# When to stop looking?



## dmarcus (Apr 26, 2011)

I know we all love our torts and would do anything for them, so my 
question would be. If you lost your tort how long would you continue to look before you decided that you were not going to find him/her? 

The reason I ask this, is because there is a guy in the Fort Worth area who lost his 12" Sulcata at the park August 26, 2010. I will not speculate on how he managed to loose it but he has several theories on what may have happened to it. 

1. That some kids took it and decided to keep it or 
2. That it was sold to a local pet store. 

So just about everyday since he lost him, he has been posting ads on Craigâ€™s lists for his lost "turtle" that he lost. -his words not mine-

Now don't think for once that I think he should stop looking because I am still waiting to get the call that my cat that was taken in 2005 has been found. I know I would do all I can if my Sulcata was lost, but I also know that if I have not seen or found him in several months that hopes of getting him back are slim.

So do you continue looking for months or years? Or do you come to the conclusion or decision that chances are youâ€™re not getting your pet back?


Thanks..


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## Tom (Apr 26, 2011)

No harm in still looking and hoping, but I wouldn't run my life around finding it after several months.


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## dmarcus (Apr 26, 2011)

Tom said:


> No harm in still looking and hoping, but I wouldn't run my life around finding it after several months.



I agree no harm in looking...


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## dmmj (Apr 26, 2011)

No harm in looking, but posting everyday is a little much IMHO. I would imagine a 12 inch tortoise (turtle) would be easier to find then say a little russian who escaped 2 years ago from my pen, my neighbor found it in her yard and she was hopping around thinking it was gonna bite her. I would imagine in all likely hood that it was stolen for what ever reason.

also as has happened here a lot people tortoises have gotten out, hibernated over the winter (of course different case for a sulcata) and then found them the next spring so keep an eye out, but don't let it run your life.


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## ALDABRAMAN (Apr 26, 2011)

That use to be one of my worse fears. I have even had bad dreams about one getting out or someone taking one. I have taken alot of precautions in containing them, I am not sure I would stop!


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## dmarcus (Apr 26, 2011)

I would hope that any pet owner would want there pet back and continue searching, but maybe post something once a week maybe once a month to keep it fresh in peoples mind. It just seems like over kill when you are posting something every single day. I look at it like this, if you post every single day, people will get use to seeing it and will stop paying attention to it. so just post once in a while that way it doesn't become an ignored post.

I do hope the guy finds his tort, I actually feel bad for him.


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## Edna (Apr 26, 2011)

Long before Craig's List, I lost a beloved little dog. She went out to pee one morning and never came back. She was only 3 years old, and I was 19. I looked for her actively for months before I gave up. Even then, I continued to look for her as in eyeing every dog I saw hoping one of them would be her. And I dreamed about finding her for another 12 years. I'd see her running to me down a Kansas country lane, crooked as she was, with her little crooked teeth showing. The dreams and the searching only stopped after she would have reached the end of her life expectancy. I guess if I lost a tortoise, the search would never end.


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## dmarcus (Apr 26, 2011)

Edna said:


> Long before Craig's List, I lost a beloved little dog. She went out to pee one morning and never came back. She was only 3 years old, and I was 19. I looked for her actively for months before I gave up. Even then, I continued to look for her as in eyeing every dog I saw hoping one of them would be her. And I dreamed about finding her for another 12 years. I'd see her running to me down a Kansas country lane, crooked as she was, with her little crooked teeth showing. The dreams and the searching only stopped after she would have reached the end of her life expectancy. I guess if I lost a tortoise, the search would never end.



I so know how that feels, I am still hoping one day some vet or animal control worker is gonna contact me about my cat that was taken in 2005 because she was micro chipped.


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## Jacob (Apr 26, 2011)

This Would Suck!


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## dmarcus (Apr 26, 2011)

Jacob said:


> This Would Suck!



I know, I have gone outside and didn't see Vegas, but when he heard me he came running out. During the night he had dug his burrow deeper and when I first looked in I couldn't see him. My heart was beating very hard..


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## Jacqui (Apr 26, 2011)

Is this the only place the guy is looking as a way to find his ummm "turtle"?


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## Edna (Apr 26, 2011)

I think it's code and he's really looking for something else


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## NEtorts (Apr 26, 2011)

ALDABRAMAN said:


> That use to be one of my worse fears. I have even had bad dreams about one getting out or someone taking one. I have taken alot of precautions in containing them, I am not sure I would stop!



I have lived that for about 4 hrs when my 6 yr old son (at the time) left my tortoise shed door open...... my sulcata got out, luckily we found him in our neighborhood , he was sick for 2 days (must have eaten some bad weeds on his exploration) but snapped out of it. since then i have boarded up the bottom of all door ways so if the door is opened the torts cannot get out..... , with that said.......if I lost my sully i would be crushed, if I lost a twenty/thirty thousand dollar Aldabra breeder i would be in an insane asylum!!! :0


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## dmarcus (Apr 26, 2011)

Jacqui said:


> Is this the only place the guy is looking as a way to find his ummm "turtle"?



Thats the only place I have seen it, he has even gone so far as to write that Sulcata's can only be cared for by someone with vast experience and that it would die if it didn't get it's daily medications and syringe injections. 

If you would like to read the post's, here are the two different craigs list ads that are being posted, 1-2 times per day.

http://dallas.craigslist.org/dal/act/2348194513.html

http://dallas.craigslist.org/dal/grp/2346471699.html


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## terryo (Apr 26, 2011)

Every Spring, and most of the Summer early in the AM and then again late in the afternoon I am still looking for my lost Boxie. There is no way she could have gotten out of my yard, so I know she is here some place......but where????


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## CtTortoiseMom (Apr 26, 2011)

I can't imagine losing any pet!! I feel I would never stop feverishly looking.


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## bikerchicspain (Apr 27, 2011)

I would carry on looking, even though I knew the chances were next to nothing of finding it.


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## matt41gb (Apr 27, 2011)

dalano73 said:


> I know we all love our torts and would do anything for them, so my
> question would be. If you lost your tort how long would you continue to look before you decided that you were not going to find him/her?
> 
> The reason I ask this, is because there is a guy in the Fort Worth area who lost his 12" Sulcata at the park August 26, 2010. I will not speculate on how he managed to loose it but he has several theories on what may have happened to it.
> ...



I'm getting so tired of seeing that guy's posts every single day. Who has the time to send the same ad day after day?? At first I felt sympathy for the guy, but now I just want to email him and say "Enough, I'll buy you a sulcata!" Ha! Personally, I think the guy is crazy. 

-Matt


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## Baoh (Apr 27, 2011)

Not reading his posts might be an option.

I don't know when I'd throw in the towel. I have had a hatchling escapee in a foreign land, only to find it three months later. Also, I have caught and released many a Hermann's only to find many of the same individuals year after year within a particular range. Tough to say.


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## dmarcus (Apr 27, 2011)

matt41gb said:


> dalano73 said:
> 
> 
> > I know we all love our torts and would do anything for them, so my
> ...



I am glad that someone else sees this everyday. I felt bad for him to but its over kill. I think he should cut back on how many times he posts the adds...



Baoh said:


> Not reading his posts might be an option.
> 
> I don't know when I'd throw in the towel. I have had a hatchling escapee in a foreign land, only to find it three months later. Also, I have caught and released many a Hermann's only to find many of the same individuals year after year within a particular range. Tough to say.



Sometimes you don't realize that it's his post until you open it. I have stopped but that is my point, if you post 1-3 times a day for 9 months people stop caring and thats not what you want.


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## Amber richardson (Apr 30, 2011)

I had a friend loose hers for a couple days, she found it in a neighbors yard. He said it was his she just picked him up and sad no and call the police I'm taking him home, she had many pics and vet bills and a habitat to prove it was hers. I've also herd of a guy loosing his in Portland oregon and someone finding it 3 years later in a field a cuple blocks away. Not only did it live threw the cold winters but it was 35 pounds heaver it made the news. I have heard you can micro chip them. So if you have an escape artist then there you go.


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## dmarcus (Apr 30, 2011)

Amber richardson said:


> I had a friend loose hers for a couple days, she found it in a neighbors yard. He said it was his she just picked him up and sad no and call the police I'm taking him home, she had many pics and vet bills and a habitat to prove it was hers. I've also herd of a guy loosing his in Portland oregon and someone finding it 3 years later in a field a cuple blocks away. Not only did it live threw the cold winters but it was 35 pounds heaver it made the news. I have heard you can micro chip them. So if you have an escape artist then there you go.



Thats cool, and it's also unfortunate that we have people out there that won't even look for the owner, they will just keep it. I am glad your friend was able to her tort back from that bad neighbor..


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## Terry Allan Hall (Apr 30, 2011)

dalano73 said:


> I know we all love our torts and would do anything for them, so my
> question would be. If you lost your tort how long would you continue to look before you decided that you were not going to find him/her?
> 
> The reason I ask this, is because there is a guy in the Fort Worth area who lost his 12" Sulcata at the park August 26, 2010. I will not speculate on how he managed to loose it but he has several theories on what may have happened to it.
> ...



Let him keep looking, and I hope he finds it.


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## Rjhoop (Apr 30, 2011)

Super tough decision!!!One i hope i never have to make


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## dmarcus (Apr 30, 2011)

Rjhoop said:


> Super tough decision!!!One i hope i never have to make



I sure its hard on everyone it ever happens to. I have had it happen once and eventually even though you know the pet is gone all thats left is hope...


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## Terry Allan Hall (May 1, 2011)

dalano73 said:


> Rjhoop said:
> 
> 
> > Super tough decision!!!One i hope i never have to make
> ...



Still, once in a while a long-lost pet and owner get reunited...hopefully, this'll be the case, and I, myself, don't begrudge him the space to post daily on Craigslist, as well as all the other efforts he's making to find his pet.


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## dmarcus (May 1, 2011)

terryo said:


> Every Spring, and most of the Summer early in the AM and then again late in the afternoon I am still looking for my lost Boxie. There is no way she could have gotten out of my yard, so I know she is here some place......but where????



Hope you find your Boxie hiding in your yard somewhere... How long has she been missing?


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## TylerStewart (May 2, 2011)

terryo said:


> Every Spring, and most of the Summer early in the AM and then again late in the afternoon I am still looking for my lost Boxie. There is no way she could have gotten out of my yard, so I know she is here some place......but where????



Somewhere, I read about a lady with a bunch of boxies that had epoxied a small metal tab onto each of her turtles, and she could/would use a metal detector to find them if needed, since they were always burrowed in. I've never done it, but it's an interesting idea. I don't think the metal tab would bother them if it was stuck to the center of a rear scute (out of the way, where any new growth wouldn't happen). Not sure how big it'd have to be, but for a constantly buried type of turtle/tortoise, it'd be a quick way to find them.


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## dmarcus (May 2, 2011)

Thats very interesting, it would definitly take the worry out if you knew there locations when they are buried..


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## african cake queen (May 2, 2011)

Edna said:


> I think it's code and he's really looking for something else



how clever are you. good point just may have something there. lindy

i lost my cat many years ago in florida. people said i was crazy , because i wouldnt quit looking , news paper ads the whole works. 8 mos. & the last day of the ad, i got my cat back. long story short, person who had cat seen ad 4 mos. earlier and her husband MADE her give back my friend(cat). cat lived 17 years . i am glad i didnt give up! lindy meooow!


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## dmarcus (May 3, 2011)

momo said:


> Edna said:
> 
> 
> > I think it's code and he's really looking for something else
> ...





You just never know with craigs list...


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## I'm a mega cool nerd! (Jun 3, 2011)

I know someone who looked for a couple of weeks then gave up, but the next year they found it living in their neighbours compost bin... Thats why I say look for a while, then wait for them to come to you


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## SILVERSTAR (Jun 3, 2011)

terryo............shes prolly buried about two feet down LOLOL.


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## TheBennillers (Jun 3, 2011)

[/quote]

I'm getting so tired of seeing that guy's posts every single day. Who has the time to send the same ad day after day?? At first I felt sympathy for the guy, but now I just want to email him and say "Enough, I'll buy you a sulcata!" Ha! Personally, I think the guy is crazy. 

-Matt
[/quote]

Searching the web for box turtles I found this:

http://www.usfreeads.com/arizona/pe...sulcata-hatchlings-available_2769573-cls.html

(sulcata hatchlings for $50 + shipping)
I'll chip in a couple bucks, Let's just send this guy a sully. He obviously misses his very much, but the truth is that someone probably has it and is not going to give it back... or if it really needed these daily injections to survive, it would have passed by now. Still, I feel bad for guy.


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## DixieParadise (Jun 3, 2011)

I don't think I would ever stop looking. Emotionally I think I would let go, but I would never give up the search physically. Who knows, one of those Torts that are currently being sold on Craigs list could be his, mine or someone elses. 

That is why I am thankful to this forum. I have a Bull Terrier that I got from Blue Ridge Terrier Rescue in Fairfax, VA. My dog is microchipped and tattooed. One day she got out, I called the Bull Terrier Rescue group in Texas with Microchip number and there was an all out search for her. I did get her back. Some neighbor (5 streets a way) thought that they wanted this free Spuds dog that was running loose. When they saw my signs for REWARD and found out she was deaf...they were quick to call. Did I think she was gone, yes...but I had hopes that my resources to find her would. And they did.

Same with this forum....with the help of everyone and the continued reposting of ads and a few phone calls, we might be able to help each other.


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## zesty_17 (Jun 3, 2011)

I wouldn't stop hoping & keeping a keen eye out. Many years back we had a huge flood when we were away on vacation... unfortunately, many of my map turtles were washed away & the sitter never found them. I was heartbroken, searched for weeks, but never found one. I have since moved away from home, but every time I visit, I keep my eyes out for them-just in case. I have learned though, a very valuable lesson to keep my turtles very secure, safe, etc when I am not with them.


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## dmarcus (Jun 3, 2011)

I said:


> I know someone who looked for a couple of weeks then gave up, but the next year they found it living in their neighbours compost bin... Thats why I say look for a while, then wait for them to come to you



I think you have to have a plan on how to search, but if you are asking people every single day eventually they will start to ingnore your requests for help because they get tired of hearing it every single day. Sometimes they are closer than you think also...



DixieParadise said:


> I don't think I would ever stop looking. Emotionally I think I would let go, but I would never give up the search physically. Who knows, one of those Torts that are currently being sold on Craigs list could be his, mine or someone elses.
> 
> That is why I am thankful to this forum. I have a Bull Terrier that I got from Blue Ridge Terrier Rescue in Fairfax, VA. My dog is microchipped and tattooed. One day she got out, I called the Bull Terrier Rescue group in Texas with Microchip number and there was an all out search for her. I did get her back. Some neighbor (5 streets a way) thought that they wanted this free Spuds dog that was running loose. When they saw my signs for REWARD and found out she was deaf...they were quick to call. Did I think she was gone, yes...but I had hopes that my resources to find her would. And they did.
> 
> Same with this forum....with the help of everyone and the continued reposting of ads and a few phone calls, we might be able to help each other.



No one should ever give up looking, but if you post every single day on craigs list people will stop looking at the post because they are tired of seeing it. I know I used the look at the guys post for a week and then I stopped opening them becuase I knew what it was.

That is the only issue I have, I think he should cut it back to once a week or once every two weeks and that would keep people looking...


I'm getting so tired of seeing that guy's posts every single day. Who has the time to send the same ad day after day?? At first I felt sympathy for the guy, but now I just want to email him and say "Enough, I'll buy you a sulcata!" Ha! Personally, I think the guy is crazy. 

-Matt
[/quote]

Searching the web for box turtles I found this:

http://www.usfreeads.com/arizona/pe...sulcata-hatchlings-available_2769573-cls.html

(sulcata hatchlings for $50 + shipping)
I'll chip in a couple bucks, Let's just send this guy a sully. He obviously misses his very much, but the truth is that someone probably has it and is not going to give it back... or if it really needed these daily injections to survive, it would have passed by now. Still, I feel bad for guy.
[/quote]

Someone actually posted on craigs list that they have the guys tortoise and because they feel it was neglected they were not going to give it back. It could be someone who was tired of seeing the post's every day and decided they would write that to get him to stop or the person may actually have it. I feel sorry for the guy but he has been posting 1-3 times a day on craigs list since he lost the tortoise and its not helping his cause...



zesty_17 said:


> I wouldn't stop hoping & keeping a keen eye out. Many years back we had a huge flood when we were away on vacation... unfortunately, many of my map turtles were washed away & the sitter never found them. I was heartbroken, searched for weeks, but never found one. I have since moved away from home, but every time I visit, I keep my eyes out for them-just in case. I have learned though, a very valuable lesson to keep my turtles very secure, safe, etc when I am not with them.



I'm sorry that happened to you and natural events like that cause's a lot of problems with our pets. This guy unfortunately took his Sulcata to the park and what I can only assuming took his eyes off of him..Anyone who owns a tortoise or turtle know's that they are faster than we think and all it takes is a few seconds and they can travel pretty far. I hope somehow he finds his Sulcata but he won't get very much help posting on craigs list 2-3 times a day because people stop looking at the same adds if they see it all the time..


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## Terry Allan Hall (Jun 4, 2011)

DixieParadise said:


> I don't think I would ever stop looking. Emotionally I think I would let go, but I would never give up the search physically. Who knows, one of those Torts that are currently being sold on Craigs list could be his, mine or someone elses.
> 
> That is why I am thankful to this forum. I have a Bull Terrier that I got from Blue Ridge Terrier Rescue in Fairfax, VA. My dog is microchipped and tattooed. One day she got out, I called the Bull Terrier Rescue group in Texas with Microchip number and there was an all out search for her. I did get her back. Some neighbor (5 streets a way) thought that they wanted this free Spuds dog that was running loose. When they saw my signs for REWARD and found out she was deaf...they were quick to call. Did I think she was gone, yes...but I had hopes that my resources to find her would. And they did.
> 
> *Same with this forum....with the help of everyone and the continued reposting of ads and a few phone calls, we might be able to help each other. *



Indeed!


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## dmarcus (Jun 6, 2011)

Terry Allan Hall said:


> DixieParadise said:
> 
> 
> > I don't think I would ever stop looking. Emotionally I think I would let go, but I would never give up the search physically. Who knows, one of those Torts that are currently being sold on Craigs list could be his, mine or someone elses.
> ...



Just don't over do it to where people lose interest. We as humans tend to bypass things when we see it to much and we lose interest quickly..


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