Reptile & Amphibian Forums

On Monday my lawn guy came to take care of my yard, and when he was finished, he forgot to close my back gate, and my sulcata "Sulley" escaped through it, sometime on Monday afternoon. If it wasnt bad enough that he was out, a child that lives a few houses down from me found him wandering and he and his dad decided that my sulcata tortoise was a turtle and took him to a local pond, and released him on the bank
My husband and I and several others have been going to the pond area everyday since Monday night, searching and searching, I also made some posters that I have put all over the utility poles in the area, also I contacted animal control, the humane society, daytona wildlife rescue, and the local herpetological society. Does anyone have any idea of a way to coax him into plain view??? The biggest problem here is the fact that the area is very overgrown, and I can only assume that he has gone into the wooded area, as he is probably scared. He is 2 years old, and only about 6-7 inches long. I have spent this week crying and crying, and waiting for my phone to ring (of course).

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Leyla (and poor sulley) x

Sorry to hear that. My fingers are crossed for you.
John
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"To be the best..........You must lose your mind."

Don't lose heart! Read my posting from a few weeks ago "She Once Was Lost But Now She's Found"...miracles DO happen!
And I'm keeping my figers crossed too.

It's like looking for a needle in a haystack, but your best bet is to go to that area when the sun first comes up and check open sunny areas, where he would come out of the brush to warm up for the day. Good luck.

But like edmund said, don't lose heart. As long as you live some place rather warm (I live in Colorado) you still have time to find him. One thing I would be worried about is someone else finding him and deciding to keep him. This might sound kind of weird, but you might consider posting caresheets in the same areas as your missing posters. That way if some not-so-honest person finds him, there is still some hope of your little guy recieving proper care. Good luck in your search! I wish I could come help you look!
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3.5.1 leopard geckos
0.1.0 leopard tortoise
0.1.0 asian leaf turtle
1.0.0 ball python
0.1.0 adopted cat
0.1.0 hamster

Well, after a long weekend of wory and searching, we still have no sign of him. I am not ready to give up yet, we have tried all times of the day, and we will continue to search.

Thanks for all of your support, it is very much appreciated.

Leyla x

Sorry to hear about this. Keep looking for him. Just something
I thought of - mine always heads east when loose. He did this
at our old house too, and here - I don't know why. He'll check
the sun position then walk east, and if I turn him around to head
back, he really drags butt. He also will come out in the morning
around 8 a.m. looking for water and start basking. You'd be
surprised how very very far they can walk too, I'll bet he's
nowhere near that pond at all anymore, a week away he is way
down the road from there. When we do search and rescue for
people (I'm land search emergency rescue technician qualified),
we figure the furthest they could be away and work in.
People tend to be close to where they were last seen because
they walk in circles. Keep looking for him, but expand your
search area immensely. I wouldn't even be looking around the
pond anymore after the first day. good luck, also make sure
you offer a "huge reward" you don't have to say how much. $50
is huge for some people.

Just wanted to say thank you for your kind words of encouragement, and tips on finding my baby, he was found today, by my lawn guy, who spent hours searching for him this morning. He is in great health, a little dirty, and hungry, but after a bath, a big meal, and a good drink he is back to his old self again, the strangest thing is, when I set him down at home, he went straight for his food dish, and seemed totally unaffected by the whole ordeal (meanwhile I was sitting here crying for a week!!!) Anyway, again many thanx to all.

Leyla x

Im so glad you found Him!!!! Where was he found?

A neighborhood child had found him a few houses down from me, and he and his dad came to the conclusion that he was a native florida turtle (????) and had taken him to a local pond area about a mile and a half away and set him there on the bank of the pond, after a week of searching, my neighbor found him wandering around in that spot, munching on grass. It is wonderful to have him home again, and he is doing extremely well.

Ley x