New & lost

[Yvonne Mercer]

Hello everyone. I didn't plan on having a box turtle but I didn't have a choice. I let my heart lead me. On Friday I found some kids throwing a box turtle around. They were slamming it in the street. I can only guess that they were trying to break the shell. And I am a lover of all animals (except spiders) so I took it from them. I'm not sure if it was hurt or just stunned, but it wasn't acting right. It wasn't moving or anything, so I immediately brought it home googled as much as I could fast and set up a quick habitat. I put it some lettuce, tomatoes, and apple mix in there with it and we have been leaving it alone. I have a red heat lamp that I keep on the enclosure in the daytime (the light was from my lizard). It hasn't eaten anything but it is moving around. It was bleeding when I took him from the kids but I don't see anymore blood and I don't know where the blood came from. It seems to be getting better, but I don't know what to do. I'm googling what I can and trying to make sure he is comfortable. This may seem dumb but I think its starting to like me. When I check his body and shell he doesn't tuck his head in or try to bite me. I don't even know how to tell if its a boy or girl. I just couldn't let him die and I don't know if he's hurt and will be able to survive. What do I do? How do I care for him right? HELP!

 

[Tom]

I will let someone with more experience guide you on the specifics, but swap out the red light for a regular "white" type and put it on a timer for about 12 hours. You might try offering some earthworms, crickets or roaches to get him to eat. Sometimes live prey stimulates their appetite, but given his treatment with the kids, he may need time to recover.

About the kids: The local animal control authorities, and/or police, need to be called and the parents of these kids need to be cited. DO NOT let this horrible animal abuse go unpunished. This is the BIGGEST of big deals and there needs to be serious consequences for the kids and their parents who were not supervising them. Think of the unspeakable pain, suffering and horror that awaits the next animal these little jack-asses come across when you are not around. They need to learn that animal cruelty will NOT be tolerated and that there are serious consequences for bad behavior. Please do not let them get away with this. Then next time it could be worse. Then next time it could be another kid.

Bless you for rescuing this turtle and doing the right thing.

 

[Yvonne Mercer]

I have called on these kids before. They have knocked down birds nest ( I called animal control and turned the birdies over to them), they've chased a baby kitten away from his mom and the mom let (I turned them in for that), I even turned them in for throwing rocks at a bunny. The only time animal control told them anything was with the kitten. I think everyone has just given up. These kids are horrible. Their parents didn't even bat an eyelash at their psycho behavior. I just took him and brought him home.

 

[leigti]

Welcome to the forum. I'm glad that you saved this Boxturtle. I would love to have 10 minutes alone with those kids. Anyway, check out the box turtle section under species specific heading. There are lots of articles and information about diet and housing etc. Box turtles like to have lots of plants to hide under and dry leaves to burrow in. And they like live bugs, worms, slugs, crickets, pill bugs etc. they also like fruit, especially berries that are overripe. Post some pictures of your turtle and people will be able to tell you if it's a boy or a girl. Please keep us updated on his progress.

 

[leigti]

Oh, they also seem to prefer an outdoor habitat versus indoor. Read through the threads and come back with questions.

 

[Tom]

I have called on these kids before. They have knocked down birds nest ( I called animal control and turned the birdies over to them), they've chased a baby kitten away from his mom and the mom let (I turned them in for that), I even turned them in for throwing rocks at a bunny. The only time animal control told them anything was with the kitten. I think everyone has just given up. These kids are horrible. Their parents didn't even bat an eyelash at their psycho behavior. I just took him and brought him home.

We have heard about this sort of apathy on the part of the authorities before. I understand what you are up against. These horrible excuses for humans will continue bashing and torturing silent helpless animals until someone steps up and MAKES the authorities do something about it. Document dates, times, report numbers, responding agent names and badge numbers and make these apathetic losers DO THIER JOBS, or be fired for incompetence. Keep going up the chain until you get someone to do something. Call the mayor, police chief or local TV stations. Talk to the supervisor of the people who choose to do nothing. Someone somewhere is going to care about your plight, and the plight of the innocent animals in your neighborhood. Keeping chewing ears until you find that person.

 

[leigti]

Although I really hate the media at times that will be the quickest results probably. If you try other methods and they don't work I'd be heading to the TV station. The sad part is in 10 or 15 or 20 years one of these kids or all of them will probably literally kill somebody. And probably all sorts of terrible things up to that point. Sad but true.

 

[MNM]

Oh... my... god... bless you for rescuing that little turtle! I hope he's ok, and im glad you found him. About those nasty rotten kids, personally I would have set up a few little security cameras so I could catch them in the act of hurting an animal (not that i'd want them to hurt it) and turn it into the authorities AND their parents. If it continued id press charges for animal abuse. Not sure if you can do that, but if I could I would. If nobody did anything about it, id beat the **** out of them all every time they so much as thought about hurting an animal. I don't know how many of them there are, but I'm sure they wouldn't want to get in the way of me, especially when I'm a 5 foot 9, 135 pound, ticked off teenage girl who's got a nasty kick that could probably break bones if she hit the right spot (I play soccer...). Of course I'm exaggerating, but you get my point... I found these websites and they look ok to me : http://turtlepuddle.org/american/boxcare.html
http://m.wikihow.com/Care-for-Your-Box-Turtle
http://www.boxturtles.com
I hope this helps. Once again thankyou so so much for saving the poor thing's life, and I hope it can live a long, happy, healthy life with you. As for the kids, there's probably hundreds of people who'd like to teach them a lesson right now, and you could actually put a security camera on your own property I think, so you might catch them on there. Or the next time you see them hurting an animal video it as you run or jog or whatever up to them to get them to stop. I hope you get a vid of them running away like the idiotic cowards they are to turn in to the authorities! I would pay to see that one!!! Wow, I sure got carried away... anyway you truly did the right thing and were that turtle's hero so on behalf of all my animal loving friends and I, thankyou. Also sorry for typing so much...

 

[Tidgy's Dad]

Thanks for rescuing the turtle.
it was a very good thing that you did.
He is probably in shock right now and will need time to recover and may sleep a lot.
Here is the link to the box turtle care sheet. http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/box-turtle-care-sheet.93937/
Good luck and bless you and him.

 

[Carol S]

Those kids should be held responsible for their horrific behavior. I cannot believe that their parents let them get away with it. Those are the type of kids that will wind up in jail for hurting or killng a person and/or persons.

 

[weldorNate]

Glad u rescued the poor little box turtle. Reason the kids don't get in trouble is cause our animal protection laws are crap. If the kids actually got into more trouble they would learn. The parents should also get in trouble to. To many parents don't watch there kids and let them do whatever they want.

 

[Killerrookie]

Glad u rescued the poor little box turtle. Reason the kids don't get in trouble is cause our animal protection laws are crap. If the kids actually got into more trouble they would learn. The parents should also get in trouble to. To many parents don't watch there kids and let them do whatever they want.

Parents can't monitor there kids 24/7 just like we can't monitor are torts or turtles every second.

 

[weldorNate]

Parents can't monitor there kids 24/7 just like we can't monitor are torts or turtles every second.

But I think parents should at least know what there kids are doing. I know during the week I am gone 13 hours of the day. But I do have my sister help with my torts like bring them inside at night since it gets to cold some nights. I do most of the feeding and other things for my torts before I go to work. I don't have any kids yet but my parents always knew where me and sister were and what we were doing. We also got punished if we disobeyed or did something wrong.

 

[Killerrookie]

Every is taught differently and do things different. I don't tell my parents everything I do and I know for sure you don't either. Something's are better not told.

 

[Tom]

Every is taught differently and do things different. I don't tell my parents everything I do and I know for sure you don't either. Something's are better not told.

That is a parent's responsibility. If you are under 18 and you do something horrific, your parents can be held responsible. Doesn't matter if they told their parents. Its their parents moral, ethical and legal obligation to know what their kids are doing.

 

[Killerrookie]

That is a parent's responsibility. If you are under 18 and you do something horrific, your parents can be held responsible. Doesn't matter if they told their parents. Its their parents moral, ethical and legal obligation to know what their kids are doing.

Tom you probably have secret that you never told your parents. I have so much things I've been keeping from everyone in this world because I can't trust no one anymore in life. I've done horrible things in my life that I'm not proud of and I can't tell them because they would kick me out. Things like the box turtle being tortured is something I would never do but they are kids and don't know anything right from wrong fully. Their frontal lobe of their brain hasn't fully develop yet to be able to think and act right.

 

[Cowboy_Ken]

I didn't read the posts, just the last one. In regard to torturing small animals as a child goes, here's a little diddy to keep in mind, not every kid that tortures small animals grows up to be a serial killer but every serial killer tortured small animals as a child.

 

[Killerrookie]

I didn't read the posts, just the last one. In regard to torturing small animals as a child goes, here's a little diddy to keep in mind, not every kid that tortures small animals grows up to be a serial killer but every serial killer tortured small animals as a child.

Not true, some serial killers were abused or mistreated little from their parent or from someone they knew. Some serial killers are born from something that happened to them or in their family that caused them to go crazy or the taste to kill. Some may be insane and kill. Some may do it for fun. But most never do it because they tortured animal. They do it because something traumatizing happened in their life.

 

[Killerrookie]

Now some are born from acting out fantasies on animals. Most serial killers are born from...
1. Growing up Lonely/ isolated.
2. Child abuse
3. Fetishes.
4 auto-erotic activities
5. Physical injuries
6. Fantasies
7. Bed wetting is a cause also.
Many more things but most aren't a cause by hurting or killing animals.

 

[Gillian M]

Hello everyone. I didn't plan on having a box turtle but I didn't have a choice. I let my heart lead me. On Friday I found some kids throwing a box turtle around. They were slamming it in the street. I can only guess that they were trying to break the shell. And I am a lover of all animals (except spiders) so I took it from them. I'm not sure if it was hurt or just stunned, but it wasn't acting right. It wasn't moving or anything, so I immediately brought it home googled as much as I could fast and set up a quick habitat. I put it some lettuce, tomatoes, and apple mix in there with it and we have been leaving it alone. I have a red heat lamp that I keep on the enclosure in the daytime (the light was from my lizard). It hasn't eaten anything but it is moving around. It was bleeding when I took him from the kids but I don't see anymore blood and I don't know where the blood came from. It seems to be getting better, but I don't know what to do. I'm googling what I can and trying to make sure he is comfortable. This may seem dumb but I think its starting to like me. When I check his body and shell he doesn't tuck his head in or try to bite me. I don't even know how to tell if its a boy or girl. I just couldn't let him die and I don't know if he's hurt and will be able to survive. What do I do? How do I care for him right? HELP!

Hi Yvonne (we now have two Yvonnes at the forum).

A very sweet gesture from your part. Would you please be kind enough to post pics of the tort your rescued? That would enable the experts at the forum to help you more. You could read care sheets as well as different threads, which include info for BEGINNERS. Ask questions, like we all did/still do.

And a very warm welcome to the forum. Keep us updated please, and wishes for your tort to get well soon.