We rescued a pretty little dinosaur!

[Island_of_Misfit_Toys]

Hello all! My name is Dana, I'm in Minnesota and recently took in a 2.5 y.o. Red Foot. She was the only survivor of 19 that came out of a hoarding situation. Poor girl had spent her whole life in a 1' x 1.5' box. She was in relatively good shape, other than some sores on her neck (which we have attributed to always looking up for a way out) along with some thinning along the front of her carapace (again, we think it is from the rubbing.) I have always had a love and interest in tortoises so I had some general knowledge, so my fiance and I agreed to take her in and started to research, research, research. I treated her sores and she is now fully healed, although she does have a bit of scar tissue. My fiance Joe built her a nice 4'x 9' outdoor pen and sectioned off two separate areas of the garden for her to roam in until we can get her pen planted. She doesn't seem to spend much time in it however, since any time we are outside (which is most of the time as we have 2 two-year-old boys) she is free to roam the fenced yard and mow the grass. Unfortunately the temps here have started to drop here over the last few days so she has moved indoors. But by next year we plan to have her palace expanded to 10' x 20', fully planted, and include a 5' x 6' shed for her. For now we have turned our attention to building her indoor enclosure. My plans for that one are too complicated to get into here, but you'll all see it soon enough! For now I'll wrap up this novella by thanking you all for all the knowledge and experience you have archived here, I have already learned so much! Our little dinosaur (as my sons call her) has quickly become a beloved member of our family.

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi Dana:

What a heart-warming story (although sad about some of the deaths).

Welcome to the Tortoise Forum!!

 

[dmmj]

Welcome
Considering how she was kept she looks pretty good.

 

[dmarcus]

Hello and welcome to the forum, she looks good considering where she came from...

 

[ALDABRAMAN]

Welcome.

 

[CtTortoiseMom]

Hi & welcome! Good save, it is terribly sad the other's did not make it

 

[Momof4]

Welcome!! She does look pretty good! Glad she's in good hands now.

 

[Torty Mom]

Welcome to TFO! Good Job on the save woot woot!!

 

[drgnfly2265]

Hello and welcome

So happy that you could save a give a better home to that cutel little dinosaur! I love the pic of him on the skateboard. I wan't to give Bowser one someday, lol.

 

[pliken]

You've added a valuable new experience for your boys, too - learning about a new animal in a guided hands-on environment (not to leave out the construction aspect) is supremely educational. Since they already know about dinosaurs at the age of two, it sounds like that's going to be perhaps the best part for you! Pretty soon they will be teaching their friends about the difference between a turtle and a tortoise, identifying plants, growing plants, habitats - the list goes on and on. Do you have any other pets?

 

[AnthonyC]

Welcome to the forum!

 

[Newbie5564]

Welcome and thanks to you a gental reptile has a good home.

I think this winter is gonna be a cold one with -30f degree temps

 

[ascott]

Welcome and you have rescued a beautiful tortoise

 

[terryo]

Welcome to the forum Dana. Your RF is beautiful and what a wonderful learning experience for your children.

 

[FranklinTturtle]

What a great act of kindness. People who rescue animals are at the top of my book.

 

[Island_of_Misfit_Toys]

Thanks everyone! We were really surprised at her condition when we got her, we had prepared ourselves for the worst, especially considering the others were all too far gone. The animal welfare investigator believes she may have belonged to another family member since she was in a separate room than most of the others. She is extremely sweet and personable, especially given her background. It didn't take her long to settle in and start walking around like she owns the place. And she really loves her new big brothers. She gets plenty of attention from them, they have been very involved in every aspect of her care. They watch over everything she does and report back if they think she's doing something she shouldn't. We've always taught them to respect animals, and I believe with respect comes love. It certainly has in their case.
As for other animals...yeah we have a "few." Currently two cats, a dog, two chinchillas, two fish tanks plus a separate puffer fish. We have lovingly named our little zoo The Island of Misfit Toys (thus the user name) since all but one have come to us as either rescues or abandoned to us. The rest of the world may have given up on them, but they found their way to our little sanctuary and we love them.

 

[Sky2Mina]

Welcome and great you could take her in and seem so enthusiastic
The Torty looks great! A talented skater as well.

 

[Jacqui]

Welcome to the forum!