Survivors

[Shelly]

I thought it would be interesting to share photos of our "survivors". Those 3 legged, 1 eyed little troopers that can "take a lickin' and keep on tickin'!"

This is "Rover". He is my first tort ever. Got him years ago when a neighbor found him walking down the street. I adopted him when his owner could not be located.
As you see, he had a NASTY crack in his shell that is now all healed. He's a manly man, but I sure wish he could get my Bubbles pregnant. He tries and tries, but so far nothing.

Share your "Survivor" pictures, please!

 

[andrew71888]

I got a female red eared slider that was being attacked by geese and ants.

 

[Maggie Cummings]

I hope you didn't just want tortoises...
This is Wobbles. She is a Western Pond turtle. She was run over by the lawn mower at a commercial golf course. You can see her right front leg is missing and her right rear leg was almost severed so tendons and muscles and nerves were all cut so she has no use of it. She can't swim so she can't hunt or feed herself. Here with me she lives inside in a 200 gallon aquarium in about 5 inches of water and in the summer she's out in a preformed pond.
She is the sweetest turtle ever. She's wild and yet never not once has she opened her mouth to bite me. Her head turns sideways when she pulls it in, I was trying to show that cuz it's so cute.

This is Fat Nat. She was abused by her previous keeper so she's missing an eye and her body grew but her shell didn't so she grew out of her shell. She's a Russian tortoise. (Testudo horsfieldii)

This is an unnamed Ornate box turtle (T.o.ornata). I got a call from the SPCA in a city about 300 miles away from here asking me if I would take a male Russian who had been run over by a lawn mower and now he was healed but they couldn't find a home for him. So I drove to get him about 600 miles round trip. And as you can see he/she is an Ornate box turtle not a Russian at all. He's missing a rear leg and the more time goes by the more I think he's a male. I thought, last summer, that he was she. But now his eyes are turning red. His skin is white and getting more white, but he's not adjusting to his missing leg. He has a very hard time getting around and he won't/can't fight the other turtles for the food. I really like him. He has a cute personality but I am afraid he's not going to survive.

This is Bright Eyes. She's an Ornate box turtle too. She's blind. She can see shadows but she can't really see. She just came up one year from hibernation this way, so Yvonne gave her to me and I've had her for 6 or 7 years. She's an easy keeper. She can't see so I have to feed her, but she eats good so feeding her is not a problem.

This is Tweezer. I got him already deformed about 6 maybe 7 years ago. I have done every thing I can think of to make him eat normally. But the only way he will eat is by my fingers or tweezers. He will take a worm from tweezers but he won't bend his head down to get that same worm if it's dropped. I feed him cat food from my fingers. I think his brain is deformed as well and that's why he won't eat. Believe me I have tried everything, there is nothing I wouldn't do to get him to eat normally. I take cat food in my bare fingers it grosses me out so much I gag. At this point he's probably deformed because I starve him so I don't have to touch canned stinking cat food!!!

This is Ginger. MATTS on the East Coast contacted me because they had heard I was good with eye problems and other mental stuff. So I got Ginger in the mail. She was abused somehow and when she see's other turtles she freezes in place and the nictatating membrane over her eye swells up covering her eye ball so she can't see. I have tried everything to get her used to other turtles and people and my last attempt she almost starved herself and died. So she lives alone and I throw food at her from time to time...

Well I guess that's all the Survivors I have, except for this last one...
(kidecus bratecus), a rare species. Look at the red devil eyes on this one...

 

[Nay]

Wow Maggie, you certainly have a brood and a handful!!
And I thought at one time having 6 torts were a pain. No way will I say that again. The most I have to do with them is purchase and cut up food. Although I enjoy hand feeding. and I agree those little ornates have so much personality..
Na

 

[dreadyA]

I think orantes are among the nicest of box turtles. I have survivors, but not tortoises or turtles.

OT: i really like tyler's shirts-very different and neat.

 

[terryo]

This is little Abby. She was kept in a 2 gal. plastic tank for nine years, in 1 in. of water, when they remembered to put some in. I was at a party and one of the girls in the family told me they had a nine year old turtle and you don't have to feed it all the time, so if you want to go on vacation, she would be no bother. When I asked to see her, I couldn't believe it. She was, of course, all bumpy and her shell was very soft, but the worst part was that she was only 1 1'2 inches...at nine years old, and couldn't swim at all. I took her home, of course. She is in a little plastic tub here.

Here she is outside in a little pond and land area...the ever faithful Christmas Tree storage bin.

And here she is today...9 months later....still very small, but the winner of a photo contest.

And just to show you how small she is. She is sitting in this bird bath on that little log in the above picture that won the contest.

I have some other rescues with sad stories, but they're not turtles or tortoises.

 

[Scooter]

I don't have any pictures on this computer but about 2 years ago a rescued a sulcata that was was about 10 inches long. She had severe MBD. It took a while but eventually she was as good as new. Unfortunately I no longer have her and I don't have pictures of her on this computer.

Maggie, everytime I look through this thread I just have to stop at Tweezer. There is something about him that I just can't help but like him. Do you know what happened to him?