Northwestern Pond Turtle Rehabilitation Program
The northwestern pond turtle (Actinemys marmorata) is a state listed endangered species and one of only two native turtles in Washington State. Some adult turtles in the wild are struggling with a shell disease. The cause of this disease is unknown, but it appears treatable. The partnership to care for these turtles includes Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW), veterinarians at PAWS, Woodland Park Zoo (supporting Cedar Creek’s program), and Oregon Zoo (supporting Larch Corrections Center’s program).
A northwestern pond turtle poses for a picture moments before being released back into the wild. Photo by SPP Staff.
Northwestern Pond Turtle Program Description
The Northwestern Pond Turtle Rehabilitation Program is a 10-credit conservation course that educates participants on the fundamentals of turtle husbandry, life history, morphology, conservation, animal behavior, habitat, ecology, and threats to species recovery. Program participants help rehabilitate individual state-endangered turtles from a debilitating shell disease. Turtles receive acute veterinarian treatment prior to being transferred to the program for longer-term care and monitoring. Once sufficiently healed, turtles are released back to the wild.
Specialist Responsibilities:
Turtle Specialists are responsible for meeting daily needs of the program and work closely with WA Corrections staff and SPP Evergreen graduate students to maintain high program standards. Specialists are expected to demonstrate subject matter expertise, autonomy, and accountability. The program requires detailed, technical work, contact with partners and the public, and performing scientific trials. Training within the program fosters each specialist’s ability to work as a member of a team to accomplish tasks and responsibilities, perform turtle rehabilitation protocols, and practice adaptive management when encountering program challenges
A NWPT is swabbed for shell disease testing prior to release. Photo by SPP Staff
A turtle technician records data on the size of each turtle prior to release with WDFW partners. Photo by SPP Staff.
A turtle technician prepares to release a turtle back into its native habitat. Photo by SPP Staff.
Course Learning Objectives:
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Demonstrate husbandry knowledge through effective care and monitoring of northwestern pond turtles.
- Demonstrate understanding of basic turtle morphology through effective daily health inspections, weekly measurements, and associated data collection.
- Document results of various husbandry and care methodologies.
- Contribute to data collection, data analysis, procedure development, and revisions.
- Demonstrate competence using laboratory equipment including digital
thermometers, digital scales, aquarium equipment, etc. - Describe turtle, wetland, and introductory ecology topics including western
pond turtle life history, habitat, conservation, anthropogenic influences, and shell disease. - Demonstrate ability to maintain mealworm breeding as a turtle food source.
- Apply knowledge of program procedures to effectively rehabilitate turtles.
- Interpret behavioral observation and measurement data to maintain turtle health.
- Provide written and oral reflection of program experiences.
- Analyze literature related to conservation biology, herpetology, and animal
husbandry. - Demonstrate effective and efficient communication through successful
teamwork, active participation, outreach, reporting, and problem solving. - Program Requirements/Course Structure
The SPP Program Coordinator supports and facilitates education and training prior to receiving turtles and throughout the duration of turtle care. The table at the end of the syllabus includes a brief overview of the workshops, education modules, seminars, and portfolio requirements in the order they are delivered. Program participants complete at least 250 hours of experiential learning through hands-on turtle care and at least 12 hours of academic education. Each education and training session takes 1 to 4 hours to complete
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