There are too many turtles for us to keep track of, so we rely on you, the public, to help us keep turtles safe! The most important thing when helping a turtle on the road is your safety! Be sure to learn about road safety before ever stopping to help a turtle. With the exception of the 400 series highways, if you find a turtle on the road and it is not injured, you can help it cross the road safely in the direction it was heading. If the turtle is injured or dead, please transport it to one of our temporary holding stations in Kingston or directly to Sandy Pines Wildlife Centre (Napanee) or the Ontario Turtle Conservation Centre (Peterborough).

Large 4-lane highways like the 401 are very dangerous for turtles and humans alike. If you find a turtle, pull off to the side of the road when it is SAFE to do so. Engage your 4-way flashers and call the OPP’s non-emergency line 1-888-310-1122. Do not exit your vehicle. Wait for the responding officer to arrive.

Do not worry, a snapping turtle cannot break bones or tear off fingers, their bite is like that of a human. Snapping turtles snap for protection. Their bottom shell (plastron) doesn’t provide much protection and they cannot retreat inside their shell. As long as you always avoid the front half of a snapping turtle, you will be able to avoid their snaps as they cannot reach past the midpoint of their shell.

Give the mother space (at least 10 meters), wait for her to leave, then place a nest protector over the nest! A nest protector should be installed as soon as possible, since predation generally occurs within the first 48 hours. Since less than 1% of all turtle eggs survive to maturity, protecting nests is of incredible importance to protecting turtles. Wait until the mother turtle leaves and if the nest is on your property, you can install a nest protector. If it is on public or private property, you can install a protector but you must then obtain permission from the owner for it to stay there.

Nest protection program

You can purchase a nest protector at Potter’s Nurseries (690 Golden Mile Rd, Kingston, ON K7M 6K6) or from our online turtle store (local pickup only). You can also build your own nest protector following specific designs.

Give yourself a pat on the back! You are making a big difference for the turtle population in your area. Now that you’ve installed the nest protector, there is not much more to do. It will take 60-90 days for the eggs to hatch. The hatchlings will not need your help, but appreciate you leaving the nest protector on until they emerge. In some cases they won’t emerge until spring. For these hatchlings you must remove any nest protectors that are on public property before winter. Keep in mind that you should never alter or dig up a turtle nest. Not only is it illegal, but you might hurt the turtles.

Unfortunately, once the nest has been laid you cannot move it. Place a nest protector to remind yourself where the nest is and protect it from predators. You can possibly remedy the situation for the following nesting season by placing a mound of substrate in an area that receives full sun and is in a more convenient location. We recommend mixing sterilized sand with 1/2 - 1 inch stones to create this new nesting mound, with a gradual slope on the sunny side. Be sure to compact the new nesting material.

If the nest is in a location that cannot safely have a nest protector on it then just leave the nest. The occasional vehicle driving over the nest will likely have little impact. Just remember to pay attention for hatchlings 60-90 days after the nest laid (or even the following spring if it was a map or painted turtle).

You may find a hatchling in late August to early October and possibly in the spring. If you spot a hatchling on the road, help it cross. Do not put a hatchling directly into the water since there may be predators lying in wait. Let the turtle enter the water on its own. If you find a hatchling that is not on the road, you should first ask yourself whether it even needs help. Likely the hatchling is headed where it needs to go and doing what it wants to do, so there is no need to interfere. Occasionally you may find a hatchling that is not near water. This hatchling may have been dropped by a bird. You can help by transporting it to the nearest body of water.

Typically the turtle season is considered to be from May to September. However, if you include all potential hatchling emergence times the season would be from March until October. Nesting is typically between mid-May and mid-July with hatchlings emerging 60-90 days later between August and October. However, map and painted turtles tend to overwinter in their nests and will emerge in the spring (March to June). The exact timing will vary depending on weather and turtle species.

No! Turtles live long lives and are a big commitment. Although native turtles are illegal to have as pets, they are still poached for the pet trade. Sadly, many non-native turtles (like the red-eared slider) are kept as pets, then released into the wild where they compete with our native turtles for resources. You should never release a pet into the wild!

If you see someone doing something illegal like purposefully harming a turtle, destroying or digging up turtle eggs, or confining a turtle you can call 1-877-TIPS-MNR (1-877-847-7667). This is the MNRF Conservation Officer tip line and is not meant for emergencies.

Injured turtles can be rehabilitated. ‘Dead’ turtles may not be dead! You may think a turtle is too injured to help, but you’d be surprised the ‘magic’ that can be done to rehabilitate turtles — never leave a turtle on the road! Even if the turtle is dead, it may be carrying eggs (gravid) that can be extracted and incubated. If you find an injured or dead turtle, you should bring it to a wildlife or turtle centre such as Sandy Pines Wildlife Centre or the Ontario Turtle Conservation Centre. We also have temporary holding stations at participating vets in Kingston where you can take injured turtles.

Sandy Pines Wildlife Centre: 8749 Hwy 2, Napanee, ON K7R 3L1, 613-354-0264, open 7 days a week 8am to 6pm.

Ontario Turtle Conservation Centre: 1434 Chemong Rd #4, Peterborough, ON K9J 6X2, 705-741-5000, open 7 days a week 8am to 8pm.

NOTE: if the turtle smells it is likely been dead for too long for any eggs to successfully be rescued. Eggs must be extracted within 24 hours of their mother dying.

Report, report, report. When you see turtles report what you see using the iNaturalist or Turtle Tally (from Adopt-A-Pond) apps. This information is used to help further protect turtle habitats, which is key for their survival. For more ways to help turtles, check out "What can you do?".

A temporary nest protector can and should be installed as soon as possible. A BBQ or oven rack, or something similar, could serve as a temporary nest protector by placing it over the nest and weighing it down with a brick or heavy stone. This temporary protector should be replaced as soon as possible with a standard nest protector that you have purchased or built. If the nest is on public or private lands, then you will need permission from the land owner to keep the nest protector there.

There are too many turtles for us to keep track of, so we rely the public to help us keep turtles safe! If you find a turtle nest, it is important to protect it from predation as soon as possible. If you do not have a nest protector, you can temporarily use a BBQ or oven rack with a heavy object on top while you purchase or make a nest protector. If the nest is not on your property, you will need to obtain permission to leave the nest protector there. We recommend putting the nest protector on the nest first, with your contact information, then emailing a photo of the nest protector to the property owner to obtain written permission.

Don’t forget to report all your turtle sightings!

Snapping turtles are not aggressive, just protective. You do need to watch out for their snaps, but if you pick up the turtle by its back half using the pizza hold method, you will be able to avoid the head. Never pick a turtle up by the tail since this can really hurt them. We do recommend wearing gloves when handling turtles.

We encourage you to report turtle sightings to iNaturalist and Turtle Tally or with our website form.

If the turtle is injured or dead, you can bring it to one of our participating temporary holding stations so that we can help it. If you find a turtle nest, you can purchase or build a nest protector. Also, if you find a turtle crossing the road, you can help it on its way.

NOTE: if the turtle smells it is likely been dead for too long for any eggs to successfully be rescued. Eggs must be extracted within 24 hours of their mother dying.

If it was a Midland Painted Turtle or Northern Map Turtle their hatchlings often overwinter in the nest (i.e. hatch but stay in the nest through winter and emerge in the spring). If you have a nest protector covering this nest and it is on your property, leave it protecting the nest all winter until the hatchlings emerge. If the nest protector is on public property you must remove it before winter for safety concerns.

There are two other main reason you may not have seen any hatchlings:

First, if you accidentally protected a false nest / test nest then there would be no eggs in the nest to protect. A test nest normally still has a slight hole in it and wasn’t completely covered by the mother.

Second, not all nests will survive. So, even those with eggs may never hatch.

We sell lawn signs for personal use and the Ontario Turtle Conservation Centre sells ‘turtle crossing’ signs, also for personal use. Personal use means that they must be installed on your own private property. They are not road signs. If you are interested in installing a road sign on a road in your community, you must contact your local municipality.

First, remain calm! Snapping turtles bite when they are frightened, so if you are calm they may release their hold on you. If the turtle has not released you while you are being calm and motionless, then move yourself and the turtle carefully to water. Once in water it is likely the turtle will release its bite so it can escape into the water. Never try to forcibly remove the turtle’s grip.

Once the turtle has released you, be sure to clean and disinfect your wound / bruise to remove bacteria. Bandage any cuts and talk to your doctor or nurse practitioner if the wound seems serious.

A snapping turtle’s bite is like that of a human. You will not lose a finger, but you may have a bruise or cut.

Exclusion fencing is paired with eco passages that provide the animal, such as turtles, with a way to get to the other side of the road. In many cases existing bridges or culverts can be used as eco passages to allow turtles to cross from one side of the road to the other safely. The primary purpose of exclusion fencing is to keep animals safe from being hit by vehicles on roads. However, all other aspects of the animals life cycle and needs are considered in the full project design.