New owner of an unidentified tortoise!

[zinaida69]

Hello!

We are now the proud owner of new tortoise unexpectedly. We were hanging out in our front yard and heard rustling in the bushes and to our great surprise we found this little gal or guy. It seems as though someone had released their previous pet into the wild(which is horrible!) His shell looks pretty bad, its peeling and chipped and the edges are chipped, but other than that it looks ok. We will be taking him/her to the vet. Can you help us determine what kind of tortoise he is? We have no idea. Thanks so much!

Natalia and Josh

 

[JacksonR]

That's a box turtle. It likely is wild, never being a pet. Depending on where you live.

Hello!

We are now the proud owner of new tortoise unexpectedly. We were hanging out in our front yard and heard rustling in the bushes and to our great surprise we found this little gal or guy. It seems as though someone had released their previous pet into the wild(which is horrible!) His shell looks pretty bad, its peeling and chipped and the edges are chipped, but other than that it looks ok. We will be taking him/her to the vet. Can you help us determine what kind of tortoise he is? We have no idea. Thanks so much!

Natalia and Josh

 

[Neal]

Very old 3-toed box turtle. Male.

 

[jackrat]

It's a box turtle. Unfortunately,I don't know what kind. There are some folks on here who are a lot more qualified to tell you exactly what you have. LOL Thanks,Neal.

 

[wrmitchell22]

If you keep him, he looks like an little old man and you should name him something along those lines, lol, just a thought He is cute. Where abouts are you from?

 

[zinaida69]

That's a box turtle. It likely is wild, never being a pet. Depending on where you live.

Well, we live in Boise, Idaho. They are not native to here. He seemed to like being in our tub versus outside.

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If you keep him, he looks like an little old man and you should name him something along those lines, lol, just a thought He is cute. Where abouts are you from?

Well, our daughter named him Chip since he has chips in his carapace. He seems to enjoy our company. How long do these guys live normally? Everyone seems to think he is old and we were wondering how they can tell.

 

[dmmj]

He looks old, the shell and stuff like that they can usually live 60 years or so.

 

[Neal]

Everyone seems to think he is old and we were wondering how they can tell.

His shell. In a younger turtle you will be able to see the growth lines and it will appear more rigid. This one has a smooth carapace and no growth lines visible. Time, sunlight, burrowing, etc... will wear down the shell to what yours looks like now.

 

[zinaida69]

Thanks everyone! So how do we care for these little guys? Neither of us has ever had a turtle and we obviously didn't have time to research before he came wandering into our lives lol!

 

[ascott]

Ahhhh...you can still research even though he popped up on ya....as a matter of fact I believe we all still research our own guys for all new/updated stuff....well, I know that I do

So, get to surfing here on the forum....you are lucky that there are alot of folks here that have these awesome little guys

and he is so handsome

 

[Laura]

i think you should try to locate the owner.. post a generic ad on your loca craigslist lost and found and pet section.. put up a few flyers...

lots of them escape. make the person describe thier tortoise/turtle to make sure its thiers.

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi Zanaida69:

Welcome to the Forum!!

Your new little box turtle is a 3-toed male box turtle (Terrapene carolina triunguis).

Found ads are free in the newspaper, and you can put up fliers on the utility poles around the neighborhood.

 

[dmarcus]

Hello and welcome...

 

[cemmons12]

Poor old guy, I am glad someone found him. You will find all the info you need to care for him on here. Good luck with your new little one! And welcome!!

 

[wrmitchell22]

Good luck with him, Chip is a great name!

 

[ALDABRAMAN]

Welcome.

 

[RV's mom]

welcome to the forum. Handsome Chip....

teri

 

[DesertGrandma]

keep us posted

 

[Angi]

Welcome and good luck! Read read read, you can learn a lot here.

 

[zinaida69]

Thanks for the welcome everyone! So we posted on craigslist just in case someone did lose their turtle but so far no responses! We are taking him to the vet today just to make sure he ok. We really love our little Chip and want the best care for him so I already ordered 2 books online then more research on here as well!!