What kind of tort is this?

[Yvonne G]

Well, if she ever saw a Russian tortoise she would have wondered why her ground turtle looked so different. No, there is no such thing. No wonder there are so many deformed and sick turtles and tortoises. Doesn't anyone do their homework anymore?

Yvonne

 

[Isa]

That is so sad, it seems like she does not care! How can she think this poor little one is healty!

 

[Oogie]

lol...good job! although, she's probably really pissed at me for tattling on her to others

i've seen SOOO many box turtles in that condition (more often worse)...the pics just make me cry!

the reason i emailed her to begin with was to let her know that there are turt/tort rescues that would take it for free, in case she couldn't find a buyer. i'm just hoping the new owner she found for it saw the pic and felt really sorry because they knew it was neglected...maybe the thing has a chance at a real life now.



_________________
I sent her an email telling her it is a box turtle and the aquarium she's keeping it in isn't suitable, and if she doesn't find someone to take it off her hands to please do some research on box turtles and upgrade her care as the turtle shows signs of severe neglect.

Yvonne

 

[dmmj]

OMG I love russian ground turtles, as much as I love unicorns, gryphons, and white rhinos. pretty sad this guy was kept like that. when I saw him I was reminded of scooter he has got his own website I believe. And we can certainly throw lots of blame on the owner, but isn't it also possible that this was some kind of birth defect. Dont think I am exscusing the condition he was kept in. Just my 2 cents worth. Here is hoping he went to a better home who knows how to take better care of him.

 

[Yvonne G]

I'm sure occasionally this happens through no fault of the keeper. Not everything in nature ends up perfect. We see so much in humans, why is it unreasonable to think it doesn't occur in animals too?

Yvonne

 

[Oogie]

well...based on the fact she thinks it's a russian ground turtle...it's safe to assume this was NO birth defect!

had she actually done due diligence to learn HOW to care for the turt, she would have found out it was NOT a russian ground turtle.

i believe it was unintentional negligence.

 

[Maggie Cummings]

Poor tweezer, at least he is being takin care of now. If you dont mind me asking what conditions was he in and for how long, to cause such deformity?

As I recall he was raised in a 2 gallon aquarium and not fed correctly. The saddest part is that I have had him for about 5 years and he is only 6 yrs. I have tried everything I know to get him to eat anything and I've tried to turn him around and get him healthy, but nothing I do changes him. I have given up and I feed him baby food about 3 times a week. I've tried not feeding him and then offering food to make him eat, but he just doesn't care. He can go longer without eating then I can allow. So I feed him baby food from syringe. He opens his mouth and readily eats....but he won't bite a bug or bite any fruit...or eat normally. He used to bite bugs off of tweezers, but no more...that's why his name...

 

[Jentortmom]

Poor guy, I really hope the new caretakers do there research. Maggie your little tweezer reminds me of my little Rocky. He is almost 3 and for the first 2 1/2 yrs he lived in a 10 gal tank w/ alpalpha pellets. Fed only romaine, mealworms, and strawberries. They hibernated him every year for 6 months (turned off his lights). Luckly Rocky eats, but he thinks he is a person and not a turtle. It's so sad, and the sadest part is she got her information from the breeder.

 

[jorrow]

Poor turtles, thank god for people like the both of you.