Other Turtle Discussion :: What to do with a rescued turtle?

[xsavingsaturdayx]

Ok so my girlfriend called me this morning and told me she had found a red ear slider near her house,I told her it was probably a wild turtle and that she should just release it back into the nearest water source.But then she told me its not likely that the turtle is wild,because if it was then he or she would have to cross one super busy major highway and navigate about 5 miles to her neighborhood.She found him upside down covered in dirt,struggling to get back on its feet.Im over her house now,and we put the turtle in a 10 gallon rubbermaid with a water heater thats keeping the water at 78 degrees and we put some fake plants floating around so that he or she can hold on to,because its about the size of a quarter maybe smaller.Were not planning on keeping it,we want to find a good home for this little guy.We have called about 30 maybe 40 vets asking them if they can somehow help us and they all tell us "no,we are not allowed to do that" we tried finding reptile rescues around Florida but the ones we found are 7 hours away and we dont drive so theyre is no way we could get over theyre.We even called the reptile rescues from upstate FL asking them if they could please find someway to get this little guy a home,and they said they cant and the only way is for us to go over theyre.We are not giving up though,right as im typeing this my girlfriend is calling a few vet offices.Anyone have any advice,or does anyone want to take this little guy in? Thank you

[Muirner]

And i assume your g/f lives in FL as well... Wish i was closer.

[xsavingsaturdayx]

Yes,she does...im afraid to ship him to someone or someplace.This little guy is tiny...and i dont wanna stress it out.

[Muirner]

i understand that 100% i wouldnt want him/her to go through all that hassle. I hope someone near by can help you

[xsavingsaturdayx]

Yeah,i have heard of "safe shipping especially for animals" but im kind of uneasy about it,thanks and i hope someone near by can help me too.Ill try and get some pictures later tonight.

[BullDog]

Maybe you could put a "found" ad in your local paper... If it's not wild, as you suspect, someone may have lost it and is looking for it...

[xsavingsaturdayx]

Ill try that i guess,i dont know how to do that though.Do you just call the newspaper and tell them? Do you think its a good idea, because im worried that if the owner does pop up and claim his or her turtle that they might have been keeping him in rough conditions.The turtles shell is extremely soft,like if you push down on it gently it caves in a little bit.Im thinking of taking it to the vet and seeing if anything else is wrong besides his shell being soft.

[BullDog]

Yup, usually you just call the classified section of the newspaper office. That is the tricky part about the owner's setup though... Maybe you could casually ask them about their setup? If you find out it's not great, you could direct them to this site, or at least give a few suggestions?

[Kallistos]

Don't you have an animal shelter close to you? Something like a Humane Society or ASPCA. Some Petsmarts are taking in turtles and putting them up for adoption in good habitats, unlike the ones that they sell. If it's about the size of a quarter I highly doubt that it's someone's pet. Not many people release turtles that size, it's when they're over 4 inches that they let them go. The 10 gallon rubbermaid will last for quite awhile so take your time and don't get too stressed out.

[xsavingsaturdayx]

Thanks for the advice guys,this turtle looks like its been through hell today so until we find a good home we are going to try to give it 'food,clean water,warmth' we do have a Humane society..it was the first place we called and they said that they only take in dogs and cats..they gave me a couple of phone numbers to reptile shelters but they are all hours and hours away,and unfortunatley i dont have a drivers license and neither does my girlfriend.The turtle has been doing good though,we gave him some reptomin and he ate a few sticks.We have yet to see him bask though,but i know that it can take time.I am going to try calling petsmart..i just dont want them to sell it to someone who has no clue about turtle keeping,so i wanna make sure it goes for 'adoption' and if they actually question and explaine to people about the costs and responsibilities that comes with him.Once again,thanks.

[marisa]

On the chance that you haven't, have you tried www.turtlehomes.org ?

[xsavingsaturdayx]

Thanks marisa,i filled out an application.I just have to wait until they get back to me.

[steve]

Here are some more, including one in FL...

www.redearslider.com/links_adoptions_rescues.html

[sneakyburrito]

man, i would be more than happy to take that turtle off your hands, my 500 gallon pond is vacsnt to another turtle. if only i didnt live all the way in VA

[xsavingsaturdayx]

Here are some more, including one in FL...

www.redearslider.com/links_adoptions_rescues.html

Thanks steve,and by the way,do you know exactly "how safe" it would be to ship a turtle thats barely an inch?Because the link you gave me directed me to "turtle rescue usa" and its in central FL which is around jacksonville and im all the way in miami and its a realy far trip,so im guessing the only way to get the turtle over theyre is by shipping but im just worried about how they will handle the turtle inside that package .