“My heart probably stopped for a second.”
When Erin Rodriguez returned to her yard after taking her kid for a ride in his stroller, she spotted a turtle entangled in the fence. She’d seen and rescued the same turtle previously, so she decided to pull over and assist him in securely navigating the barrier.
Rodriguez told The Dodo, “I came closer to it and observed that its head and front legs were entangled in the fence.” “I didn’t think the turtle was actually stuck because I was very confident it could have backed out.” I merely wanted to assist it in getting to the other side because I’d seen it attempt previously. It didn’t appear to mind that I was present.”
Rodriguez seemed to have earned the turtle’s confidence because she had previously aided him. She snapped a photo to show her husband the turtle she was going to assist, then got down to work. She proceeded to pick up the turtle and free him from the fence… but as she began to raise him, she discovered he wasn’t alone.
A big snake lay beneath the turtle, simply hanging around.
Rodriguez had been unable to notice the snake when she first approached the turtle. The turtle was sitting comfortably on top of the snake, which seemed to be a deadly copperhead snake.
Rodriguez explained, “I put the turtle back down and backed away.” “I was stunned, and my heart probably stopped for a brief moment.” “All of a sudden, adrenaline surged through my veins, and I felt compelled to help the turtle.”
Even though the snake didn’t seem to pay any attention to either of them, and the turtle appeared to be alright, Rodriguez reasoned that it was better to be safe than sorry, so she went on with her plan to get the turtle out of the fence and away from his unusual pal.
Rodriguez rushed to get a shovel and attempted to carefully pull the turtle away from the fence without injuring or upsetting the snake. The snake, however, had had enough and slithered back down into a neighboring hole until the shovel emerged. Rodriguez was ultimately able to liberate the turtle and transport him to a secure, snake-free location.
“When I placed the turtle down, it appeared to be entirely unhurt, albeit a bit startled by the ruckus,” Rodriguez added.
Rodriguez was finally able to digest what had just transpired as the turtle continued on his path. She’d rescued a turtle and encountered a snake all at the same time, and it wasn’t exactly what she’d expected from a routine turtle rescue. She hasn’t seen the turtle or the snake since, but if she does, she’ll double-check to see who’s below him.