??'s about a lost sulcata

[KarenSoCal]

My friend Lynn has lost her 12 year old, 100 lb sulcata, Boulder. He escaped his fenced yard through a gate that was not properly secured. Unfortunately, I am the one who did not secure it properly 😭. I can't stop crying and am being eaten up by guilt, as well as being heartbroken because I love the goofy guy.

This happened on Fri evening, so he's been gone 4 days. At 7:00 AM on Sat, he was seen by a neighbor about a half block from home. At 8:00, he was seen by another neighbor about 2 blocks away, but on the next street over. That is the last he's been seen.

Lynn, me, and 2 other friends have been out searching during the hours that he is normally up and about, daylight to about 9 AM, and around 4PM to 6 PM. We live in the desert in a small community of houses. The area is packed sand, very rocky areas, and some soft sand like a beach. Scattered everywhere in the desert are mostly bushes, hundreds of them...creosote, palo verde, tumbleweed, mesquite, and others I don't know the names. Many of these bushes are the size of trees, and their branches grow all the way to the ground, making it impossible to see under them....and there are hundreds of them.

Yesterday, (I wasn't with them)...the friends found a poop from Boulder, about a quarter mile from home. We've found nothing since. We have done all the usual things...hiking everywhere we can think to go, alerting the animal shelters, putting up posters, and spreading by word-of-mouth. We've also been doing a lot of praying, not only to find him, but for his safety from coyotes and dogs.

We have a few questions. Does anyone have an average distance per day that an adult sulcata might travel when he's lost? If one finds his way home, what sense does he rely on the most...smell, sight? Does anyone know for sure if they can hear our voices, or is it all vibration? Would he likely just wander for days, or would he stop somewhere and dig a burrow? And finally, does anyone have a good photo of a sulcata's footprints? We see tracks here and there, but we don't know if they're his. Just too many critters out there.

This is what our landscape looks like, minus the mountains. We have mountains, but not that close.

 

[wellington]

@Tom
Tortoises don't try to find their way home like a dog might.
He likely will travel in all directions hiding away in shade in the hottest part of the day. Best time to look would be in the morning once the sun is up. He will want to warm himself up from the cooler night.
He should be trying to also graze in the morning after he's warmed up and late afternoon when the hottest part of the day has passed.
So sorry this happened to your friend and you. Don't give up though, they are usually found.
Be sure your friend gives him a soak when found as he will have been without water.

 

[Yvonne G]

Aw geez. I'm so sorry this happened. I feel for you, kiddo.

They usually just keep marching in the direction you saw them go, so continue your search following the direction of the last sightings.

 

[KarenSoCal]

@Tom
Tortoises don't try to find their way home like a dog might.
He likely will travel in all directions hiding away in shade in the hottest part of the day. Best time to look would be in the morning once the sun is up. He will want to warm himself up from the cooler night.
He should be trying to also graze in the morning after he's warmed up and late afternoon when the hottest part of the day has passed.
So sorry this happened to your friend and you. Don't give up though, they are usually found.
Be sure your friend gives him a soak when found as he will have been without water.

Thank you, Barb. Some of the things I looked at while walking the streets is the flower gardens in some front yards. Unfortunately, I didn't find any that had been eaten. He would mow them to the ground.

 

[KarenSoCal]

Aw geez. I'm so sorry this happened. I feel for you, kiddo.

They usually just keep marching in the direction you saw them go, so continue your search following the direction of the last sightings.

Thanks Yvonne. All of us that know him well think that given a choice, he might head toward houses rather than "wilderness". He's friendly and curious. If he keeps going too far, he will be out in a huge area of open desert like the pic above. We've walked some of it, but it really is a gigantic area to try to cover, with no water and very little food.

And of course, EVERY rock looks just like a tortoise by now. My eyes are tired. 👀

 

[SinLA]

Do you know anyone with a drone or could you buy a drone?

 

[ZippyButter]

I pray that you and your friend will find him sooner than later. Perhaps after this, we could think about putting a tracker device on our huge friend in case this accident happens again. It's just a thought.

 

[KarenSoCal]

I pray that you and your friend will find him sooner than later. Perhaps after this, we could think about putting a tracker device on our huge friend in case this accident happens again. It's just a thought.

I like your suggestion and maybe we'll try that. I'm concerned that he'll just scrape it off when he goes into his burrow.

 

[KarenSoCal]

Do you know anyone with a drone or could you buy a drone?

I could buy one. What would I need to get? Do you really think we could see a sulcata in the desert with one?

 

[SinLA]

I know jack-all about them, but I do know they can have very good resolution, but I don't know about cost, etc. Probably more technical people on here than me, but you probably could also go to Best Buy for advice or worst comes to worst, look on Amazon...

 

[vladimir]

You might be able to find people with drones as a hobby that would jump on the opportunity to help. You could try asking the local fire department, they might use them and be able to help.

 

[SinLA]

You might be able to find people with drones as a hobby that would jump on the opportunity to help. You could try asking the local fire department, they might use them and be able to help.

That's a GREAT idea actually. Post on nextdoor or even your local high school A/V club (if those things still exist), I bet people would love this as a project

 

[Tom]

My friend Lynn has lost her 12 year old, 100 lb sulcata, Boulder. He escaped his fenced yard through a gate that was not properly secured. Unfortunately, I am the one who did not secure it properly 😭. I can't stop crying and am being eaten up by guilt, as well as being heartbroken because I love the goofy guy.

This happened on Fri evening, so he's been gone 4 days. At 7:00 AM on Sat, he was seen by a neighbor about a half block from home. At 8:00, he was seen by another neighbor about 2 blocks away, but on the next street over. That is the last he's been seen.

Lynn, me, and 2 other friends have been out searching during the hours that he is normally up and about, daylight to about 9 AM, and around 4PM to 6 PM. We live in the desert in a small community of houses. The area is packed sand, very rocky areas, and some soft sand like a beach. Scattered everywhere in the desert are mostly bushes, hundreds of them...creosote, palo verde, tumbleweed, mesquite, and others I don't know the names. Many of these bushes are the size of trees, and their branches grow all the way to the ground, making it impossible to see under them....and there are hundreds of them.

Yesterday, (I wasn't with them)...the friends found a poop from Boulder, about a quarter mile from home. We've found nothing since. We have done all the usual things...hiking everywhere we can think to go, alerting the animal shelters, putting up posters, and spreading by word-of-mouth. We've also been doing a lot of praying, not only to find him, but for his safety from coyotes and dogs.

We have a few questions. Does anyone have an average distance per day that an adult sulcata might travel when he's lost? If one finds his way home, what sense does he rely on the most...smell, sight? Does anyone know for sure if they can hear our voices, or is it all vibration? Would he likely just wander for days, or would he stop somewhere and dig a burrow? And finally, does anyone have a good photo of a sulcata's footprints? We see tracks here and there, but we don't know if they're his. Just too many critters out there.

This is what our landscape looks like, minus the mountains. We have mountains, but not that close.

View attachment 350760

They can walk miles a day in warm weather.

Plot the points of the sightings and poop on a map and see if they line up. If they do, he's probably still walking in that direction during the day and hunkering down at night. Use a compass to keep you on track, but also give attention to natural features that might push him off line. Binoculars will help tremendously.

It is possible, but unlikely that he would turn around and come home.

They can survive for months with no food and no water, so don't give up. Search all day to find him before the nights start getting too cold.

Let me know if you see any jack rabbits out there while you are searching.

 

[KarenSoCal]

@Tom
Are you saying that he will decide on a bearing and continue cross country? If he encounters something insurmountable and is forced to veer off course, does he eventually return to his original heading, or does he change his direction until the next obstacle? And you're saying he will walk all day long until sleeping for the night? We're having days around 100°. He won't take a siesta?

This is what I have so far. If he continues on the heading shown here, that means he's in a large expanse of desert until he gets to a major highway 😢. This is sounding worse than ever.

 

[TammyJ]

Do you know anyone with a drone or could you buy a drone?

That's exactly what I was about to suggest!

 

[TammyJ]

Can you get a search dog? That may work. I think the tortoise may be a lot closer than you may think.

 

[wellington]

Not sure this will help but. When a turtle is crossing the road. If you stop and put him on the side of the road he was coming from, he will turn and try to cross the road again. If you put him on the side he was heading, he will continue on in that direction. Same with my leopards. If I try to turn them around from the direction they were headed, they will turn themselves and head in the direction they were going before I turned them. They will do this no matter how many times I turn them. So my point is. He may veer off his direction but will likely still go back to the direction he was originally headed.
Finding someone with a drone to help out is a great idea. Also if you know someone with a vehicle, like a motorcycle/mini bike that could drive the terrain to look.

 

[Tom]

Are you saying that he will decide on a bearing and continue cross country?

Yes.

If he encounters something insurmountable and is forced to veer off course, does he eventually return to his original heading, or does he change his direction until the next obstacle?

They generally keep going in the same direction, as Barb described.

And you're saying he will walk all day long until sleeping for the night? We're having days around 100°. He won't take a siesta?

His core temp will drop overnight, and take a long time to warm up during the day due to his mass. When he feels too warm, he will seek shade, but with his insides cool from sleeping outside, it may take a while for the core to warm up each day.

This is what I have so far. If he continues on the heading shown here, that means he's in a large expanse of desert until he gets to a major highway 😢. This is sounding worse than ever.

If it were me, I would take a compass bearing and have people fan out from that last poop sighting walking out into the desert. After a week of this he could be miles into the desert. If he came to a major highway, there is a good chance he was picked up. Check with vets, pet stores and animal shelters in each direction of that highway. If someone picked up a behemoth like that to keep it from being hit, they'd probably want it out of their car at the next town in the direction they were heading.

This is all guesswork and generalities.

 

[Canchaser]

My friend Lynn has lost her 12 year old, 100 lb sulcata, Boulder. He escaped his fenced yard through a gate that was not properly secured. Unfortunately, I am the one who did not secure it properly 😭. I can't stop crying and am being eaten up by guilt, as well as being heartbroken because I love the goofy guy.

This happened on Fri evening, so he's been gone 4 days. At 7:00 AM on Sat, he was seen by a neighbor about a half block from home. At 8:00, he was seen by another neighbor about 2 blocks away, but on the next street over. That is the last he's been seen.

Lynn, me, and 2 other friends have been out searching during the hours that he is normally up and about, daylight to about 9 AM, and around 4PM to 6 PM. We live in the desert in a small community of houses. The area is packed sand, very rocky areas, and some soft sand like a beach. Scattered everywhere in the desert are mostly bushes, hundreds of them...creosote, palo verde, tumbleweed, mesquite, and others I don't know the names. Many of these bushes are the size of trees, and their branches grow all the way to the ground, making it impossible to see under them....and there are hundreds of them.

Yesterday, (I wasn't with them)...the friends found a poop from Boulder, about a quarter mile from home. We've found nothing since. We have done all the usual things...hiking everywhere we can think to go, alerting the animal shelters, putting up posters, and spreading by word-of-mouth. We've also been doing a lot of praying, not only to find him, but for his safety from coyotes and dogs.

We have a few questions. Does anyone have an average distance per day that an adult sulcata might travel when he's lost? If one finds his way home, what sense does he rely on the most...smell, sight? Does anyone know for sure if they can hear our voices, or is it all vibration? Would he likely just wander for days, or would he stop somewhere and dig a burrow? And finally, does anyone have a good photo of a sulcata's footprints? We see tracks here and there, but we don't know if they're his. Just too many critters out there.

This is what our landscape looks like, minus the mountains. We have mountains, but not that close.

View attachment 350760

My suculate tortoise got loose the same way. I looked for two weeks. One day I looked out and he was at the gate trying to get back in the yard. I think he got thirsty, and missed his treats. Leave your gate open and see if he comes home. I live on 40 acres of brush and pasture. He missed his yard with green grass, water and treats. They can find their way home evidently.

 

[wellington]

Any updates?