A turtle rescue called Central MS Turtle Rescue is working hard to keep their rescue turtles cool amidst the brutal heat wave.

The rescue is located in Florence and takes care of 300-400 turtles. Central MS Turtle Rescue was founded in 2013 and the rescue provides rescue and rehabilitation for injured, sick, abused, neglected or abandoned turtles and tortoises.

The dilemma the rescue is facing is that many of the turtles’ tanks are outdoors.

The outdoor tanks are all within greenhouse-type enclosures that get very hot when temperatures rise. This causes the water in these tanks to get hot as well. The rescue went out to buy tarps to create shade over the greenhouses.

Industrial fans were also purchased to try and push the hot air out of the greenhouses or, in some cases, suck the hot air out, to keep the water cooler.

Another tactic the rescues use for keeping the tanks cool is to purchase water gallons and freeze them. The rescue said they have purchased close to 40 gallons of water to freeze (and volunteers have purchased about 80 more gallons) to freeze so that in the heat they can put frozen water jugs into the tanks to cool the water.

They have purchased bags of ice to try to freeze these jugs since they don’t have the freezer room to keep all of the water jugs.

Christy, with Central Mississippi Turtle Rescue, said

“Right now, I go out several times a day with a laser thermometer and read the temperatures of each individual tank. If they start approaching 90 degrees, I go and retrieve the frozen water jugs and place them in the water to try and help it cool down”

Christy explained that they cannot place ice directly in the tank, because if a turtle eats ice this could be deadly.

If you want to help out Central MS Turtle Rescue and help them to continue cooling these turtles’ tanks, you can donate to their organization:

PayPal: PayPal.me/turtlerescuems

Venmo: @central-ms-turtle-rescue

By mail: Central MS Turtle Rescue P. O. Box 1374 Florence, MS 39073

You can follow along with the rescue on their Facebook page, or learn more about them on their website!

The Central MS Turtle Rescue was founded in 2013 who saw the need for our state to have a qualified turtle rescue facility. The rescue provides rescue and rehabilitation for injured, sick, abused, neglected, or abandoned turtles and tortoises.

Christy and her husband Luke are the founders and co-executive directors of the rescue. There are many volunteers who come out and help them care for the turtles who they count as family. Their names are Jessie Robertson, Nate Pearson, Sherry Milner, Angela McCallum, Breanna Sanchez, Taylor Hellman, Carrie Moyers, Vivian Arendall, Beth and David Bankston, Kerry Johnson and Mike Penaloza.

Their goal is to release all native, wild rehabilitated turtles back to their natural environment.  Turtles that are not native to MS or are unable to be released to the wild are re-homed through adoption to qualified applicants or remain in the rescue’s care to safely live out their lives.

The rescue also works hard to educate the community about turtle conservation and provide pet turtle owners with education about proper husbandry, diet, and medical care.

The two individuals who started Central MS Turtle Rescue are both authorized wildlife rehabilitators under an Administrative Rehabilitation Permit through the MS Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks, and are a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.