Lost russian tortoise

[Thale57]

Hello all! Me, my wife, and 2 kids live in Southern Ca. We have 1 Red Eared Slider we named Roxy who is new to our family (we rescued her 1 week ago) and a Russian Tortoise named Jim we have had for about 8 years. Today we let Jim, the Russian Tortoise out on our back deck for abit of sun. He was out there about 20-30 minutes. I went to go bring him in because the weather was getting a little cool but Jim was GONE!!! The deck is enclosed on the sides with wire except at one end were there are 2 steps to the ground. A total of 18" in height but he has never tried to go down. This was about 1pm. We looked through all the leaves used a leaf blower under and around the deck insted of a rake so we were sure not to rake him into a pile.We sadly ended our search around 5 as it started gettig dark. We looked everywere for him but no luck so far. I guess what im asking is anyone know how far he could have gone if he made it down the steps, or if a bird could have grabbed him and flown away. He is about 5 1/2" long. We will look again tomarrow but im afraid he's gone for good. Sorry for the long post but am trying to give all the details the first time so i dont waste to much of your time. Thank you for any light you may shine upon us

 

[wellington]

I can't answer your questions, but I can offer you GOOD LUCK in your search. Hope you find him

 

[LittlefootNCera]

Im so sorry!

 

[lynnedit]

Quite often, they don't go far. Don't assume he was taken or is gone yet.
Put out his favorite food first thing tomorrow at the base of the steps. Look in areas of the yard that get sun first thing.
If you can stand to do this, go through the areas around your deck on hands and knees, and shuffle through the leaves and any loose areas. Look closely for any dirt that looks slightly loosened.
Can he get under your deck? They can squeeze through tiny crevices.
One of our member's torts got into the dryer vent tube, so try to think like a tort (thus the 'hands and knees' advice).
Good luck!

 

[kimber_lee_314]

Is your yard fenced all around? I live in So Cal too and we are expecting rain, so he may dig down. They are really hard to find when they dig down. I have two "missing" Russians right now that dug down before I could hibernate them. This has happened before, but they always come up in spring. My point here is that even if you can't find him, as long as your yard is fenced, you will more than likely find him on a nice warm day! Also, you can use a rake to look for him - you will see him easily and he won't just get swept into the pile. Good luck to you!

 

[lynnedit]

This article may help:
http://www.tortoisetrust.org/articles/lost.htm

 

[Thale57]

Thanks for the replys. I have been reading though the site and it seems this sort of thing happends more then I thought. We never new what great hiders they could be lol. It gives us hope knowing so many other lost ones have been found. Our deck is open underneth so there is a good chance he might have gone that way. I removed all the leaves from under there but am wraped in bandages from finger tips to forearm do to a hand surgery last week, and only did a visual inspection. Tomarrow I will search alot better, shuffling through what I can reach and get the family under there with me as well. (very small space) Our yard is not fenced and kinda large 1 1/4 acre lot and the lot next door is over grown with dry weeds. We informed 1 neighbor and will post signs and tell the others as we see them. Thank you also for the link http://www.tortoisetrust.org/articles/lost.htm After my 1st post and a dinner break I've been reading all I can on the matter. Tomarrows a new day so I'll start it with a fresh cup of coffee and a clear mind and hopefully a found tortoise =o) Thanks again we'll keep you posted

 

[bubbles01]

Good Luck, I've had one of my Hermanns do the same thing - 3 days before we saw the tiniest bit of her shell and dug her back up!

 

[pam]

Good luck

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi thale57:

Welcome to the Tortoise Forum!!

So sorry about your little escape artist.

No, at that size, a bird didn't pick him up. He just went walkabout down the steps. Hopefully you'll find him buried under some leaves.

 

[ALDABRAMAN]

Hope for the best!

 

[TORTOISEMAN1]

so sorry!!