Wildlife Clinic
Found an animal?

Your answer

Move it the way it was already going.

A turtle crossing open ground knows where it is going. Box turtles live their whole lives in a home range of a few acres, and one carried to a "better" place will try to walk back, usually dying on a road in the attempt. Direction is the whole answer.

What to do right now

  1. 01Check for traffic first. Your safety comes before the turtle’s.
  2. 02Pick it up by the sides of the shell, keeping it level and low to the ground.
  3. 03Put it down on the far verge, facing the same way it was heading.
  4. 04For a snapping turtle, push it from behind with a car mat or lift by the back of the shell only — never by the tail.

What not to do

  • Do not take it to water. Box turtles are terrestrial and can drown.
  • Do not take it home or relocate it, even a mile away.
  • Do not turn it around to face "safety".

Change your mind if any of this is true

Any one of these changes the answer above. Call a rehabilitator instead.

  • A cracked or bleeding shell — cracks are repairable, and turtles survive remarkable damage with treatment.
  • It was hit by a car but is still moving. Take it in; do not assume it is beyond help.

Get professional help

Showing rehabilitators permitted for reptiles and amphibians.

Accepts turtles

This list is not complete. Some licensed rehabilitators choose not to publish their details, and the state list is updated quarterly. Always call ahead: a rehabilitator may be full even when listed.

Showing 12 of 23. If nobody here can take it, 11 more are permitted for this animal.

Show all 23

Choosing a county puts the nearest first. It never hides anyone — someone further away may still be the one who can take it.

Understand the animal

Knowing why this happens is what makes the next one easier to read.