Great resource regarding the care of kangaroos!

TURTLES

The turtles are a great learning experience for children.  They cannot visit during the winter because they hibernate.  We have a 20 x 6 foot turtle habitat and keep turtles in need of rehabilitation until they can be released.  The most important message in our program is to spread the word that these animals should NOT be kept as pets.  We get dozens of calls every month about the little slider turtles that are sold at the beach and at carnivals.  Not only is it illegal to have the turtles for pets in NC (even though they are still illegally sold in some places) but they do not make ideal companion animals in a home.  They DO grow rather large and become quite smelly over time.  They can also spread salmonella if their habitat is not constantly and properly cleaned.  These little water turtles cannot be released into the wild here in NC.  It is very detrimental to our environment when people release animals that are not indigenous to this region.  If a child finds a box turtle outside, we feel it is ok to bring the turtle home for a few days as a great learning experience however the turtle should then be released back into the wild.  These animals can live over 100 years!

          
PAINTED WATER TURTLE                        NORTHERN BOX TURTLE

SNAPPING TURTLE
This picture is for identification purposes only.  We do not use snapping turtles in our educational programs!

Please read more about what to do if you find a turtle.