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Post by blissfullymiserable on Jul 30, 2016 17:05:28 GMT
My landscaper just left and informed me that there was a tortoise in my back yard. The little guy somehow managed to crawl under a gate to get back there. Not sure what to do with him, I suppose that I should post signs but I'm worried he'll escape from them again and not be so lucky next time. So I'm considering other options, certainly not keeping him though but as long as he's okay hanging out in a tote in my house I'm not a huge rush to give him the boot. Need thoughts and advise. Need to research what to feed him, lettuce and the like I suppose. I touched a front leg and he didn't close his shell, I thought that was weird. anyway here s/he is...  |
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Post by Shirley U Geste on Jul 30, 2016 17:08:37 GMT
He/she is a cutie!
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Post by blissfullymiserable on Jul 30, 2016 17:09:45 GMT
I know, love that little face  |
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Post by blissfullymiserable on Jul 30, 2016 17:46:34 GMT
Called the Phoenix Herpetological Society. A nice man answered the phone and asked me to send him a pic. He called back and said it's a Red Eared Slider and they will take him. I guess depending on the species I might have had to call game and fish. He said I should just give him water and not to worry about food. I plan to get him there on Monday or Tuesday.
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Post by jellybeanscloset412 on Jul 30, 2016 18:22:32 GMT
Awww! You're so nice
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Post by jandsknight on Jul 30, 2016 18:22:49 GMT
It's called red ear pond slider because most but not all have small, bright red marks on each side of their head. This is the type of turtle that used to be sold a lot in pet stores, maybe they still do. They were about 2" or less when they were sold. They'll eat almost anything, meat & vegetables.
We get them in our pool sometimes, had one about 12" diameter a few months ago. We couldn't use the net, had to scoop it into a 5 gallon bucket and take him to the nearest pond, a neighbor's livestock pond.
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Post by chapeaunoir on Jul 30, 2016 18:48:54 GMT
Turtles are amazing creatures! That one does have a cute little face!
There's one in England that I think is 250 years old. He resides in a country manor.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 31, 2016 0:35:32 GMT
Oh, he/she is so nice. Thank you for sharing.
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Post by blissfullymiserable on Jul 31, 2016 2:25:21 GMT
There's a nice riparian pond reserve close to where I live, thinking about taking him there instead of driving across town. I'm sure he's less than thrilled being stuck here with me. He's been somewhat entertaining though, I picked him up earlier and he opened his mouth several times. I took it as a hint he was hungry so I gave him some shredded apple and then I stuck him under running water to clean him off and he started opening his mouth and drinking the water. He hates the tote so he's been roaming around, keeping a close eye on him though.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 31, 2016 2:56:51 GMT
Do you not have turtles there? I would have just thought he was a wild one. He's cute. We used to find box turtles all the time when I was a kid. I only see snappers now where I am though and you definitely don't want to pick them up or mess with them.
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Post by blissfullymiserable on Jul 31, 2016 4:01:22 GMT
We have turtles, mostly in the desert and there are some at the riparian pond reserve which is a few miles away. It's unusual to find one just roaming in a neighborhood, only reason I'm messing with it all is because it's not in it's natural habitat and I don't want it to get hit by a car or end up in the wrong hands.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 31, 2016 4:25:33 GMT
I wonder if it's a pet who escaped or was dumped by its owner? Regardless, it's a cutie. If I were you I'd offer it a strawberry and take lots of photos. Apparently turtles love strawberries!   |
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Post by blissfullymiserable on Jul 31, 2016 6:45:34 GMT
Right now it's playing hide n seek, I might need a strawberry to lure it's out. Not long after water/apple time it got much more active/feisty/nippy. I'll probably set it free in the morning at the pond.
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Post by blissfullymiserable on Jul 31, 2016 6:55:45 GMT
He was checking out my Ugg boots...lol  |
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Post by Deleted on Jul 31, 2016 11:33:37 GMT
Anyone notice how educational this board is? I had to go look up what the difference between a turtle and tortoise is. FWIW the San Diego Zoo website says tortoises live on land and crawl underground to get/keep cool; they don't hang out at ponds. |
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Post by Deleted on Jul 31, 2016 11:35:33 GMT
Are you sure you don't have a new pet?
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Post by blissfullymiserable on Jul 31, 2016 16:49:34 GMT
He's a turtle not a tortoise and definitely not a new pet |
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Post by jandsknight on Jul 31, 2016 16:53:05 GMT
Unknown is correct about tortoises & turtles. Your red eared slider lives in a river or pond. It still breathes air but needs water near by. Tortoises & box turtles live on dry land. Box turtles love to raid a garden where they can eat low growing juicy fruits & vegetables. When I was a kid we'd find box turtles in our garden. When we picked them up we made sure it was at arm's length with the head pointing up to avoid the immediate liquid elimination.
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Post by blissfullymiserable on Jul 31, 2016 18:25:19 GMT
We were greeted by a rather large tortoise once when we were out hiking in the desert, it was neat to see. Walked around it and went on our way.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 1, 2016 0:15:31 GMT
He was checking out my Ugg boots...lol At least you found him next to the boots and not inside one of them... Save |
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Post by blissfullymiserable on Aug 1, 2016 20:52:35 GMT
Got up this morning and took him to the The Herpetological Society, I decide against the pond because I didn't know if there were any RES in that pond. I googled but couldn't find any info. Anyway, a nice lady there looked him over, said his eyes were clear and then we went outside where the RES pond was. She put him on the ledge and it took him all of about .5 seconds to leap in and join his RES friends. It was really cute to see On the way home I stopped by 2 Goodwills, found a few money makers so it made the 40 minute one way trek worth it. |
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Post by Deleted on Aug 1, 2016 23:23:48 GMT
Got up this morning and took him to the The Herpetological Society, I decide against the pond because I didn't know if there were any RES in that pond. I googled but couldn't find any info. Anyway, a nice lady there looked him over, said his eyes were clear and then we went outside where the RES pond was. She put him on the ledge and it took him all of about .5 seconds to leap in and join his RES friends. It was really cute to see On the way home I stopped by 2 Goodwills, found a few money makers so it made the 40 minute one way trek worth it. That's awesome! Glad he found a home! |
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Post by Deleted on Aug 2, 2016 0:24:04 GMT
Great that he has a nice home with friends. Our children's zoo is full of turtles left behind by their owners because people buy them for their kids without thinking about the life span of a turtle (70+ years). I remember DH wanted to get DD a turtle when she was little but I him reminded how long we would to care for it: DD would grow up, leave for college, get a job, get married and maybe we would be able to pawn it off on DD as a gift to the grand-kids eventually, lol.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 2, 2016 21:29:46 GMT
Aww, thanks for going the extra mile(s) to take him to the sanctuary. I was worried that if he'd been a pet he might not know how to turtle in the wild. I'm glad he has some turtle friends.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 3, 2016 16:03:41 GMT
Thanks for taking the time to consider what would be best for him. Wouldn't it be great if everyone did that for the animals in their lives? I hope he has a long and happy life.
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Post by chapeaunoir on Aug 3, 2016 21:01:13 GMT
...and a little reward with a few money-makers on the way back. Altogether very satisfying!
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Post by Deleted on Aug 3, 2016 21:26:31 GMT
Thanks for doing this small act of kindness, bliss! Hope it comes back to you tenfold.
Also I have to applaud fashion for using "turtle" as a verb.
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Post by blissfullymiserable on Aug 3, 2016 22:16:06 GMT
Aww thanks, I'm just glad that I was able to help him out. I'm challenged with things that have fur but a turtle I can handle for a few days. I must say he was a bit of a distraction, not sure how people with pets and/or kids get anything done  |
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