Foy
New Member
I'm Rick from Fort Myers, Florida. I've never had a tortoise before the Red Foot I've discussed in another thread came along although I am a Gopher Tortoise aficionado from way back. I've been doing a census and taking pictures of Florida Gophers for years now and still go out several times a week looking for new burrows and tortoises. They are a Federally protected species so all I do is photograph, try to sex and age them and just watch.Usually one of my grandchildren rides along on my Atv with me to use their sharp eyes to see the ones I miss! They love Gophers as much as I do!
For those not familiar with them Gophers can live 60 yerars or longer and weigh as much as 20 pounds.
Anyway, we, my 2 grandchildren and I, now have a Red Foot to care for. Interestingly the day we found the Red Foot in our yard my daughter who lives just down the road called me about a Gopher Tortoise that was in her yard. Since there are no burrows in her yard and all the neighbors have tight fences I knew something wasn't right. It looked okay if a bit thin so when it was still in the same spot 3 days later I called the Florida Gopher hotline and talked to a specialist there. I suggested and she agreed that I take it out to CROW, a wild life rescue on Sanibel Island, where it could be assessed. When I picked it up my daughter noticed the outline of a piece of adhesive tape on it's back which I assumed to be a label someone had put there to assert ownership. To add further mystery to my tortoise story I was telling one of the neighbors who told me he had found what was obviously a Sulcata in his from yard several weeks before.
My thought is that as we live in an area of dirt raods and are a bit secluded someone dumped their unwanted tortoises and sped off into the night. Who knows how many more are out there?
The photos are Florida Gophers
For those not familiar with them Gophers can live 60 yerars or longer and weigh as much as 20 pounds.
Anyway, we, my 2 grandchildren and I, now have a Red Foot to care for. Interestingly the day we found the Red Foot in our yard my daughter who lives just down the road called me about a Gopher Tortoise that was in her yard. Since there are no burrows in her yard and all the neighbors have tight fences I knew something wasn't right. It looked okay if a bit thin so when it was still in the same spot 3 days later I called the Florida Gopher hotline and talked to a specialist there. I suggested and she agreed that I take it out to CROW, a wild life rescue on Sanibel Island, where it could be assessed. When I picked it up my daughter noticed the outline of a piece of adhesive tape on it's back which I assumed to be a label someone had put there to assert ownership. To add further mystery to my tortoise story I was telling one of the neighbors who told me he had found what was obviously a Sulcata in his from yard several weeks before.
My thought is that as we live in an area of dirt raods and are a bit secluded someone dumped their unwanted tortoises and sped off into the night. Who knows how many more are out there?
The photos are Florida Gophers
