TulsaPets Magazine Online

Second Chance Turtle Ranch Offers Rescue, Recovery, Release
By Pat Atkinson
Photos by Steve Bull of Sirius Photography

There’s not a sign in the front yard, but the lucky ones find their way to the Second Chance Turtle Ranch for rescue, rehabilitation and gentle return to nature.

One resident is Petey, a one-eyed guy who encountered unknown trauma causing a bit of brain damage and one-sided vision.  With his head extended in obvious curiosity, he likes to watch the world from the palm of a friendly hand. 

And there’s Sweetie, an ornate gregarious lady who can be a bit demanding of attention.  Unlike most slow and steady box turtles, she moves fast and fills the job description of sharing educational turtle trivia with children.

Petey and Sweetie are the only fulltime turtle residents of the ranch – box turtles representing two different subspecies of turtles.  They are friendly turtles, cheerfully interacting with visitors.  Petey is an eastern box turtle with beautiful orange spots and Sweetie’s a three-toed ornate (also called western) box turtle.  

These two public relations types have met and helped the ranch’s human proprietor, Tracy Hendrickson,  tend scores of hurt and recovering turtles during recent years at her home in southeast Tulsa.

During “high season” for turtles – the warm months when they’re not hibernating – the ranch is literally crawling with rescued box turtles in various stages of recovery from trauma, injury, or sickness.

The ranch is a hospital and extended care center for turtles and Tracy is the home-owner, nurse, and rehabber who has an affinity for helping these long-lived creatures find life’s second chance.

Most of the patients have been injured by close encounters with cars, lawn mowers or dog teeth.  Their shells are cracked or punctured and infections are common.  Some have lost a leg, but get along fine once they have healed.

Ducky, for example, is a young turtle who will be in-hospital for a few months while her cracked (and taped) shell is treated with medicine and mended.  The latest arrival, just before winter’s cold, was a days-old baby, about the size of a silver dollar, found struggling to survive in a swimming pool filtering basket.  After several hours of hospital rest, she began eating on her own.

Tracy’s kitchen abounds with large counter-top turtle rehab homes with shallow pools of water for them to soak their shells and nature-friendly materials for burrowing and digging.  

“Room service” for turtles is a daily event with a menu of protein-rich warmed dog food, live worms, some high-calcium foods like egg shells, lots of vegetables, fruits and greens.  Sometimes they soak in nourishing vegetable juice, absorbed through their skin.

Last summer, Tracy treated and released dozens of box turtles.  They come from veterinarians and people who find injured turtles and learn about the ranch while searching for help. 

“I want to help these creatures in need, to give them a second chance.  These are all God’s creatures and this is the right thing to do,” Tracy says.  

It’s not the first time she has opened her animal-friendly home and heart to those in need.  About 25 years ago, she founded Tulsa Boxer Rescue, which rescues and finds homes for dozens of dogs annually.

Her compassion for animals began in childhood and turtle rescue was a part of after-church car rides in the country.  

“While driving along, if we saw a turtle on the road, we would stop and move it to safety.  If we took one home to help, we always released it back to the wild.  Rehabilitation to me means releasing the animal to live in its natural surroundings,” she says.

“As I got older, turtle rescue grew into greater love for dogs. I grew up with boxers,” she recalls.

For more than 26 years, Tracy owned an animal diagnostic laboratory in Tulsa, recently selling the business but continuing to operate an animal blood bank service for emergency blood donations.

The lab was close to Forest Trails Animal Hospital where domestic small animal veterinarian Paul Welch also rehabilitates wildlife.  Tracy teams with Welch for special needs turtle rehab and he often sends injured box turtles to her for long-term care.

A visit to Second Chance Turtle Ranch is akin to touring an animal spa and resort.  There are turtles convalescing in the kitchen and in the outdoor fenced turtle garden.  The mulched garden features turtle-friendly plants, logs and limbs, and rocks and hiding places for shy new arrivals.  It’s also the permanent home for Petey and Sweetie.  Peacefully co-existing with the box turtles are seven boxers and a couple of dozen Koi in a sparkling pond.   

Tracy advises that turtles found in the wild should not be kept as pets.  Turtles need a large habitat, regular care, clean water for soaking, and a varied and specialized diet.  “I’ve gotten a few that people have tried to keep as pets and they’ve been in bad shape, dehydrated and sick,” Tracy notes.  

For the lucky ones who find their way to the Second Chance Turtle Ranch, it’s a caring stopping place for rest, recovery and return to nature for their second chances at sweet life.  

Contact info:  Second Chance Turtle Ranch, 918.250.9004