Lost tortoise now found after 9 months!

Tracy Brown

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Mar 12, 2017
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Okay. Last summer we lost our two year old tortoise. He escaped from his outdoor habitat! We finger tip searched the garden for weeks, but to no avail. I was quite optimistic at first, but after several weeks and as the autumn drew in we gave up and accepted that he had probably been killed by he family of foxes that live in our garden, or he had frozen to death during the winter. We cleared his indoor run and put it in the garage.

Today somebody knocked on our door with our lovely tortoise in their hands 9 months after he first went missing! They had found him nearby and had knocked on several doors before finding his home. He seems ok, a little bigger, quite cold and not very active.

I'm still a novice with tortoises and believed such a small tortoise would have not survived the winter or hibernation. But he has! We have spent today setting up his home again and giving him a little lIke warm bath and he has settled on his slate under his heat lamp for the rest of the day. He hasn't eaten anything yet.

Ok so questions I have are:-
Should I take him to the vet to get checked over?
Is it ok that he doesn't seem interested in food? Will it take a while?
Any other tips? I'm still in shock that we have him back and want to do my best for him.

Thanks in advance. :)
 

Jodie

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That is great! He will have to get warmed up to eat. I am assuming this is a Russian? I would keep his enclosure75 to 80F day and night, daily soaks for several weeks. Basking area 100F of course. What a survivor!
 

JoesMum

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Well done. Soak your tort for 30 minutes daily in warm water to make sure its hydrated and make sure that it can bask as 95-100F/35-37C and your tort should emerge from its winter torpor in the next few weeks and get back on the right track.

It does take time for torts to start eating after hibernation and daily soaks are essential. This tort will have hibernated itself :)
 

Tracy Brown

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He is a Hermann tortoise - (actually not sure whether it's a he or a she). He is actually my 14 year old sons pet. Bless him he cried this afternoon when he got him back and spent all day by his side.
 

Tracy Brown

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IMG_4082.JPG We live in Suffolk, UK. It's been minus temperatures here over the winter, he's still only a few inches long. The sun has been out today (although still only about 10c) and he was found in the middle of a footpath. Excuse the newspaper we had to rush out and buy supplies!!
 

JoesMum

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View attachment 201954 We live in Suffolk, UK. It's been minus temperatures here over the winter, he's still only a few inches long. The sun has been out today (although still only about 10c) and he was found in the middle of a footpath. Excuse the newspaper we had to rush out and buy supplies!!
I am in Kent, a bit further south but not dissimilar from climate. With rehydration, warmth and feeding you should be back in business :)
 

Yvonne G

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Holy cow. . . that's just a tiny baby. How lucky he was found!!!!

Welcome to the Forum! We have a great care sheet pinned at the top of the Hermanns section.
 

surfergirl

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A very special day when this happens ! Not the usual expectation with a such small tort being lost. Rare to get them back. I am so happy for your son. I know he must have been so heartbroken when he was missing. Woohoo, Happy day!
 

JoesMum

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@Tracy Brown

If you would like to post pictures of this tort's enclosure and lighting, we'll be happy to check it over for you. After 9 months you are probably trying to get everything back together in a hurry, so we can advise as you go along.

As you're new to TFO, I'll direct you to these links that you may find helpful. They're written by species experts working hard to correct the outdated information widely available on the internet and from pet stores and, sadly, from some breeders and vets too.

Beginner Mistakes
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/

Hermann's Care Guide
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/sticky-hermanns-tortoise-care-sheet-updated.101410/

Soaks should be done in a flat-bottomed bowl with high sides that your tort cannot see over or through. A washing up bowl is ideal.

The water should be warm but not hot, think baby bath, and needs to be deep enough to come just up over the join between the shell and the plastron (undershell) Change the water if it goes cold.

I find it most successful first thing in the morning before the tort has warmed up properly.
 
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