My Sulcata is missing

[Joe Stevens]

So I went on vacation for the summer in June, and I left a friend to look after my tortoise, Spike, while I was gone. He was going to join me for a few days and then come back with me. I asked him what he did with Spike, and he said he just left him in my yard, we both thought it was pretty fine, because no gardeners or anything were coming so we pushed the thought out of our mind. We "lost" him once before, we asked around the neighborhood and put up posters, but when we went asking around it was Sunday and the family that had him go to church. This time we got back and my friend and I were going to go and pick up Spike. I called his name and checked around this pile of wood that he sometimes sits in, and then I checked his outdoor pen thing, nothing. No gates were open or anything like last time he got lost (when the gardener left the gate open). Sadly today is Sunday and I can't go check the house that had him last time, but I feel that if they had him they would have left a note or something now that they know the tortoise is mine. Do you have any idea what to do I really miss the guy, and I hope the tears haven't clogged my mind and made this just a random bundle of gibberish, any help would we appreciated, and If anyone finds a Tortoise in the southern California area, please send me a picture.

 

[THEELEG]

So I went on vacation for the summer in June, and I left a friend to look after my tortoise, Spike, while I was gone. He was going to join me for a few days and then come back with me. I asked him what he did with Spike, and he said he just left him in my yard, we both thought it was pretty fine, because no gardeners or anything were coming so we pushed the thought out of our mind. We "lost" him once before, we asked around the neighborhood and put up posters, but when we went asking around it was Sunday and the family that had him go to church. This time we got back and my friend and I were going to go and pick up Spike. I called his name and checked around this pile of wood that he sometimes sits in, and then I checked his outdoor pen thing, nothing. No gates were open or anything like last time he got lost (when the gardener left the gate open). Sadly today is Sunday and I can't go check the house that had him last time, but I feel that if they had him they would have left a note or something now that they know the tortoise is mine. Do you have any idea what to do I really miss the guy, and I hope the tears haven't clogged my mind and made this just a random bundle of gibberish, any help would we appreciated, and If anyone finds a Tortoise in the southern California area, please send me a picture.

how big is he? Could he have dug and be hanging out underground?

 

[Joe Stevens]

he could of he's pretty big, some of my friends are digging around but haven't had a proper look

 

[THEELEG]

he could of he's pretty big, some of my friends are digging around but haven't had a proper look

They like to dig keep it in mind, hope you find him

 

[Joe Stevens]

They like to dig keep it in mind, hope you find him

thank you I really hope I do to

 

[leigti]

I don't know how big he is but they can hide pretty well. If you have a bunch of people to help basically lineup crawl on your hands and knees and search the entire yard. Feel around with your hands a lot because sometimes it's hard to tell that they have dug down. Check the entire Fenceline to see if there's any place that looks like he dug out. He should come out during the day and look for some sunshine so look around then also.

 

[Razan]

Post signs around and do searches during the hours Spike would be most active. People are surprisingly helpful when a lost tortoise sign is posted. Neighbors came to get me when they found a big ole sulcata (not mine) she was returned eventually to another neighbor. Our first tortoise, a CA Desert Tortoise, escaped 5x and always managed to be returned. Each time by a different neighbor. Once he was gone for 5 days, we sort of figured he may not come home, then another neighbor appeared at our door holding him. The address label on his shell might have been the key

Sulcata's show up in our CA shelters too. Check there too. Some people actually don't want to keep a found tortoise. Crazy huh

 

[Gillian M]

Torts dig much better than we think. If your tort is not all that big, he might be hiding after all the digging.

Could you please post a pic oh him?

Keep up hope: he'll hopefully pop up when there's enough sunshine, and please keep us posted.

 

[Gillian M]

Hi @Jo Stevens . Any news about your missing tort? Hope you've found him.

 

[ZEROPILOT]

Good luck.
Almost every lost tortoise story gets a happy ending.
Hopefully yours will too.

 

[socalfoundtortoise]

Hi Joe,
I just created a profile and sent you a pm. What part of socal? We've been fostering a tortoise for a few days now that my wife's coworker found and needed someone to look after it. We've been trying to figure out what steps to take next. She reached out to local tortoise communities but we haven't heard anything back. If it's yours, we'd be more than happy to reunite you guys.

 

[socalfoundtortoise]

Hello all,
Just wanted to update. The tortoise was reunited with it's owners today. Thank you for your help.

 

[Tidgy's Dad]

Hello all,
Just wanted to update. The tortoise was reunited with it's owners today. Thank you for your help.

Splendid news!
Thanks to you.

 

[jim taylor]

Time for SoCalfound to get there own tort and stay awhile. Glad to hear a happy ending.