Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Ok so here's my dilemma: to save the turtle (maybe illegal) or let it die.

To start from the beginning, I live in San Jose California and I like to visit a park that has artificial ponds in Cupertino. Nothing against Asians or anything (since I'm also Asian), but they can't seem to keep their pets for more than a couple of years, save for the few responsible ones. Here are the animals that I've seen that shouldn't be at the park: a mandarin duck (with wings clipped), a RES (saved by me), a koi that probably died later, and some other aquarium fish. I don't keep koi so I didn't try to save it but I would've liked to if I had the time. Anyway, just yesterday I found another RES basking on a rock in the middle of the pond and I wondered where exactly they're coming from. There are NO other streams or ponds for miles and it's known for a fact that a certain flea market dealer sells RES below 4in to the Asian community. So I naturally suspected that the owners are just throwing them out. Wow this is a long post but bare with me. So the question is, is it illegal for me to take the RES that was released by someone else? If I don't do anything it'll probably die, the wild ducks keep eyeing it. When I rescued the first RES it had a messed up foot and the nails were gone, over time it healed and now lives in my 50gallon tank. That was over a year ago and I just wanted to know if I will get into trouble if someone sees me taking a turtle from the pond. I would really like to save this one aswell.

I would check with your local DEC or even animal control to see what the rules are. Generally speaking a non-native specie is not under any specific rules with regard to capturing them.
You would just need to check with the local authorities to confirm if this is the case. I suspect it is.
With regard to the Mandarin duck -- don't automatically assume that that was dumped. Believe it or not they are very good climbers and can scale fences even if their wings are clipped.
Steve

Yeah go check first, don't attract any illegal attention. BUt I seriously doubt anyone cares. The turtles don't belong there as it is.

Down south of you, I can tell you there's a bunch of poor RES in Mile Square Park's pond, Huntington Beach Central Park and oh there's another pond I can't remember the name..but turtles are dumped all the time at these places.

You're in CA, right? Sliders ARE NOT native to CA, so take all you want! In fact, it's illegal to release them, so you are doing the turtles, the state, and the environment a favor by taking them from the pond.

The turtles are probably being released by buyers that didn't realize how much work a slider really is, or how big they will get. If you want to help with this, there are a few things you can do.

One would be to check and see if there are any reptile rescues/herp or turtle societies in your region. See if they would mind if you leave any of their brochures or flyers in local places like the vet's office, grocery store posting boards, and rescue-friendly pet stores. Believe it or not, most Petco stores will let you post an adoption flyer or educational brochure in their store. Hey, I'll mail you one of the MATTS "slider homes wanted" flyers if you can't find a group locally. We're in MD, but I'll ship if the right home becomes available. I'm sure there is a branch of the CTTC close enough to you, though, that will do adoptions. These posters help make people aware of what a turtle really needs, and also makes people know that there is a place to adopt if they want a turtle.

You can also help to get the word out about the turtle club or herp society, if there is one. Offer to find newspapers and Pennysaver type publications that will let you post community news for free, so that you can post announcements for up-coming meetings or to post descriptions of turtles that are up for adption.

The next thing to do would be to report those stores that are selling hatchling sliders. You can look in the blue pages of the phone book for the regional FDA office. Call in a consumer complaint to the FDA, giving them the exact address of the store and dates you saw the turtles for sale.

Good luck with your new turtle, and thanks for helping them out.

Katrina

Thanks everyone. Unfortunately I can't seem to find the RES anymore. I'm going to back later though.

I'm from PA and our fish and wildlife commission has a lot to say against people releasing RES in PA where they are not native.

Sadly, in PA non-native (captive released) RES are starting to form wild populations and choke out native species. Not what mother nature intended. People should realize this and never release non-native species.
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Jesse Rothacker
Forgotten Friend Reptile Sanctuary
Find out how YOU can get involved in reptile rescue...
www.forgottenfriend.org

Why rescue it? I say this because wouldnt this turtle actually fair better in the outdoors in a place like CA?
There are many released turtles in my area. They get huge. I imagine some would have never lived 1/4 the time they did in the hands of the irresponcible people who bought them to begin with.
Dont misconstrue what I mean. I dont agree with releasing anything but ask why remove it from a way better enviroment than it would have in captivity? I ofcourse assume its hot there and plenty of food for it.

I doubt any RES (or any other reptile) can survive comfortably at 40F or below for more than a few days without leaf covers or places to hibernate. Even so, I'm not going to sit around and let it possibly infect the wild duck population with diseases. Also, the ducks there nip at their feet. The first one I found had it's back nails ripped out and it took awhile to grow back. Anyway, I never did capture this one, I don't really know what happened to it, it has been over a week and I fear the worst. While it is a good place to live for people, San Jose isn't a reptile friendly place during winter. It's just too cold, sometimes almost freezing.

Oh it gets colder there than I thought. Good luck.
Luis

Cold is not a problem for sliders and 40 degrees can be handled without a problem. Sliders are capable of hibernating all Winter long underwater when temperatures drop into the below the freezing mark.

As far as the toenails missing that is not likely from a duck at all. It is more likely from a fungal infection or perhaps a bacterial infection that the animal is or may have experienced.

Sliders are very resilient animals. It is best that if possible you get this one out of that pond but it will not die because it has been released there. The reason you have not seen him is because the temperatures are dropping and he is staying under the water which is warmer than the air temps.

I live in New York and our sliders come up in our pond (backyard ponds) to bask in November and December when we experience days that are 50 degrees or higher. Then they submerge during deep freezes and reappear just fine in the Spring.

Steve

I agree. Two of my adoptees (large male sliders) went into a 500 gallon pond in DC. There is no leaf litter or silt at the bottom of the pond, but they hibernated just fine last winter.

Katrina

It's not about whether or not the animal would fare better.
When you are releasing non-native species into the environment you are risking upsetting the balance. Sliders are very hardy animals and very prolific ones too. They can crowd out native species. Also -- there is always a chance of introducing some kind of disease into the pond from that turtle that native species may not be able to tolerate OR possibly the reverse. The slider may pick something up from the local population of animals. It is best to remove them from the environment that they do not belong in for the sake of the native animals as well as the slider.

Steve