Second Chance Wildlife Center in Clarksburg, MD

09/13/2026

Meet Linda! Turtles have always held a special place in Linda's heart, and she has held a special place in ours for over 12 years. Linda, who assists SCWC as a volunteer specializing in their care and rehabilitation and holds a Master Wildlife Rehabilitator permit from the state of Maryland. She’s also an active Board Member of the Mid-Atlantic Turtle and Tortoise Society (MATTS). But that’s not all...

Linda has a growing passion for endangered sea turtles and, along with her son, has participated in volunteer efforts helping sea turtles in Georgia, Costa Rica, and Cape Cod.

In addition to helping SCWC care for native turtles, she is also involved in our turtle releases. According to Linda, “It is not unusual for us to trek into the bush or go off the beaten path to make a safe release. Some of these turtles know where they are and gladly take off straight away, while others may take 30 minutes or so to take their leave. I keep a diary on my releases with pictures, and I hope that they are all still wild and happy.”

When asked about SCWC’s new Turtle Egg Incubation Program, she said, “By doing this, we are giving our native turtle species a helping hand in their fight for survival in this quickly changing world.” And, “I’ve found that Turtles can be shy or outgoing, have personal food interests, have favorite sleeping areas, and more.”
Linda’s husband, Chuck, also volunteers with SCWC. He is a member of our all-volunteer Board of Directors and, as a mechanical engineer by trade, Chuck was instrumental in the design and construction of SCWC's amazing new hospital and rehabilitation campus in Clarksburg! What a team!!

Second Chance now offers an array of volunteer opportunities. For more information, please visit our website: www.SCWC.org/join-our-team

09/12/2026

“A Hatchling Story” Part 6 of 6 - Once a hatchling's umbilicus has healed and it shows normal behaviors, it is moved out of the incubator and briefly monitored before release. Turtles hatch with the instincts they need to survive, so our goal is to get them back into the wild as quickly as possible.

These hatchlings are released near where their mothers were originally found, allowing them to grow up in the same Maryland habitat their species has called home for generations. Around 100 hatchlings have already made that journey through our new program this year, and hundreds more will benefit with your continued support of this time- and resource-intensive effort.

09/10/2026

“A Hatchling Story” Part 5 of 6 - Many hatchlings emerge with part of their yolk sac still unabsorbed. They stay in our incubators while they finish absorbing those nutrients and until their umbilicus (the turtle version of an umbilical cord) finishes healing.

Our team provides daily care and monitors these tiny hatchlings for any issues that may arise in this very sensitive time frame. In the wild, these turtles would remain underground until their yolk sac was fully absorbed and healed over. There's a lot of attention to detail involved in getting this process right because the conditions these eggs experience from the very beginning can make a difference in their development. Your donations help provide the equipment, supplies, and expertise needed to keep this program growing.

Please give hope to native turtles today. www.scwc.org/donate.

09/08/2026

Join us LIVE on Facebook on September 23 from 12:30–1:30 PM ET for a Turtle Lunch & Learn! Have a turtle-specific question you've always wanted answered? Drop it in the comments below today so our SCWC turtle experts can answer it during the live! What happens when an injured turtle comes through the doors at SCWC? From injuries and illnesses to surgery, rehabilitation, incubation, and release, there's a lot more to turtle care than most people realize. We hope you'll join us and learn how you can help turtles in the wild by supporting SCWC!

Make sure you RSVP to our Facebook Live Event: https://www.facebook.com/share/1EZEyaY3Ne/

09/07/2026

“A Hatchling Story” Part 4 of 6 – More reasons for hope! After months of development, the first crack finally appears! This is called pipping, when a hatchling uses its tiny keratin “egg tooth” to break through the shell. Hatching can take as little as a few hours or even up to two days. This is the moment our team eagerly awaited all Summer – Egg #16 was the first hatchling to come from our new Reptile Egg Incubation program!

09/05/2026

“A Hatchling Story” Part 3 of 6 - Once our reptile eggs are in the incubator, the waiting begins. Eggs and incubators are checked every day to make sure temperature and humidity remain consistent, and after about 45 days, the eggs are carefully weighed again, as shown in this photo. Turtle eggs gain weight as they develop, so that change can help us predict which eggs are developing properly and give us an idea of how many may eventually hatch.

Mark your calendars for our Facebook Live Q&A with SCWC’s turtle experts on 9/23/26 at 12:30pm ET.

09/03/2026

“A Hatchling Story“ Part 2 of 6 - Sometimes hope comes in a very small package. When healthy eggs are laid or surgically recovered from a turtle that couldn't be saved, they must be cleaned, weighed, catalogued, and carefully placed into our special incubators (ours were provided by a grant from a local family’s charitable foundation). The eggs shown here, from a common snapping turtle, have just been collected and are being prepped for incubation. When laid, they are light pink, but over the course of a few days in containers with special substrate and placed in our incubators, they will “calcify” and turn white. Your support helps provide the supplies needed to give hope to these eggs.

09/03/2026

“A Hatchling Story” Part 1 of 6 - Every turtle that arrives at SCWC receives an X-ray during their intake exam. X-rays help us identify injuries and can quickly show us whether a female turtle is carrying eggs; this Snapping turtle was carrying 50! Unfortunately, her injuries could not be treated, but we were able to carefully extract those eggs and begin the incubation process. When a mother can't be saved, incubating those eggs gives us another reason to find hope. Come back for Part 2 to see what happened next!

09/02/2026

Join us to learn about some of the main reasons wildlife comes into our care, simple things you can do when you find wildlife in need, and how to help prevent common wildlife accidents.

✅REGISTER FOR THE ZOOM LINK: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/yobgqWwTRXO9pSnYknRzDA #/registration

We all enjoy watching the wildlife in our backyards (at least when they're not snacking from our vegetable gardens!), but what is the best way to be a good wildlife neighbor? September's Science Tuesday talk will provide some simple ways that we can better care for these critters, and equally important, some tips on what not to do. Join us on Tuesday, September 8, 1:00 - 2:00 PM, on Zoom to hear from C.J. White, Education and Community Engagement Manager at Second Chance Wildlife Center. Second Chance is Maryland's first and only licensed veterinary hospital dedicated exclusively to wildlife.

09/01/2026

This month we're SHELLebrating Hope! Our new Reptile Egg Incubation Program gives us another way to help Maryland's native turtles, even when an injured mother can't be saved. We’ll be sharing the cutest baby turtle photos & videos. Behind-the-scenes looks at the journey from injured mother to egg incubation, hatching, and release, and stories of some of the unique turtles brought to SCWC for help.

And join us for a Facebook Live Q&A session with SCWC Experts on September 23 from 12:30–1:30 PM (ET). Learn just how much goes into giving these tiny turtles a second chance and how to help us. Follow along and SHELLebrate!