That looks like a good spot. To bad it didn't come gold plated. Curtis would be swagging some bling bling!
Curtis has gone missing
- Thread starter TechnoCheese
- Start date
jeneliza
Well-Known Member
I know that is is old, and I am so glad he's home, and safe, but I can't help but wonder because he was just sitting at the front door, if someone did infact grab him, and then all the amazing support in looking for him, the person who took him, knew that they couldn't get away with it, and got scared and put him back , it's just odd that he was just hanging out on the sidewalk,
See, that’s what I thought at first, too. But something I actually neglected to share with you guys is that Curtis did actually manage to get out again, a few days after we found him, but was found before anyone knew he was missing. Luckily it seems our posters and online ads managed to get through to people, because in the middle of my physics class, I got a text from someone saying that they found Curtis. After picking him up from the animal shelter, I found a spot in our fence’s gate where the wire had actually been pushed forward to form a Curtis sized hole.
If anything, this is proof that you should definitely post around every place you can. He was found nearly right in front of our creek, so it’s just sheer luck that the people who found him knew he wasn’t aquatic.
jeneliza
Well-Known Member
Lucky, the police found him, and took care of him, and knew that he belongs to you, bit now you know that the fence needs to be stronger, one thing is for sure if they want something there really strong and are hard to stop, glad he was safety found and is back home
Definitely! He’s an unstoppable force that met my not-so-unmovable fence.
jeneliza
Well-Known Member
But I bet it's now going to be , lol
silverbird
Member
He was just taking a little sightseeing trip.
As I was half way through making this post about how Curtis has broken the one part of the fence I had yet to reinforce and rubbed off his tracker in the process and had been missing for 3 days, a lady that lives near by came knocking on my door asking if I was missing a tortoise. Apparently, she found him on the sidewalk in front of my house and picked him up thinking he was a turtle. She went to our creek and was about to throw him in, when she decided that his shell was too nice for him to be wild and brought him home to be looked at by her tortoise-owning friend instead.
meanwhile, I found his tracker next to the part of our fence that he had separated from the frame. I went out and saw trails going all around our 3 acres of overgrown property, and a pile of poop near the back edge. I had been searching from 7 AM to 6 PM with no luck, and figured I probably looked insane to the people living across the creek.
Here’s a map of our property I made to show my friends how far he had gone. Red is a rough estimation of our property, blue is the places I found his trails, yellow is the place I found his poop, white is the creek, and green is the perimeter around his yard. Purple was where I thought he might still be. For scale, the circle in the middle is a 20 foot diameter trampoline.
This picture was probably taken during the winter since it looks so barren, but now the place is completely overgrown.
While I was searching through shoulder height grass, walking through spider webs, and trying to avoid copperheads, Curtis was the star of a church zoom meeting (which he peed all over the floor during, apparently), getting the luxury of roaming a nice house (had a face full of dust to show for it!), and even got offered some hibiscus leaves! The lady even bought a black tub to soak him in, but I believe she found me before she got the chance, and a whole bag of romaine lettuce to try and feed.
I directed the nice lady who found him to the forum, so Christy(?), if you’re reading this, thank you so much for doing research on him and trying to care for him the best you could! And don’t worry, he did finally poop, and is now eating a mountain of his favorite foods and his new hibiscus leaf.
meanwhile, I found his tracker next to the part of our fence that he had separated from the frame. I went out and saw trails going all around our 3 acres of overgrown property, and a pile of poop near the back edge. I had been searching from 7 AM to 6 PM with no luck, and figured I probably looked insane to the people living across the creek.
Here’s a map of our property I made to show my friends how far he had gone. Red is a rough estimation of our property, blue is the places I found his trails, yellow is the place I found his poop, white is the creek, and green is the perimeter around his yard. Purple was where I thought he might still be. For scale, the circle in the middle is a 20 foot diameter trampoline.
This picture was probably taken during the winter since it looks so barren, but now the place is completely overgrown.
While I was searching through shoulder height grass, walking through spider webs, and trying to avoid copperheads, Curtis was the star of a church zoom meeting (which he peed all over the floor during, apparently), getting the luxury of roaming a nice house (had a face full of dust to show for it!), and even got offered some hibiscus leaves! The lady even bought a black tub to soak him in, but I believe she found me before she got the chance, and a whole bag of romaine lettuce to try and feed.
I directed the nice lady who found him to the forum, so Christy(?), if you’re reading this, thank you so much for doing research on him and trying to care for him the best you could! And don’t worry, he did finally poop, and is now eating a mountain of his favorite foods and his new hibiscus leaf.
Attachments
Here’s Curtis eating the hibiscus leaf and the romaine his temporary caretaker gave me-
silverbird
Member
Glad he is back again.
Curtis needs Lo Jack
Lmao, he really does
So I'm a little confused, so are you saying that Curtis has escaped three times now or two. I glad he has been found safe and you feel you are lucky, but the lucky one is Curtis. Hope his luck holds up for his sake.
Technically, 3. But now that I know exactly how he’s escaping, it made it much easier to secure his enclosure, and now the fence is (hopefully) totally secure. He was getting out through the gate that we use to get the lawn mower in and out of, where he had managed to completely separate the bottom of the fence from the frame. Needless to say, it’s now totally covered with cinder blocks until I can find away to get more plywood with the plague now among us.
He actually used to be named lucky. Maybe I should switch it back, lol
I didn't mean to sound harsh, but I sure you would feel so bad if he was to get out again. He may not be so lucky with the creek and road in his escape route. We all don't want to see anything happen to Curtis, we hope you and Curtis have a long life together. But remember he depends on you to keep him safe.
Oh believe me, I’m doing my best ? everyone thinks their fence is secure until it’s not, and he’s definitely proven that much. But now that I know exactly how he’s getting out, I am 100% sure that I have fully secured the yard. That gate was the only part of the fence I haven’t covered because I thought it was secure, but now it’s completely lined with cinder blocks that I’m sure even my bulldozer of a sulcata can’t move
silverbird
Member
I am glad my female sulcata is only 9 inches, as I know how determined and strong headed they can be. Years ago, when I had my Aldabras and Galapagos; I personally witnessed how strong a 800 pound tortoise can be; when a friend was babysitting them at his house for a couple of weeks. They found a loose board in his wooden fence; and ended up making a huge hole and all 4 went "sightseeing" in his neighborhood.
silverbird
Member
To followup, they were coaxed back into his yard, as they had not gone far; as they were being petted and given attention by a group of children a few doors down. I had spoiled them and they would come to you for neck rubs and to be given bananas as treats. They would follow me around the yard and sometimes nudge me if they wanted attention; and I wasn't giving it to them.
Oh man, sounds amazing! I Would just love to have a trio of aldabras. If only I had the money!
silverbird
Member
That was many years ago and both pairs are with a friend of mine that I gave them to. The Aldabras have produced babies every year for him; along with the 6 Aldabras he already had.
