NJ Turtle Lady Cindy Pierson, aka "The Turtle Lady", has been working with common snapping turtles since 2000. She works as a substitute teacher, and is currently the President of the Board of Trustees of the Pompeston Creek Watershed Association. FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS: Why are you called “The Turtle Lady”? Back in 2000, when I first began observing the local turtle population, a little girl from the neighborhood was a frequent visitor. One day she came running over to tell me that there was a turtle laying eggs in her yard. She was so excited and flustered, she couldn't remember my name, and called me “turtle lady”. As my work with turtles continued, the name stuck.

Why snapping turtles? Snapping turtles are the turkey vultures of our waterways. If we didn't have vultures, we would be up to our knees in road kill. If we didn't have snapping turtles, we would be overwhelmed with the water version of road kill, the rotten plants & half-eaten fish that other creatures leave behind. Without snapping turtles to help keep the creek clean, I wouldn't want to live as close to the water as I do!

If you work with snapping turtles, why do you have these other turtles and tortoises? My intention with the snappers was to see that they got back into the wild where they belonged. However, they do occasionally stay with me for a year or two, until they are big enough to be “predator-proof”. Once people found out that I worked with turtles, and had the facilities to care for them, turtles started turning up on my doorstep for a variety of reasons: turtles that were purchased as pets, and got too big or required too much care, turtles picked up by well-meaning people who didn't know how to care for them, turtles that were sick or injured. In the case of the tortoises, they came from people who, having purchased the beasts as babies, had no idea how big they would get, how long they would live or how much space and care they require. Being the attention-grabbers that they are, they travel around with me, spreading the message to save the turtles by saving our waterways (in exchange for room and board!).

Are they pets? I want a pet turtle; is that a good idea? These turtles stay with me, but I don't think of myself as owning them. I personally believe that the Earth and her inhabitants are not ours to own, and that it is our privilege/responsibility to care for both the planet and its creatures. I discourage everyone from having a turtle as a pet! They require a lot of care; parents often end up taking care of turtles that their kids promised to take care of. They are dirty and smelly, and need more room than most people realize. They live for a VERY long time – you're looking at a commitment of perhaps 20 to 40 years or more. I have a page in my will that says my son will assume responsibility for the turtles when I'm gone. In New Jersey it is illegal to buy or sell turtles, because of the salmonella risk. While you can buy them in PA and NY, or illegally at area flea markets, those turtles are often from the reptile equivalent of “puppy mills”, and tend to have more health issues, if they survive at all. A vet that deals with turtles can be hard to find, and expensive if you do find one. it is also against the law to take a turtle out of the wild to keep as a pet. Mother Nature can take care of most animals better than we can, and unless we can do a better job than she can, we have no business taking creatures out of their natural habitat.