Upstate Turtle Rehab & Conservation

About Us

Upstate Turtle Rehab and Conservation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that has been established to help rescue, rehab, and release our native reptile wildlife. We are strong believers that reptiles play an important role in our environment and place a heavy emphasis on education.

We are a volunteer organization that relies on donations and public funding to pay for vet bills, medications and food. Please consider donating money or items from our wish list.

We will also help non-native reptile owners, who are no longer able to keep or care for their reptiles, find appropriate homes. The only exceptions to this are venomous species, Red-Eared Sliders and those deemed illegal in South Carolina.

I Found a Turtle

• If the turtle is crossing the road, help it across in the direction it was going. Do not remove the turtle from the area unless it is in serious danger.
• If the turtle looks sick:
  • Place in a box and bring it inside the house or garage and contact us.
• If the turtle was hit by a car:
  • Place in a box and bring it inside to a quiet place.
  • Take picture of the injuries.
  • Cover the wounded area with a wet paper towel, napkin or gauze.
  • Contact us as soon as possible.
• If the turtle was injured by a dog or another animal:
  • Rinse the turtle off with tap water.
  • Place it in a box and bring it inside to a quiet place.
  • Take pictures of the injuries.
  • Cover the wounds with a wet paper towel, napkin or gauze.
  • Contact us even if the wound looks minor so that we can determine if the turtle needs antibiotics and/or treatment.

Please do not try to feed the turtle or submerge the turtle in water. Try not to handle the turtle more than necessary and try to keep it in a calm and quiet environment.

I Found a Snake

Please note that we cannot come to your home and relocate a snake. We only work with injured or sick non-venomous species.

If you find a snake that is injured, please put it in a pillowcase or in a box (both would be best) and contact us.

If you have a snake that is caught in netting, call and we will try to talk you through the process of cutting it out. We will come to you if we have time (for a donation to the organization) but in most cases, it is easy to release the snake from the netting.

If the snake is on a glue trap, put the whole trap in a box and contact us. You can bring it to us or we can talk you through the removal process.

If you just want help identifying a snake, there are great groups on Facebook that will help you identify our beautiful South Carolina snakes. If you want to text me a clear picture, I would be happy to attempt identification.

Surrender a Reptile for Adoption

Before contacting us, please note that we are not able to take Red-Eared Sliders, venomous species, and reptiles deemed illegal in South Carolina.

When you surrender a reptile to us, it is with the understanding that it is in good health and will be a good candidate for adoption/rehoming.

We will not purchase the animal from you, it will be surrendered to us and we will in turn find and screen the new home to make sure that it will be a suitable environment for the pet. We will charge a fee to the new owner as a rehoming fee. The fees will be based on the individual animal.

How Can I Help?

Please consider volunteering!

We always need help with transporting animals, building enclosures, and with the feeding and daily care of the animals. Even one or two hours a month is a great help!

Contact Us

We are located in Pelzer, SC

864-325-7528

Please note that on most occasions, the animal will need to be brought to us. Each turtle that we receive takes upwards of 5 hours to fix and if you add on the time that it takes to care for the 100+ turtles that we care for yearly, we don’t have time to run and pick up every animal. We are also an all-volunteer organization. Most of our volunteers have other jobs and families and cannot take hours out of the day to pick animals up. We appreciate your understanding of this and appreciate the fact that you are trying to help save our beautiful wildlife.