Advice r.e. rehoming a large, male redfoot

ElBee

New Member
Joined
Jun 8, 2015
Messages
2
Hi everyone,
First off, I want to thank all you long-time members for sharing all your knowledge; your advice has definitely helped me and my Stampy out over the last few years. Very much appreciated.

Stampy is my redfoot boy (definitely, absolutely, 100% confirmed he is a male). I rescued him the summer of 2011 from the roommate of a friend who had the impression he was a Russian tort. Good job, Petco. He was miserable...bright light, super dry, some sort of dried and dyed pre-packaged food, horrible wheeze, you get the idea. I grew up with tortoises, so I knew I was looking at a very unhappy redfoot, and when I told this girl what she had and what he needed she said "Take him." So I did, and he got better, although he still has a bit of a wheeze, and he is much much happier. He's probably about 8-10 years old, but I really don't know.

And now life has happened in ways I didn't plan for and I'm still in an apartment in Western Mass. I do have a backyard, but it's full of old junk and scraps that are just under the surface. Stampy has outgrown any enclosure I could have for him in the apartment; at this point he really needs his own room for the winter and an outdoor pen for the summer. The real problem is that now he lives on my floor, which I know is just about the worst place he could be even in the hottest and most humid of summers. And I feel pretty crappy about it, honestly, as he's such smart, funny, curious boy and he deserves to live like a redfoot should live. I love him to pieces and I can't stand the idea of not waking up to him wanting breakfast, but it would be selfish to keep him like this.

So please advise me on what to do next! How do I even begin going about finding a quality home for an active, still-growing-but-already-quite-large tortoise? Craigslist scares the crap out of me...I need to know he's going to be happy and safe and not just sold by whomever I give him to. Are there rescue or conservation places out there? Is there anyone on this site in the area of Western Mass who wants to add a male redfoot to their menagerie? And maybe let me visit every now and then?

Thank you all!
 

ZEROPILOT

REDFOOT WRANGLER
Moderator
Tortoise Club
5 Year Member
Platinum Tortoise Club
Joined
Jul 16, 2014
Messages
28,938
Location (City and/or State)
South Eastern Florida (U.S.A.)/Rock Hill S.C.
Many people here would absolutely LOVE to give your tortoise a new home. I have my own herd of Redfoot here in Florida that live outdoors. However, I can only ad a female. Not more males. Sorry.
Please re think about placing your tortoise into the hands of a brand spanking new tortoise owner. Or someone who might be looking to get him just to resell him. An adult male can fetch $200-$400.
There are a lot of well known and experienced keepers here.
You'll have no problems.
 

Joseph K

Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Oct 3, 2014
Messages
65
How big is Scrappy? I have a wonderful female redfoot (named Anna Karenina) at my home in Chicago. She lives in a gigantic terrarium (4'X3'), with all the appropriate accoutrements to keep her happy and healthy. I've been interested in a male for some time now (I'll set up a second enclosure, of course), but I haven't wanted to go through most of the online breeders (which seem more like factories than families). Long story short, I'll be coming through Mass. in a few months and might be very interested.
 

Yvonne G

Old Timer
TFO Admin
10 Year Member!
Platinum Tortoise Club
Joined
Jan 23, 2008
Messages
93,388
Location (City and/or State)
Clovis, CA
It's so refreshing to read about a keeper who has the best interest of the tortoise in mind. Operating a rescue here in Central California, I see many people who have to give up their tortoises and I realize it's not the easiest thing one has ever had to do. I'm so sorry that you have to give him up, but so glad you've recognized he needs a better situation.

My advice is to consider members here who have many posts under their belts, so that you can go back and read what they've had to say here on the forum in the past. Get to know them here that way and you'll know your guy is going to a good home.
 

ZEROPILOT

REDFOOT WRANGLER
Moderator
Tortoise Club
5 Year Member
Platinum Tortoise Club
Joined
Jul 16, 2014
Messages
28,938
Location (City and/or State)
South Eastern Florida (U.S.A.)/Rock Hill S.C.
I have noticed that whenever a tortoise pops up for a re home, Especially if it says "free", The respondents are usually brand new members.
How is that?
I would never deal with someone trawling for a free tortoise.
 

ElBee

New Member
Joined
Jun 8, 2015
Messages
2
Thank you all for your responses! I have found Stampy a wonderful home with a man from the New England Herp society...he went Monday to spend his summers outside with grass and tunnels and many other tortoises. And again, thank you all for posting so many things about temp and humidity and toenails and protein and prolapsed cloacas. I'm very grateful (and so is he, in his own tortoisey way).
 

divemtt

Member
Joined
Jun 9, 2015
Messages
34
Location (City and/or State)
Miami
I have noticed that whenever a tortoise pops up for a re home, Especially if it says "free", The respondents are usually brand new members.
How is that?
I would never deal with someone trawling for a free tortoise.

Did somebody say Free Tortoise??

-New Member :D
 

New Posts

Top