Did you know that every turtle has a unique shell pattern?
This means that when you "adopt" a turtle, we can identify that individual for the next few years from photographs. Your adoption will also allow us to microchip that turtle (with the same chips your dog and cat get) so we can verify identity and understand how shell patterns change and grow through time!
For the last 10 years, the Reinke Lab has been studying painted turtles on Lac Courte Oreilles in Wisconsin. More than 1,000 unique turtles have been identified with microchips and photographs. We use data collected on these turtles to study population dynamics, growth and coloration.
The Adopt a Turtle program will allow us to continue the long-term study of painted turtles while involving as many students as possible. All money raised with the Adopt a Turtle Program will be used to purchase consumable supplies (microchips) and to subsidize travel costs and (eventually) course fees for Northeastern Illinois University students. That is why we would like you to Adopt a Turtle.
With your $25 turtle "adoption" you will get a unique turtle assigned to you! Every year for three years, we will send you a postcard with your turtle's identification number, date of capture, amount it has grown in the last year, and any other changes we record!
With your $50 turtle "adoption" you will get all of the above as well as a printed photograph of your turtle so you can see the plastron (ventral shell) pattern for yourself.
With every $100+ donation you will get all of the above, plus the satisfaction of knowing that you not only allowed us to purchase multiple microchips (and therefore identify many more turtles!) but also that you helped Northeastern students make the trip from Chicago to northern Wisconsin to participate in summer research.
Please be sure to add your postcard mailing information below so that we know to whom and where you would like us to send the postcard updates. Visit Reinke Lab for more information about the Adopt a Turtle program. Thank you!
