Rescue question- URGENT

[attben]

Hey all,
im currently in sardinia, and i was wandering around an abandoned building site outside of Olbia and found what appears to be a Marginated tortoise (pictures attached) in a concrete drain hole. there was no in-or outlets to this, it was literally a 1x1 metre box buried in the ground with a metal lid that was open. no way (s)he could have got in there without falling in (or some jerk putting him there). naturally i picked the wee guy up and put him/her outside. i then carried him/her a few metres (10-20 or so) away and put him into an underpass that was slightly under water (1cm or so, thinking (s)he might want to drink). im aware they cannot swim but the water was nowhere deeper than 2cm. again, picture attached. is this ok? will (s)he be alright? (s)he didnt show signs of injury and (s)he moved around slightly.
thanks
-ben

 

[BILBO-03]

I wouldn't leave him there some owner probably just dropped him off maybe you can give him a better life

 

[Gillian M]

A very warm welcome to the forum!

Are you intending to keep the tort? If so, please give him/her a daily soak in warm water so as to avoid dehydration and pyramiding, keeping your tort warm. I know that Italy is very HUMID (luckily enough for the tort).

Read the "Beginners Mistakes" Thread and ask ANY question when in need of help.

 

[attben]

oh no i am flying back tomorrow. i simply saved him/her from the hole. i want to know if putting him/her in the underpass in a cm of water was a good idea. (see the picture) it's not super far for him to crawl away and out into the arid/ditches. check the pictures. im just extra conscious about this cause i dont want to make mistakes. i felt so sorry for the wee guy/gal..

 

[attben]

I wouldn't leave him there some owner probably just dropped him off maybe you can give him a better life

i'm going to finland tomorrow. not a big fan of the climate, (s)he probably extra won't be. also why would someone drop a tortoise into a cement hole in the ground they can't get out of? that's terrible!

 

[Yvonne G]

Well, you made two good guesses. It IS a marginated tortoise, and judging by the sunken in eyes, he's pretty dehydrated!

I would try to find some sort of animal rescue place and turn the tortoise in. I don't think it's a good idea to leave it in an area where he might get run over by a car.

 

[attben]

Well, you made two good guesses. It IS a marginated tortoise, and judging by the sunken in eyes, he's pretty dehydrated!

I would try to find some sort of animal rescue place and turn the tortoise in. I don't think it's a good idea to leave it in an area where he might get run over by a car.

it was very far away from a motorway. as i said, it was in abandoned estate approximately 10m from the underpass here:
https://www.google.it/maps/place/40°59'52.8"N+9°34'28.9"E/@40.997072,9.5745381,150a,20y,7.03h,35.88t/data=!3m1!1e3!4m5!3m4!1s0x0:0x0!8m2!3d40.997986!4d9.574693?hl=es
(the marker shows almost exactly where the hole is)
it's an abandoned dirt path, 10-15m from a railroad track (that i dont think could be climbed by the tortoise and is elevated and behind fencing and a lot of vegetation, and far away from the actual road).
you think i did alright?

 

[Yvonne G]

Yes, you did the right thing. And since marginated tortoises are native to Italy, maybe it's a wild tortoise and that area is its home range.

Some tortoises don't have depth perception. It is feasible that it simply walked off the edge and fell into the box. Can you cover the box so this won't happen again?

 

[attben]

Yes, you did the right thing. And since marginated tortoises are native to Italy, maybe it's a wild tortoise and that area is its home range.

Some tortoises don't have depth perception. It is feasible that it simply walked off the edge and fell into the box. Can you cover the box so this won't happen again?

the area is quite far from where i am now (i have to take a train that runs every 1:30hrs) and tomorrow is my last day so i can't check on the wee guy..
i did however close the box
thanks very much for your feedback. i hope the tortoise is ok. i love these wonderful creatures.. what a random (but lucky) thing to happen, eh?

 

[Yvonne G]

Yes. You (and the tortoise too) were very lucky to have seen a wild tortoise. I've been interested in turtles and tortoises for over 30 years and have never seen them in the wild (not counting water turtles)

 

[attben]

im glad. the main reason i was concerned was cause i know they are not water dwellers but i was concerned about his hydration so i put him in very shallow waters (1cm, picture). i hope he's fine <3

 

[Tom]

Thanks for taking care of this little tortoise.

The cosmic forces of the universe will reward you!

 

[GingerLove]

You did great! Since his eyes were sunken in, he did need water. Good for you! As long as he could get out of the water when he wants, he's good to go!

 

[attben]

Follow up!
I actually went back just before i hopped on the jet just to make 100% sure the tortoise is ok.
(S)he wasn't anywhere to be seen, so that's definitely a good thing. I also closed another hole off.
Let me share some pictures! The first one is the original drain hole (now closed) that i found the wee guy in.
The second is the drop site. Since the tortoise was gone i'm happy to say (s)he must have recovered and wandered off..

Third picture:
I did actually see another wee guy crossing the street on the way to the airport, so i picked him/her up and moved him/her into an overgrown area further away to make sure (s)he won't get run over..

THANKS TO EVERYONE FOR THEIR HELP AND COMMENTS. Take care.

 

[GingerLove]

Now do you want a tortoise?

 

[attben]

Now do you want a tortoise?

heh i love them, theyre certainly super wonderful (i love all animals though), but i dont think i could handle the responsibility.

 

[GingerLove]

Aw, sure you could. If you're responsible enough to move two tortoises to safety..... just saying.