Turtlesinger, Inc.


is a Federal 501(c)3 Public Charity - New Jersey Charities Registration # CH2998200
Mission Statement: To educate and entertain the public about turtles with original songs and/or live turtles.


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October 21, 2021



Same Day: Different Reptile!





The beautiful sea turtle you saw to get here was rescued from being entangled in a crab trap (we think it’s a young green sea turtle).


We’re also seeing another local, wild turtle still out and about this week: the painted turtle!


The turtle pictured here, also caught in a crab trap the same day we rescued the sea turtle, is one of our beautiful local reptiles: a diamondback terrapin. We’ve still been counting several diamondback terrapin heads in the water this month (although that’s compared to the hundreds of terrapin heads we count in the water in the warmer months).


Releasing these reptiles back into the water always gives us a good feeling. To watch a terrapin release, SCROLL DOWN…



October 21, 2021



There She Goes!





This diamondback terrapin makes its way back to the water after being caught in a crab trap.


You can see she puts on the speed when the water gets deeper.


But we have to tell you, when we released the SEA turtle and it put on the speed when the water got deeper: it was turbocharged with the power from those flippers!


For one more picture of a diamondback terrapin on Reptile Awareness Day, SCROLL DOWN…



October 21, 2021



Diamondback Terrapins: A Very Special Reptile!





How do we know these turtles are females? Diamondback terrapin females are much larger than the males and also have shorter, thinner tails.


We’re scanning these terrapins to help The Wetlands Institute see if they’ve been tagged before.


Diamondback terrapins are a very special local reptile: they are the only turtle in the world specifically adapted for life in the salt marsh. They are also a keystone species in Cape May County marshes, as one of the foods they eat are periwinkles. If left unchecked, periwinkles could reduce the spartina marsh grasses that are a staple of the salt marsh.


Although turtles are our favorite reptile, I also became fond of other reptiles when I was a zookeeper. I grew to also appreciate snakes and lizards! While we were in Stone Harbor this past Saturday for Live Turtle Encounters, I helped a woman identify a snake in her yard (from a picture she had taken) as a garter snake.


We hope you’ll appreciate or at least respect reptiles, and thanks for reading and celebrating our return to our Blog on Reptile Awareness Day!





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turtlesinger@hotmail.com | Phone: (609) 205-9248