HELP - I'm heartbroken!

[rwfoss]

I've posted some questions and pics about our new (and first) baby sulcata named Gus. Two nights during the week, I work very late hours so my wife has been getting Gus into his bath and then takes him into the yard for exercise. Yesterday, after bringing Gus in and putting him away, one of our cats got into the room where we keep Gus (not unusual), so she left the door open so as not to trap the cat in. A few minutes later, after she saw the cat had left the room, she went to shut the door. She happened to look in on Gus and he was gone.

His enclosure is positioned on top of a dresser and has nothing near it that our cats can climb and get close to him. I've read that usually well behaved dogs and cats can be dangerous for torts. That is part of the reason I put his enclosure where I did. My stupidity did not take into account that he might be able to manage to climb and fall out.

Since arriving home 13 hours ago, we have looked everywhere. We've sifted through every bit of his substrate to make sure he wasn't burrowed. We've moved and turned over sofas and chairs. We've pulled out all bookshelves. We've looked under and behind anywhere he could fit. Just in case, we checked the backyard (four times). It is a secured yard, so no way he could have gotten out to the front yard.

I don't now if this has happened to anyone else. I am looking for suggestions as, like I put in the subject, I'm heartbroken. I blame myself for the placement of his enclosure, and my wife blames herself because she was the one watching him. I never realized how quickly I have become attached to him and am desperate to find him soon.

 

[harris]

Never underestimate how high a cat can jump if it really wants something. Also you mentioned you looked outside. Can it get outside? You said your yard is enclosed, but also that your tortoise is a baby. It can't can't slip through anything? Other than that, keep looking throughout the house. Under the fridge, appliances...any place that might hold warmth.

 

[fifthdawn]

How big is your tortoise and how big is your cat? How long exactly is "few minutes" after the cat left the door?

I've had my one of turtle jump out of its tank and run away 4 times. Every time it was close to where it fell and someplace dark. Depending on how high it fell, its probably too stress and hurt to go too far.

 

[Stephanie Logan]

My son did the same thing with Taco last summer..."lost" her in the backyard after dark.

Keep looking and you will find him. Tortoises look for narrow close spaces where they can hide and be safe, so take his size into account and then look everywhere.

You will find him, so hang in there and don't get discouraged (I was out of town so I was NOT generous to Anthony...I made him stay up till midnight searching with a flashlight, then he got up at 6:00 and started again. He finally got out a lawn chair and sat in the middle of the yard, where he could hear any sounds of movement in the foliage. FINALLY, at about 3:00 the next afternoon, he heard a rustle and caught movement out of the corner of his eye. Taco emerged from where she had dug herself into the dirt at the base of a bush under some ground cover. He was SO happy to be able to call me with the good news, AND be free again to do other things besides hunt for the tortoise!).

 

[rwfoss]

The tort is the size of my palm. I honestly think it is too big for the cat to carry away. Plus we would have seen the cats messing with something. If the cat had jumped up there, it would have made a mess. There is no where for it to land except for inside the enclosure, so there would have been tracks and dirt moved everywhere. My gut was also telling me that he probably didn't go very far, but there are only so many place he can hide and we've searched that particular room top to bottom over and over.

As far as going outside, my wife was out there with him as he took a stroll for exercise. She brought him inside. I checked outside just out of the way off chance that she only thought she did. I think he's in the house somewhere, but for the life of me can't figure out where.

---

My son did the same thing with Taco last summer..."lost" her in the backyard after dark.

Keep looking and you will find him. Tortoises look for narrow close spaces where they can hide and be safe, so take his size into account and then look everywhere.

You will find him, so hang in there and don't get discouraged (I was out of town so I was NOT generous to Anthony...I made him stay up till midnight searching with a flashlight, then he got up at 6:00 and started again. He finally got out a lawn chair and sat in the middle of the yard, where he could hear any sounds of movement in the foliage. FINALLY, at about 3:00 the next afternoon, he heard a rustle and caught movement out of the corner of his eye. Taco emerged from where she had dug herself into the dirt at the base of a bush under some ground cover. He was SO happy to be able to call me with the good news, AND be free again to do other things besides hunt for the tortoise!).

That is encouraging!! Thanks! I've tired myself out looking, but maybe this is God's way of getting me to exercise more.

 

[fifthdawn]

Hmm, thats odd, palm size is pretty big. At least big enough where it can't hide under a lot of things. And if your wife is pretty sure she bought it in, that eliminates the possibility that it is outside. I'm not sure how big the room is or what kind of stuff is in it, but I feel like theres an important piece of info that is missing.

What is your floor? Carpet or wood? At that size, if your wife had just enter when the cat left, 2 things should have happened. You're wife should of heard the fall when she was away and the cat shoulda been in the room during the fall and nosy enough to see what fell.

 

[harris]

He was SO happy to be able to call me with the good news, AND be free again to do other things besides hunt for the tortoise!).

Ever see the movie Meet the Parents; when Fokker loses his future Father in Law's cat? I'm just sayin.......

 

[terracolson]

My dog always sniff out my tortoises......
does your cat?
what about setting out his favorite food?
how about making a basking spot on the floor?

 

[DoctorCosmonaut]

I'm so sorry I'm rooting for you, team search and rescue!

 

[DonaTello's-Mom]

Wow I'm so sorry but I think you will find him too. I like Terracolson's idea. My cat is always hearing my tort move around and usually looks in that direction. How about putting your cat in the room and watching to see if it hears Gus moving?

 

[Maggie Cummings]

I totally understand the sinking feeling you have now. But you mustn't give up. You need to sit down and go over everything slowly in your head or even write it down because you are missing something. Possibly something like she absentmindedly put the tort in her jacket pocket. She said they had been outside together. See what I'm saying? Go over her actions step by step. When you are looking you need to be on your hands and knees so you are looking for him at the same level that he see's. Standing up you might not see that hole, that the tort see's. Cats are blamed for a lot that they are not guilty of. I have had cats all my life and tortoises for the end of those years and mostly cats ignore torts. I have one cat who loves the tortoises and she sleeps with them and she finds one that escaped but she is rare. Mostly cats don't care about tortoises. I am sorry that you are having to go thru this, but my suggestion is to go over your wife's actions step by step...not meaning any disrespect but if she forgot him outside would she fess up to you? Did you look in the cats litter box?
I am sending positive thoughts your way...you are missing something very obvious. Please keep us posted...

 

[Kymiie]

I hope ou find him and he is ok!
Put 1 lettuce in the corner of every room shut the door, go back at end of day see if any has been eaten! or a strawberry.. a treat, even in the garden do this

xxx

 

[terracolson]

I hope ou find him and he is ok!
Put 1 lettuce in the corner of every room shut the door, go back at end of day see if any has been eaten! or a strawberry.. a treat, even in the garden do this

xxx

Good idea.. in all the rooms...

 

[rwfoss]

I hope ou find him and he is ok!
Put 1 lettuce in the corner of every room shut the door, go back at end of day see if any has been eaten! or a strawberry.. a treat, even in the garden do this

xxx

Good idea.. in all the rooms...

Very good idea! I was wondering if that would something to do or not. Thanks!

 

[harris]

Is your house 1 level? Well, even if it's not, shine a flashlight down the floor drain by your hot water tank / furnace if it's not covered. Do not give up.

 

[rwfoss]

I totally understand the sinking feeling you have now. But you mustn't give up. You need to sit down and go over everything slowly in your head or even write it down because you are missing something. Possibly something like she absentmindedly put the tort in her jacket pocket. She said they had been outside together. See what I'm saying? Go over her actions step by step. When you are looking you need to be on your hands and knees so you are looking for him at the same level that he see's. Standing up you might not see that hole, that the tort see's. Cats are blamed for a lot that they are not guilty of. I have had cats all my life and tortoises for the end of those years and mostly cats ignore torts. I have one cat who loves the tortoises and she sleeps with them and she finds one that escaped but she is rare. Mostly cats don't care about tortoises. I am sorry that you are having to go thru this, but my suggestion is to go over your wife's actions step by step...not meaning any disrespect but if she forgot him outside would she fess up to you? Did you look in the cats litter box?
I am sending positive thoughts your way...you are missing something very obvious. Please keep us posted...

Thanks! (No disrespect taken, BTW.) She does have a bad memory, but she isn't absent minded, if that makes sense. She clearly remembers going to the back wall, getting him, and bringing him and his bath bowl in. She says that she doesn't, however, remember putting him in his enclosure. But as she says, "Well, what else would I have done with him?" No jacket pockets to check - too warm in AZ!

I also like what you said about the cats. I didn't want to mention that none of our cats have given two rips about Gus. I thought maybe that was odd cat behavior. We have two small terriers and one of them, again, could not care less. Our other guy, Millhouse, has a great nose on him. He was following Gus around in the yard, so we've been following him around everywhere to see if he picks up the scent. (He is the dog that played with our rabbit, rat, and kittens. He is gentle and seems to like little animals.)

The room he is kept in is one of the guest rooms. We keep a lot of tarantulas and so that room is usually warmer than the rest of the house. It is carpeted, has two bookshelves (lines with tarantulas in Kritter Keepers), the dresser Gus was on, a sofa, and a small entertainment center with books and a TV. The rest of the house is tiled, so I am hoping any movement he makes will get picked up by one of our animals.

Well, knowing that others have had torts vanish temporarily makes me feel better. Thanks for the help, everyone. I'll keep this posted...

 

[franeich]

Did you check in the sofa. Is it cloes enough for him to fall on. Maybe he got deep into the sofa. Tip one side of it up and listen if you hear anything slide.

 

[Shelly]

I think it's doubtful that a cat would have, or could have, removed the tort from his enclosure

 

[Laura]

Is he stuck behind the dresser against teh wall? Under the couch? Can you lift it up?
Is he still being soaked? Put in the wrong enclosure? Phone rang and got distracted??

 

[ChiKat]

I checked on Nelson after work a few weeks ago and I could not find him anywhere in his enclosure. I asked my family if they had taken him out but they hadn't. I scooped up all the substrate and he wasn't buried.
I was about to start hyperventilating when I noticed a bump in the plastic liner that I have taped to the bottom and sides of his wooden enclosure. He had managed to pull the liner back and crawl between the wood and the plastic without leaving a trace of where he pulled the liner back! Little devil.
Don't lose hope! He has to be there somewhere!

Where did she put his bath bowl after bringing him in?