05/23/2026
Happy World Turtle Day 🐢🌎 Here are a few of our recent turtle patients! Featured are Snapping Turtles, an Eastern Box Turtle, a Common Musk Turtle, and a Northern Red-bellied Cooter.
Founded by the American Tortoise Rescue, World Turtle Day celebrates 220 million years of survival— and works to protect the next 50. Over half of the world’s known modern-day tortoise and freshwater turtle species, totaling 201 out of 364, are threatened with extinction in the next 50 years. Habitat loss and fragmentation, illegal trafficking for the pet and food trades, and climate change are their biggest threats. The turtles that come to our clinic are overwhelmingly admitted for vehicle collisions, followed by lawnmower injuries and illegal poaching to be "pets."
Washington DC is home to ten turtle species: Eastern Box Turtles, Snapping Turtles, Wood Turtles, Common Musk Turtles, Red-bellied Cooters, Spotted Turtles, Painted Turtles, Diamondback Terrapins, Eastern Mud Turtles, and Bog Turtles.
Want to help our shelled neighbors?
🚗 Slow down and stay alert while driving, especially on rainy, warm days when turtles are most active.
🍂 Leave the leaves where possible. Leaf litter is critical overwintering and foraging habitat for species like the Eastern Box Turtle.
💧Protect water quality by avoiding pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers that may run off into waterways. Support watershed conservation groups like and , too.
👀 Found a turtle in the road? Help them cross in the direction they were headed. Never relocate a turtle.
🙏 Respect their wildness. Never take a turtle from the wild and give them distance when you see them.
🌱 If you must mow, look before you mow and raise the blade 4-6" to protect small animals hidden in the grass.
🐢 Want a pet turtle? ADOPT RESPONSIBLY! Turtles are extremely long-term commitments with complex needs, as a result, they are frequently abandoned and relinquished. Organizations like have dozens of adoptable turtles.
Comment your favorite turtle species or fact!👇
