a guardian
    • Partners & supporters
    • The Land Between – Ontario’s Turtle Country
    • Contact
  • What is a Turtle Guardian?
    • Level 1 – Turtle ID & Turtle Camp
    • Level 2- Wetland Monitoring and Turtle Nest Protection
    • Level 3 – Road Research, Turtle Tunnels & Conservation
    • Level 4 & 5- Science permits
  • Volunteering
    • Become a Turtle Guardian
    • Road Researchers
      • Road Researchers Registration
      • Road Researcher Workshops
      • Road Researcher Tools and Reporting
    • Nest Sitters
      • Nest Sitters Registration
      • Nest Sitters Workshops
      • Turtle Nest Sitters Training and Reporting Forms
    • Wetland Watchers
      • Wetland Watcher Registration
      • Wetland Watcher Workshops
      • Wetland Watcher Protocols and Reporting
    • Turtle Tunnel Assessors
      • Turtle Tunnel Assessor Registration Form
      • Turtle Tunnel Workshops
      • Turtle Tunnel Assessment
    • Turtle Walk 2019
  • Turtle Conservation
    • Why Saving Turtles is Important?
    • So you found a turtle…
    • Helping a turtle across the road
    • Turtle Nesting
    • Snapping turtles & your lake
    • Helping Turtles Around Your Property
    • Turtle Recovery Campaign
      • T5 Campaign
  • Learning Resources
    • Turtle Facts
    • Turtle identification
      • Parts of a turtle
      • Blanding’s Turtle
      • Map turtle
      • Painted turtle
      • Snapping turtle
      • Spiny softshell turtle
      • Spotted turtle
      • Stinkpot turtle/Musk turtle
      • Wood turtle
    • Turtle Habitats
      • Lakes and Rivers
      • Ponds and Marshes
      • Swamps and Carrs
      • Bogs and Fens
    • School Curriculums
      • Intermediate (Grades 7-10)
      • Junior (Grades 4-6)
      • Primary (K-3) Grades
    • Research Reports
      • Habitat Requirements and Biology
    • The Land Between. Ontario’s Turtle Country
  • Why Saving Turtles is Important?
  • Donate
  • Member login
  • Sighting Report Form
  • Become a Turtle Guardian
  • Shop
  • T5 Campaign
  •  
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • Shop
  • Events Calendar
  • Home
  • About
    • Why Saving Turtles is Important?
    • What is a Turtle Guardian?
    • Become a guardian
    • Partners & supporters
    • The Land Between – Ontario’s Turtle Country
    • Contact
  • What is a Turtle Guardian?
    • Level 1 – Turtle ID & Turtle Camp
    • Level 2- Wetland Monitoring and Turtle Nest Protection
    • Level 3 – Road Research, Turtle Tunnels & Conservation
    • Level 4 & 5- Science permits
  • Volunteering
    • Become a Turtle Guardian
    • Road Researchers
      • Road Researchers Registration
      • Road Researcher Workshops
      • Road Researcher Tools and Reporting
    • Nest Sitters
      • Nest Sitters Registration
      • Nest Sitters Workshops
      • Turtle Nest Sitters Training and Reporting Forms
    • Wetland Watchers
      • Wetland Watcher Registration
      • Wetland Watcher Workshops
      • Wetland Watcher Protocols and Reporting
    • Turtle Tunnel Assessors
      • Turtle Tunnel Assessor Registration Form
      • Turtle Tunnel Workshops
      • Turtle Tunnel Assessment
    • Turtle Walk 2019
  • Turtle Conservation
    • Why Saving Turtles is Important?
    • So you found a turtle…
    • Helping a turtle across the road
    • Turtle Nesting
    • Snapping turtles & your lake
    • Helping Turtles Around Your Property
    • Turtle Recovery Campaign
      • T5 Campaign
  • Learning Resources
    • Turtle Facts
    • Turtle identification
      • Parts of a turtle
      • Blanding’s Turtle
      • Map turtle
      • Painted turtle
      • Snapping turtle
      • Spiny softshell turtle
      • Spotted turtle
      • Stinkpot turtle/Musk turtle
      • Wood turtle
    • Turtle Habitats
      • Lakes and Rivers
      • Ponds and Marshes
      • Swamps and Carrs
      • Bogs and Fens
    • School Curriculums
      • Intermediate (Grades 7-10)
      • Junior (Grades 4-6)
      • Primary (K-3) Grades
    • Research Reports
      • Habitat Requirements and Biology
    • The Land Between. Ontario’s Turtle Country
  • Why Saving Turtles is Important?
  • Donate
  • Member login
  • Sighting Report Form
  • Become a Turtle Guardian
  • Shop
  • T5 Campaign
  •  

So you found a turtle…

FIRST: RECORD THE LOCATION OF THE TURTLE/SUBMIT THE SIGHTING HERE.

If you found an injured turtle please call the Ontario Turtle Conservation Centre at 705-741-5000

If you found a turtle (even if it is dead) within the Lake Simcoe Region, the District of Muskoka, or Parry Sound please help to contribute to recovery science and call or text the Turtle Hotline at 705-955-4284. They will dispatch a biologist to take important measurements of the turtle.

If they are native turtles, do not feed the turtles or give them water. For injured turtles keep them warm and dry in a well ventilated container. If not injured, we recommend returning the turtles to the nearest safe point to where they were found.

The Turtle Guardians program does not condone keeping wild turtles. Here's why...

Turtles have declined more than 50% globally. Turtles losses are due to road traffic, fishing bycatch, habitat loss, and people removing them from the wild as pets.

In Ontario, in natural areas, where there is no subsidized predation by raccoons and skunks etc, it can take up to 60 years for a turtle to have a successful offspring to replace itself!  Studies have shown it takes at least 30 years of laying eggs, added to the almost 20 years for turtles to mature, for one turtle egg to hatch successfully and grow old enough to lay eggs replacing its parent in the population. These numbers are based on recruitment rates (the time it takes for young to successfully reach adulthood) in natural areas. Where people live, turtles have a harder time succeeding! These numbers are similar in many parts of the world.

Removing turtles from wild populations reduces the number of turtles in a population and reduces the potential breeding population, therefore affecting the next generations for all time.

Turtles need to stay in the wild to support human health too! Turtle provide ecological services that are irreplaceable and cannot be duplicated by humans: They cycle nutrients, eat dead matter that would otherwise pollute our waters, and they spread aquatic seeds that grow into plants that filter water, and provide amazing habitat for fish and aquatic species. No one else can do this job, but a turtle!

Also turtles live a very long time and require very precise nutrients, light, temperatures and care.

If a turtle is removed as a hatchling and not replaced within the first two years, it may not be able to survive in the wild at all: Turtles imprint their territories into their brains within the first three years of their lives- in this time they are learning where to find food and in Ontario, where to hibernate.

If a juvenile or adult turtle at is removed from its habitat and home, it will be stressed and will likely attempt to return home. Turtles navigate using the sun as a clock and a chemical in their brain that helps them know where to go. Many indications are that turtles may even die trying to return as they become stressed and dehydrated.

Also significant, is that are studies conducted by scientists that estimate that if we lose another 20% of common snapping turtles in Ontario, they will be extinct in 20 years...and these turtle are the best cleaning crews in Ontario's waters!

Most turtles in Ontario cannot be handled or kept without special government permits. Turtles are protected under legislation in Ontario (see below).

Please keep wild turtles wild.

If you wish to adopt a pet turtle, there are many opportunities- Check out Little ResQ 

Here are more basics from colleagues in Texas:

http://www.texasturtles.org/whattodo.html

And a great fact sheet from our partners at Scales Nature Park:

http://www.scalesnaturepark.ca/Downloads/Helping Guide.pdf

Legal Considerations

Turtles are protected under the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act, the Endangered Species Act in Ontario and the Species at Risk Act in Canada. Also turtle nest sites of Threatened and Endangered species are protected under this legislation as Critical Species At Risk Habitats. In Ontario, fines for handling, removing turtles from nature, or harming turtles can reach $25,000.00.

Health Considerations

While turtles are scavengers and help clean our water, removing dead and decaying matter that in turn support our health, turtles- although it is rare in nature (but common when in captivity) - can contract and carry salmonella. Therefore just in case, when you touch a turtle to help it cross a road, it is always important to wash your hands!

Primary Sidebar

Member Login



signup now | forgot password?

Recent News

  • Bridging Communities Through Experiences with Public Art and Nature
  • New Children’s Book to Save Turtles_ Never Give Up_ Now in Ojibwa and English
  • Turtle Calendars Raise Funds for Tunnels
  • Jeremiah is on the Move!
  • A Donation of Art to Support Turtle Conservation

Turtle Guardians is a program of The Land Between charity and invaluable partners. www.thelandbetween.ca

Contact Turtle Guardians at 705-457-1222 info@turtleguardians.ca

Footer

Follow us on Facebook

Follow us on Facebook

Follow us on Instagram

turtleguardians

Kids & Communities Saving Turtles 🇨🇦 A National Charity to Help Our Oldest Relatives. 🐢 Follow us on Facebook or find us online @turtleguardians

Will is our Turtle Caretaker at the TG Headquarter Will is our Turtle Caretaker at the TG Headquarters. He comes in once a week to change the water, feed, and provide physiotherapy to our turtles with limitations. Will has a way with turtles, he knows what they need and has even invented a spinal sweep that calms down the snappers. He simply strokes the carapace along the spine and voila- happy turtle. Snapping turtles, like all turtles, can feel through their carapace because their spine, ribs and corresponding nerves are all one unit; turtles are their shells! Thanks Will, for being such a turtley cool staffer!⠀
⠀
⠀
#turtleguardians #thelandbetween #snappingturtles #ontarioturtles #essentialservices #turtleycool #turtleconservation #turtlesofinstagram #reptilesofinstagram #rescueanimals #turtles
We are already looking forward to the 2021 turtle We are already looking forward to the 2021 turtle season! Hopefully after a year of staying at home there there will be more people than ever outside and helping turtles across the road! Always move a turtle in the direction it was travelling! All turtles, including this blanding's turtle, know exactly where they are going. ⠀
⠀
⠀
#turtleguardians #thelandbetween #blandingsturtle #ontarioturtles #speciesatrisk #wildlifeconservation #turtleconservation #watch4turtles #roadecology⠀
⠀
Photo credit: Xavier Tuson
We’ve moved the cameras at the Turtle Guardians We’ve moved the cameras at the Turtle Guardians Headquarters and have noticed that each night these two turtles move to face each other. Timothy is a large male snapper that is ~100 years old and unable to use his back legs, and Jeremiah is a large female snapper that is ~ 75 years old with limited mobility in her back legs. We can't help but wonder if they're trying to communicate... Betty and Otis, the two red-eared sliders, do the exact same thing! Wonder what they’re saying?⠀
⠀
⠀
#turtleguardians #thelandbetween #petcam #snappingturtle #jeremiah #timothy #ontarioturtles #turtleconservation #turtlesofinstagram #reptilesofinstagram
Jeremiah is a female common snapping turtle that w Jeremiah is a female common snapping turtle that was hit by a car and left with her back legs paralyzed. Luckily, turtles can regrow nerve tissue so there is hope for her recovery! The Turtle Guardians staff take turns going into the office during lockdown to feed the turtles, and to give Jeremiah her physio and skateboarding time (look out Tony Hawk). The muscles in her back legs are getting stronger every week and she loves to roll around the office! ⠀
⠀
⠀
#turtleguardians #thelandbetween #turtleconservation #essentialservices #turtlesofinstagram #snappingturtle #reptilesofinstagram #jeremiah #wildlifeconservation #skateboard #tonyhawk
Everyone is looking for new hobbies during lockdow Everyone is looking for new hobbies during lockdown, including Betty, our red-eared slider. While there are still some staff at the Turtle Guardians Headquarters (with permission - essential services for wildlife care) it is not nearly as exciting without any tours coming through. It is safe to say that turtles are looking forward to some company after the lockdown is over!⠀
⠀
⠀
#turtleguardians #thelandbetween #redearedslider #turtleconservation #ontariolockdown #essentialservices #turtlesofinstagram #reptilesofinstagram #baking #newhobbies #bakedgoods
This painted turtle's yoga pose isn't just for sho This painted turtle's yoga pose isn't just for show, turtles stretch out to expose as much of their body as possible to the sun. As cold blooded animals, this allows them to absorb more heat and regulate their internal body temperature!⠀
⠀
⠀
#turtleguardians #thelandbetween #paintedturtle #ontarioturtles #turtlefacts #reptilefacts #coldblooded #turtleyoga #yogapose
Snapping turtles, along with all of Ontario's turt Snapping turtles, along with all of Ontario's turtles, help keep aquatic habitats safe and clean for swimming! 

#turtleguardians #thelandbetween #snappingturtle #turtleconservation #tiktok #turtlefacts #ontarioturtles #biodiversity #protectnature
Back to reality today. We are excited to see what Back to reality today. We are excited to see what 2021 has in store; hopefully it is lots of nesting turtles and even more hatchlings! ⠀
⠀
⠀
#turtleguardians #thelandbetween #snappingturtle #ontarioturtles #nestingturtle #2021 #turtleconservation #watch4turtles
2020 has been a year full of new experiences and c 2020 has been a year full of new experiences and challenges but we are grateful for the adventure and look forward to what 2021 has in store! Thank you to everyone that helped us, and the turtles, along the way, we couldn't have done it without you!⠀
⠀
#turtleguardians #thelandbetween #turtleconservation #newyearseve #ontarioturtles #ontariowildlife #goodbye2020 #grateful #newyears
Load More... Follow on Instagram

Follow Us on Twitter

My Tweets

Search

Site Navigation

  • Home
  • About
  • Donate
  • Shop
  • How to Help Turtles
  • Learning Resources
  • Contact

Our Partners

Join Us at Turtle Stories

Download the Turtle Guardians App for your mobile device!

 

 

Contact Turtle Guardians by calling 705-457-1222 or texting 705-854-3578

Copyright © 2021 Turtle Guardians · Email Us · Privacy Policy

Site Development by TechnicalitiesPlus Inc.