Injured gopher tortoise

[SinLA]

 

[zovick]

I read all of their replies here and on Reddit and never saw them mention a location outside of "a big city" & in close proximity of a zoo. . . Where did you see they're in FL?

Also, if these people were located in CA, they most probably would have identified the tortoise as a Desert Tortoise rather than a Gopher Tortoise.

 

[zovick]

Thanks everyone who commented. We got her to a vet first thing this morning and she is still there but the vet says she'll be ok. She'll be on some meds and we'll need to change her bandages often.

That is excellent news. Good luck with the healing process.

How is the dog? And what breed is it? Just curious.

Hopefully you didn't treat the dog too harshly. They really do think tortoises are chew toys.

 

[TechnoCheese]

No...It is my experience with California and Arizona regarding Gopherus agassizii in the same situation as yours they will euthanize a tortoise kept illegally. These organizations are responsible for the care of the wild populations and will automatically euthanize one kept as a pet...I personally would not call FWC...why would Florida be any different?

To my knowledge, Florida handles their tortoises differently, and the FWC is VERY serious about gophers and their conservation. I am highly doubtful they would euthanize her and remove a tortoise from the breeding pool that has the potential to lay hundreds of eggs unless they absolutely had to. I can find no record of this being common practice. Here is a recent example with 4 gopher tortoises that were confiscated, with plans to be released back into the wild: https://winknews.com/2023/07/11/gopher-tortoises-cage-100-degrees-fwc/#:~:text=During the investigation, the homeowner,a protected species in Florida.

This confiscated tortoise was immediately released: https://m.jpost.com/omg/article-760772

I have also asked a couple of tortoise keepers in Florida if they’ve ever heard of illegally kept but otherwise rehabilitatable gophers being euthanized, and they’d never heard of it. I suppose that doesn’t necessarily mean anything, but any public report of confiscated gophers I’ve read has mentioned release and/or rehabilitation. If any Floridians know that it is common practice for them to be euthanized, please correct me.

I will not go into detail, but based on the information that was in the Reddit post, this tortoise does need to be turned in to FWC. This tortoise should not be kept captive, especially not with the conditions that led to this injury. There are some very important details surrounding the acquisition and care of this tortoise that have not been shared in this thread. I will leave it at that. Spreading that they euthanize every illegally kept tortoise, when there is no evidence I can find of that, is very harmful. It keeps people illegally poaching them from ever handing them over, and keeps people from reporting crimes. But again, if I am wrong about the common procedures for confiscated tortoises, someone please let me know.

 

[SinLA]

Also, if these people were located in CA, they most probably would have identified the tortoise as a Desert Tortoise rather than a Gopher Tortoise.

True, good point!