Torts, Turtles, & Terrapins, Oy Vey!

TanksALot

New Member
Joined
Dec 3, 2022
Messages
16
Location (City and/or State)
South Carolina
Hi there! Newbie to the TF, I am a rescuer by nature, (*note* all the voices in my head finally agreed on SOMETHING!!).

That said, I have received a rescued tort that was first a raccoon's failed attempt at a quick snack. The breeder said that the hatchling was taken, and presumed lost forever. BUT! Four (4!) Years later, a neighbor found him in their yard. He was returned to the breeder who immediately took him to his exotics veterinarian to make sure he was still healthy. He had no internal parasites but he did have some external damage to both the carapace and the plastron and some appendage injuries. Once properly anesthetized, the jagged points of the carapace were then smoothed down and his wounds were attended to. The soft tissue wounds or that his tail was shortened and the plates on both his front legs were damaged as he was trying to protect his face.

Because he was on his own for 4 years, his ability to forage were limited because of his physical damage and the area in the south east where he resided. So this led to a very slow growth period, and when he arrived he was 4½" and 14oz. He was eating various hays when he left the breeder, about a month ago, and he is living the good life here, resulting in a carapace length of 5" and 15oz (425g).

So now he, "Tankasaurus Rex " lives under my roof and eventually will have his own paddock on my 7 acre ranch in South Carolina.

So That's All Folks!
(And isn't that enough already?!)
 

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Maro2Bear

Well-Known Member
5 Year Member
Joined
May 29, 2014
Messages
14,712
Location (City and/or State)
Glenn Dale, Maryland, USA
Hi there! Newbie to the TF, I am a rescuer by nature, (*note* all the voices in my head finally agreed on SOMETHING!!).

That said, I have received a rescued tort that was first a raccoon's failed attempt at a quick snack. The breeder said that the hatchling was taken, and presumed lost forever. BUT! Four (4!) Years later, a neighbor found him in their yard. He was returned to the breeder who immediately took him to his exotics veterinarian to make sure he was still healthy. He had no internal parasites but he did have some external damage to both the carapace and the plastron and some appendage injuries. Once properly anesthetized, the jagged points of the carapace were then smoothed down and his wounds were attended to. The soft tissue wounds or that his tail was shortened and the plates on both his front legs were damaged as he was trying to protect his face.

Because he was on his own for 4 years, his ability to forage were limited because of his physical damage and the area in the south east where he resided. So this led to a very slow growth period, and when he arrived he was 4½" and 14oz. He was eating various hays when he left the breeder, about a month ago, and he is living the good life here, resulting in a carapace length of 5" and 15oz (425g).

So now he, "Tankasaurus Rex " lives under my roof and eventually will have his own paddock on my 7 acre ranch in South Carolina.

So That's All Folks!
(And isn't that enough already?!)

Yes, welcome. Quite the background story.
 

wellington

Well-Known Member
Moderator
10 Year Member!
Tortoise Club
Joined
Sep 6, 2011
Messages
49,658
Location (City and/or State)
Chicago, Illinois, USA
Welcome, love your sense of humor. Add mazuri tortoise pellets soaked to his diet a couple times a week and that will help him grow a bit faster and catch up to where he should be. Glad he survived and was found. Sounds like he will have a good life from here on.
 

Yvonne G

Old Timer
TFO Admin
10 Year Member!
Platinum Tortoise Club
Joined
Jan 23, 2008
Messages
93,388
Location (City and/or State)
Clovis, CA
Welcome to the Forum!

You're going to learn (by reading our past threads and stickies) that baby sulcatas hatch out during the monsoon season, and have evolved to grow in hot, humid conditions. Your foundling didn't get that during his sabbatical out in the real world, hence his bumpy shell. But you can help get his growth back to where it should be by setting him up in a humid environment. Also, babies really don't do well on a diet of hay. Once they get some size on them hay is ok, but as babies they should be fed lush, greenery.

Yeah, we used to have an app for the Forum, but we don't anymore, and we lost quite a few of our regular members because of it. I get the best results on my computer, but I sometimes use my Kindle to access the 'net. It's not as user friendly as the computer is. Also, if you like us and decide to stay, you can go to the home page, scroll down to the bottom and "become a supporting member." This takes away the ads that clutter up a non supporter's viewing pleasure.

Anyhoo. . . we're glad to have you here. I used to be a rescuer. Did so for many, many years. Finally decided I was getting too old to mess with the yard inspections on prospective adoptors and closed my doors. Now if I could just stop answering the phone. A couple weeks ago I took in 3 baby desert tortoises because I answered the phone and couldn't say 'no.' And Friday I said "yes" to a lady looking for a new home for her several baby and yearling three toe box turtles. Those are two of my favorite species, and who doesn't love a baby?
 

Tom

The Dog Trainer
10 Year Member!
Platinum Tortoise Club
Joined
Jan 9, 2010
Messages
63,264
Location (City and/or State)
Southern California
Hi there! Newbie to the TF, I am a rescuer by nature, (*note* all the voices in my head finally agreed on SOMETHING!!).

That said, I have received a rescued tort that was first a raccoon's failed attempt at a quick snack. The breeder said that the hatchling was taken, and presumed lost forever. BUT! Four (4!) Years later, a neighbor found him in their yard. He was returned to the breeder who immediately took him to his exotics veterinarian to make sure he was still healthy. He had no internal parasites but he did have some external damage to both the carapace and the plastron and some appendage injuries. Once properly anesthetized, the jagged points of the carapace were then smoothed down and his wounds were attended to. The soft tissue wounds or that his tail was shortened and the plates on both his front legs were damaged as he was trying to protect his face.

Because he was on his own for 4 years, his ability to forage were limited because of his physical damage and the area in the south east where he resided. So this led to a very slow growth period, and when he arrived he was 4½" and 14oz. He was eating various hays when he left the breeder, about a month ago, and he is living the good life here, resulting in a carapace length of 5" and 15oz (425g).

So now he, "Tankasaurus Rex " lives under my roof and eventually will have his own paddock on my 7 acre ranch in South Carolina.

So That's All Folks!
(And isn't that enough already?!)
Hello and welcome!

Its important to understand that almost all of the tortoise care info out in the world, online, FB, YT, vets, pet stores, and even most tortoise breeders, is all wrong. Its been wrong for decades. New people come in and do "research" and all they find is this same old wrong info repeated over and over. This same wrong info is where vets, breeders, pet shops, and internet personalities, all learn how to house and care for tortoises. Its a terrible situation and we are working to correct it here. Having said that, here is the correct care info:
 
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