Tortoise Sanctuary! (I know this is not a buy/sell/trade site…just trying to get to as many as I can!!)

[cmtortoise]

Hi everyone,

I recently made an account as I acquire my first leopard tortoise hatchling the other day. However, I have always had turtles/tortoise since I was a kid (nearly two decades). While I still wish to expand upon my collection, I will soon have the space to fulfill a longtime dream of mine!
I am about to move into my new house with a large backyard as it’s my dream to adopt and provide a forever home for abandoned, abused, or unwanted turtles/tortoises. I don’t care if they are abnormal looking or not as “attractive” as some of the well taken care of tortoises coming from breeders and good owners.
The amount of lil and big guys out there that are suffering due to negligent, uneducated owners is just heartbreaking. I doubt anybody reading this and on tortoise forum is amongst the crowd of owners who do not care for their pets and do their research, but if you know anyone who's mistreating or trying to give away their tortoises/turtles, especially through trying to release these captive breds into the wild, then please let me know as my partner and me would love to provide them a new forever home. No scams please…especially as I do not wish to purchase them only trying to give them another chance at a better life.

 

[cmtortoise]

I won’t be moving until the end of the year which I forgot to mention and full disclaimer I am still learning a lot about tortoises (as I know way more about turtles and the aquatic species) but my partner whom I’ll be moving in with is more experienced on tortoises than myself so no negative hostile responses please!

 

[jeff kushner]

Welcome to the club CM! Congrats on your impending move! I see it often suggested that folks setting up a Sanctuary, reach out to the local Gov to find out the rules and laws pertaining to it.

It was would be a horrible event to get fined per tort, just be cause you didn't know their rules.


Good luck and enjoy!

Pics, don't forget to post pics...we're like kids here, we like pictures!

jeff

 

[wellington]

I would also wait until you make the move and get some enclosures built. Most tortoises that seem to be given up the most are Sulcatas and Russians. Not easy to take in a large sulcata if your not prepared.
Good luck and don't forget to share pictures.

 

[ZEROPILOT]

I would suggest making a few posts for WANTED tortoises on things like CRAIGSLIST.
That is often very productive.
You might also want to start off slowly. Maybe specializing in just one or two species that do well in your climate. Instead of trying to save the world.
And many "unwanted" tortoises that I've received over the years have required expensive veterinary care. That needs to be considered as part of the overall commitment.

 

[Maggie3fan]

I won’t be moving until the end of the year which I forgot to mention and full disclaimer I am still learning a lot about tortoises (as I know way more about turtles and the aquatic species) but my partner whom I’ll be moving in with is more experienced on tortoises than myself so no negative hostile responses please!

We are NOT FaceBook so there will not be any scamming, disrespect or insults here. So welcome to ya...and please continue to ask questions. Also, you are not the first noob to come on to get involved in rescue. Everybody and their aunt is in rescue. this is Mary Knobbins...

 

[SinLA]

Do you have any experience doing rescue of any type? Good for you for doing this, but as someone who has been doing it 30 years know that there is a lot more involved than just opening your heart and having the space.

Believe me they will find you fast enough.

I agree with Setting up a plan in advance of what type and how many you can have and do your best to stick to that.

I also recommend following other rescue groups on instagram so you can learn some of what they deal with.

Lots of rescues are also hoarders, collectors or scams, so watch out for that…

 

[ZEROPILOT]

Do you have any experience doing rescue of any type? Good for you for doing this, but as someone who has been doing it 30 years know that there is a lot more involved than just opening your heart and having the space.

Believe me they will find you fast enough.

I agree with Setting up a plan in advance of what type and how many you can have and do your best to stick to that.

I also recommend following other rescue groups on instagram so you can learn some of what they deal with.

Lots of rescues are also hoarders, collectors or scams, so watch out for that…

In my experience, MOST "rescues" are at least a little bit shady. If not just outright hoarders or resellers.
Many of these rescues also keep tortoises in absolutely horrible conditions.
They certainly haven't been rescued from anything.

 

[Yvonne G]

Do your research. Each species needs it's own yard. Tortoises are solitary, neither wanting nor needing other tortoises, and they fight to make the other tortoise get out of their yard. So separate yards are in order. Different species require somewhat different diets. You'll need enough room to have quarantine pens.

I applaud your desire to help tortoises, but it's not something to take lightly.

 

[wellington]

Do your research. Each species needs it's own yard. Tortoises are solitary, neither wanting nor needing other tortoises, and they fight to make the other tortoise get out of their yard. So separate yards are in order. Different species require somewhat different diets. You'll need enough room to have quarantine pens.

I applaud your desire to help tortoises, but it's not something to take lightly.

And Yvonne here, used to take in rescues, she knows what it entails.

 

[SinLA]

In my experience, MOST "rescues" are at least a little bit shady. If not just outright hoarders or resellers.
Many of these rescues also keep tortoises in absolutely horrible conditions.
They certainly haven't been rescued from anything.

my experience with reptile rescues is fairly limited. I am following three right now - one beardie rescue in NYthat seems very genuine, one all reptile in CA that seems to have good intentions and to whom I have donated and who definitely does a lot of good but I’m waiting to see if she ever actually adopts any out or keeps them all as “ambassadors”, and another tort rescue here in LA that I think is probably a Perfect scenario of what really happens and what I think this OP should be very cautious of:

It looks to me like that is somebody who did exactly what you OP doing which is taking in Tortoises in need of rescue. The problem is the input is going to far exceed out see the output, You also will start to begin to raise money to try and offset some of your expenses, and then you also need to start answering the people if you raise money, and answering to people can sometimes be a big old pain in the backside. This rescue I think genuinely does rescue and probably does some good work but I also see them selling sulcata tortoise babies - probably because it’s a great way of raising money and super easy to do and there’s a demand for it. But that immediately takes them off my books of being a genuine rescue Because there’s no chance in hell those babies are not probably going to lead miserable lives.

i’m not sure if zeropilot is referring only to reptile rescue or All rescue. I am very active in the Los Angeles dog rescue scene and are there absolutely shady ones ? without a doubt. And sometimes some very big name ones turn out to be real fraudsters but if I had to put a number on it I would say it’s something like 70 to 80% of dog and cat rescue here are genuine and the rest are people who get in over their head and end up hoarding, or actual scammers.

The other thing I’ve observed is that, for small and medium size dogs and non-pitbull or other dogs that are bred, adopted, or and sold purely for what I call the ”make my @&$# look big” market, but for just the straight up “I would like a nice pet market“ somewhere around 60 to 70% are just regular people, with regular dogs, who have regular stories, and rehoming the dog itself is not necessarily a challenge, with behavior issues or other things that make them not adoptable - other than age or illness. The rest are heartbreaking situations that i won’t discuss here.

What I have observed about the reptile market is I feel like the percentages are flipped or worse. I feel like 80 to 90% do not have good care and are just animals on their way to dying after leading miserable lives because people can’t be bothered to learn how to properly care for them and easily trash them. Also because they’re so readily accessible in pet stores or on Craigslist where at least here in California you can’t do that for a dog or cat (pet store) and less common on CL, but also because schools teach poor reptile animal husbandry.

so whereas I could foster a half dozen dogs *at a time* if I wanted, I would have to spend a lot of time and money setting up my yard to be appropriate for even a half dozen tortoises, and I would fill my quota very quickly and then that’s the rest of my life in terms of care, and then I would die and all those tortoises would go back into the rescue market and there would be no one to take them. With dogs there’s enough of a demand or enough other people who would take and care for even troubled dogs that is just less of an all-consuming burden or worry in terms of being a rescuer.

so just some things for you to think about…

 

[SinLA]

. I don’t care if they are abnormal looking or not as “attractive” as some of the well taken care of tortoises coming from breeders and good owners.

I just wanted to address this one point because it’s sort of been sticking in the back of my mind. Just understand that very few tortoises are given up for rescue because they’re not “attractive”. they end up being not attractive due to very poor health often, but it’s not like the people who give up an ugly mutt because they’re old and decrepit and then go out and buy a new doodle puppy. Anything you’re going to be getting is going to be either a neglect situation which is going to have health and expense ramifications for you, or people who just got a Tortoise because it’s cute when it’s a baby and not when they can’t lift it anymore, or when their kid goes to college and now the parents don’t really wanna deal with some thing that lives 40 more years

 

[Ray--Opo]

Welcome and I commend you for your intentions to save abused tortoises.

 

[Ray--Opo]

I have had quite a few opportunities to take in sulcata's that had outgrown their welcome. It breaks my heart also to see the way some torts are treated. In my situation one sulcata is enough for me.