Feilding turtle haven full
A Feilding home that acts as a safe haven for wayward, homeless and unwanted turtles is at full capacity.
Sheryl Wishnowsky started Turtle Rescue Manawatu¯ in her living room in 2015 after she was given a turtle by someone who could no longer look after it.
She soon learnt there was a demand for such a recovery centre and, within months, it outgrew the confines of her home.
Its considerable interest forced her to buy a larger tank, which she placed outside. But it wasn’t long before she created a small, man-made pond in the backyard. Then she created another pond, but even bigger.
In December, she installed her fifth and largest pond yet, a 10-metre-long sand and stone lagoon with a filtration system. It’s even hooked up to the computer so she can monitor waterflow and temperature.
She has 39 turtles from throughout the lower North Island. Her eldest is Madam, a 33-year-old red-eared slider.
Most of them were retrieved from the side of the road, likely dumped by their owners. Some of them are from the SPCA.
Wishnowsky had loved turtles since she was a young girl and was given two of her own as a child. But raising them could be draining because they lived so long and people got bored of them, she said.
‘‘Some of them have been dumped,’’ she said. ‘‘That concerns me, because we’re always here for them to be dropped off.’’
She opposed the title ‘turtle whisperer’, but conceded it was better to be a ‘‘crazy turtle lady than a crazy cat lady’’.
‘‘I love turtles. I always have. They’re very strong personalities, they’re friendly and they enjoy company.
‘‘It’s just so therapeutic. I could spend all day out here.’’
Wishnowsky has opened her doors to allow children and parents to hold, feed and interact with the turtles all year round.
They’re given a feed of lettuce, fish or watercress every two days.
Wishnowsky works closely with the Massey University Veterinary Hospital, and even let the it take 14 turtles to put to sleep for research.
She was happy to pass on the knowledge she had gained about turtles and to educate people who had them as pets. She’s even had a couple of vets contact her for advice.
While she said she did not know everything, most of the time people could ask her questions and she would be able to answer them.
She hopes to one day install a camera above the enclosure to livestream footage to Youtube. But, because the haven was a notfor-profit organisation, money is hard to come by. People can buy Wishnowsky’s turtles for $80 through her Facebook page.