Help We found him/her on our drive

[Mike Smith]

We live in Kent with no direct neighbours and we are surrounded by fields and yet we found this fellow wandering up our drive The drive is a tenth of a mile long so I don't think he came from the road as we would have seen him I would have thought as we used the drive half hour before so I assume he came across the fields. I am not sure if he has just been in the wild for a long time after escaping from somewhere or just recently escaped from someone not treating him too well as his shell looks in a poor way. He doesn't seem hungry or thirsty but we have put him in a rabbit run and he just seems to want to get out. I am loathed to just let him go as we have a busy road to the side of us and if I put a found notice then you may get anyone claiming him Can anyone tell from the picture if he has been living in the wild and why his shell looks so poor and give me any advice how to care for him etc etc as we have never owned a tortoise and never thought we would. Many Thanks Mike

 

[MPRC]

I'm not any good at ID's but that is definitely a water turtle. He'll be more happy in a tub of water with a dry spot to bask under a heat source.

@JoesMum is in the UK and may be able to tell if s/he's a native turtle.
@Yvonne also knows water turtles, as does @mark1

 

[JoesMum]

Hi (I'm in Tonbridge by the way )

It's definitely not native. We have no native species of tortoises.

It looks like someone's terrapin (slider as the Americans call them) that that someone has released because it got too big. Or it's possibly gone walk about from someone's garden pond as the weather has been so warm.

I suggest that you contact your nearest animal rescue or the RSPCA.

Do not release it into any river, lake or stream. You would be breaking the law by doing so.

 

[JoesMum]

Some suggestions for you @Mike Smith

Medway Reptile Rescue
http://mlsb.org/home4reptiles/

RSPCA Reptile Rescue is in Brighton but undoubtedly has contacts
http://www.rspcareptilerescue.co.uk/

 

[Tidgy's Dad]

Hello, Mark, and a very warm welcome to Tortoise Forum.
Thanks very much for coming here to seek advice.
Sliders and other turtles are escaping and being dumped into streams and rivers in the UK and some of them are surviving and breeding.
They have emptied some ponds of fish, frogs etc and are considered an unwanted invasive species.

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi Mike, and welcome to the Forum!

Poor turtle. It looks like it's been out of water for a very long time. I suggest if you don't have a backyard pond, it would be in your best interest to contact the links shown in the above posts. Large water turtles like that are difficult to keep in aquariums.

In the meantime, put it into a bucket of water...something the turtle can't climb out of. Not too much water, just enough to cover the shell.

 

[Tidgy's Dad]

Hello, Mark, and a very warm welcome to Tortoise Forum.
Thanks very much for coming here to seek advice.
Sliders and other turtles are escaping and being dumped into streams and rivers in the UK and some of them are surviving and breeding.
They have emptied some ponds of fish, frogs etc and are considered an unwanted invasive species.

Whoops!
Sorry, Mike, i wasn't wearing my glasses.

 

[Mike Smith]

Thank you all so much for your help since I read your responses I have put a long plastic tray about 6 inches deep and propped it up one end so he can walk out of the water if he wants and it wasn't long before he walked into the water and submerged his head it doesn't quite cover his shell but nearly I have also covered this with the rabbit run and put him in the garage so if he does get out of the tray he cant go anywhere. No wonder the poor thing was agitated in the rabbit run he wanted to get to water. Thank you all so much for your help. Just don't understand people who abandon their animals we are currently looking after a cat that was pregnant and abandoned at the top of our drive She has a good life now three years on with us. Many Thanks to you all

 

[Mike Smith]

Sorry for my ignorance I did think it may be a turtle but wasn't sure Thanks again for your help I have contacted Medway Reptile Rescue for their help Kind Regards to all

 

[mark1]

markw is pretty good at id'ing these types of turtles , i haven't seen him here in awhile , but to me i'd guess a red eared slider ..... i bet he'd appreciate a tub of water , a rock and a basking light , or some hot sun

 

[Mike Smith]

Hi I seem to be having trouble contacting help I wonder if they are busy with lots of abandoned Turtles. Our one seems much happier in the water but am concerned about him eating I have read on here all the things they eat but he doesn't seem interested in food. Another thing bothering me is what happens to these poor creatures in the winter when ponds and rivers are frozen how do they survive. We have a small pond he could live in but it is the winter months that concern me as we haven't got the facilities to have him in doors during the winter. Any help would be appreciated I know this is a tortoise site but your members seem very well educated on the care of turtles. Many Thanks

 

[JoesMum]

@Yvonne G runs a rescue - in the USA sadly - but hopefully she can give you some advice when she wakes.

You could also try calling my vet surgery in Maidstone (they do exotics) http://trinityvetcentre.com/

I vaguely recall that sliders only eat food in the water and not on dry land?

 

[mark1]

he may be getting ready to hibernate and has already slowed down or stopped eating ? he certainly appears healthy ....throw some minnows , or a goldfish , with their tails cut off in the water with him , and leave him alone , it may get him to eat , or just a live night crawler ? he may relocate and hibernate just fine in your pond , but imo , if you can't find where he came from , it'd be best to keep him indoors until he's had a full summer to relocate ..... you could keep him in the fridge over the winter , but with his size and being a water turtle , you'd need a dedicated fridge ........ if your pond is a natural pond and near where you found him , it may be where he was headed anyway ? in that case i'd think he'd do fine in your pond .

 

[JoesMum]

he may be getting ready to hibernate and has already slowed down or stopped eating ? he certainly appears healthy ....throw some minnows , or a goldfish , with their tails cut off in the water with him , and leave him alone , it may get him to eat , or just a live night crawler ? he may relocate and hibernate just fine in your pond , but imo , if you can't find where he came from , it'd be best to keep him indoors until he's had a full summer to relocate ..... you could keep him in the fridge over the winter , but with his size and being a water turtle , you'd need a dedicated fridge ........ if your pond is a natural pond and near where you found him , it may be where he was headed anyway ? in that case i'd think he'd do fine in your pond .

It's nowhere near hibernation weather in Kent at the moment. I live in Kent too. We've had temperatures around 30C+ in the last few days

 

[mark1]

it's 28C today here , my turtles are already losing their appetites , it's been waning for the last couple weeks , it has as much to do with the hours of daylight as anything else ..... it's why when you keep them inside in the winter they still may stop eating ....... hibernation is actually easier on northern turtles in the northern part of their range , they all stop eating , but the southern ranging turtles utilize more energy .

 

[JoesMum]

it's 28C today here , my turtles are already losing their appetites , it's been waning for the last couple weeks , it has as much to do with the hours of daylight as anything else ..... it's why when you keep them inside in the winter they still may stop eating ....... hibernation is actually easier on northern turtles in the northern part of their range , they all stop eating , but the southern ranging turtles utilize more energy .

I have no experience of water turtles. My Greek is still going strong outdoors at the moment. Joe isn't thinking of hibernation

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi I seem to be having trouble contacting help I wonder if they are busy with lots of abandoned Turtles. Our one seems much happier in the water but am concerned about him eating I have read on here all the things they eat but he doesn't seem interested in food. Another thing bothering me is what happens to these poor creatures in the winter when ponds and rivers are frozen how do they survive. We have a small pond he could live in but it is the winter months that concern me as we haven't got the facilities to have him in doors during the winter. Any help would be appreciated I know this is a tortoise site but your members seem very well educated on the care of turtles. Many Thanks

Try offering something that wiggles - crickets, worms. They can only swallow food under water.

As long as the pond doesn't freeze solid, he/she can hibernate at the bottom of the pond.

 

[Mike Smith]

Thanks everyone for your help I contacted the RSPCA but they are so busy they couldn't send anyone round and asked me to take it to a vet for a check up Luckily there is an exotic pet Vet about 10 miles from me the other side of Ashford Kent in Smeeth so I took him to them. They are going to check his health they said he doesn't look too bad they have promised me they wont put him down and if they cant find a home or sanctuary for him we will construct a home for him next to our pond and have him back They are also going to check if he is chipped and keep us informed of his progress. Felt quite sad watching him go and its only been a day but he is in the right place. Once again many thanks for all your suggestions Regards Mike

 

[JoesMum]

Thanks everyone for your help I contacted the RSPCA but they are so busy they couldn't send anyone round and asked me to take it to a vet for a check up Luckily there is an exotic pet Vet about 10 miles from me the other side of Ashford Kent in Smeeth so I took him to them. They are going to check his health they said he doesn't look too bad they have promised me they wont put him down and if they cant find a home or sanctuary for him we will construct a home for him next to our pond and have him back They are also going to check if he is chipped and keep us informed of his progress. Felt quite sad watching him go and its only been a day but he is the right place. Once again many thanks for all your suggestions Regards Mike

Well done It's tough when you land something like this

 

[Yvonne G]

Thanks everyone for your help I contacted the RSPCA but they are so busy they couldn't send anyone round and asked me to take it to a vet for a check up Luckily there is an exotic pet Vet about 10 miles from me the other side of Ashford Kent in Smeeth so I took him to them. They are going to check his health they said he doesn't look too bad they have promised me they wont put him down and if they cant find a home or sanctuary for him we will construct a home for him next to our pond and have him back They are also going to check if he is chipped and keep us informed of his progress. Felt quite sad watching him go and its only been a day but he is in the right place. Once again many thanks for all your suggestions Regards Mike

Mike: There is no need to "construct a home for him next to our pond." His home will be the pond. They live in the water.