Special needs torts in the IE, California

[Floof]

This person is selling quite a few of their reptiles, but just copying/pasting the relevant portion.

It's vague and does not have pictures, but wanted to share in case anyone is interested in helping them... I have emailed for pics and info, and will update if/when I hear back from them.

http://inlandempire.craigslist.org/pet/3813899945.html
"... I have two male special needs tortoises one That's a year old, it's the size of a hatchling and one with only
Three legs, if you can provide that you can pay get bills, will only ask 50 for everything they have and need. ..."

 

[Jacqui]

Not a lot to work with, when he doesn't even say what they are other then tortoises.

 

[Floof]

Yeah, hopefully he emails back with more info. It kills me when people are so incredibly vague...

 

[theelectraco]

Depending on what they are, I may be interested. Let me know what species or if he gives any better details.

 

[pinkspore]

I might also be interested. I would love a 3-legged tortoise for my education program, and I know people who have worked with tortoises with that disability.

 

[Floof]

Got a reply this afternoon. I'm lazy, so I'm just going to copy and paste the email.

"They are Russian tortoises, were unsure of what happened with the yearling, he just never grew according to his previous owner, we rescued them, and were 50 dollars each, not that money is that big of an object, but they were paid for. The one with the amputy was probably attacked by a bird, when we got him, there were maggots on his leg it finally healed but he's still a bit slow, I can include pictures by the end of today, thank you for your inquiry, Kelly."

I'll update again if/when she sends pics. My room is turning into SUCH a zoo, LOL, but I'll probably wind up working things around and picking them up.

 

[Floof]

Haven't gotten pics yet, but a little bit more info: They're housed in a 10 gallon tank. They do have a UVB light, and are fed spring mix. She was pretty quick about emailing back up until a few hours ago. Hopefully I didn't say anything to offend her, people can be strange!

If she emails back, I'm going to try and pick them up tomorrow.

 

[Jacqui]

Sounding good!

 

[Floof]

Ok... Spoke on the phone with her about the torts. I should be going down to get them in the next few minutes...

Some more info from the phone call: She says she got them from a breeder who breeds them for wholesale for pet stores (?). Breeder gave them to her because one had 3 legs and the other was stunted. She says their plastrons are very soft. She says it's not calcium because there's a UVB and she uses calcium supplements, but who really knows.

I have liquid calcium on hand, so I'll get them started with a bit of that when I get home...

 

[theelectraco]

Floof you are the such a lifesaver for the torts you rescue!

 

[haidao88]

Lol I didn't read this and called them , they said someone was picking them up in an hour doin guess that's you lol, but one was a yearling but the size of a hatchling and the other was rescued and they believed it was attacked in the wild and lost a leg, good to hear they are being care for.


My tortoise Peach hates apples

 

[Floof]

Yep, just got home from picking them up. Their shells are very soft, but they're alert and active. The girl who had them is very nice--I actually ended up standing around and chatting with her for about an hour (stood around so long, I got heat stroke in the middle of the conversation... whoops... lol).

They are definitely TINY. She said the yearling hatched around August of '11, and the 3 legged one around November of '12. They are absolutely puny...

She had them in a little tank on eco earth with a Reptisun 10.0 compact fluorescent. She was feeding them spring mix dusted with calc/vit, soaking them daily and using that vitashell stuff.

I still feel absolutely horrible, so I'm going to go suck down a couple glasses of ice water real quick... Haha. Will update with pictures once I get them set up. Probably just going to scrub the crap out of the little "table" the Sulcata came with and put them in that for now.

 

[Millerlite]

Lol, gotta cool down there. From tortoises and turtles I've rescued a lot of times people just for have the right information, glade you have them, they have a second chance, hope they will bounce back

 

[thatrebecca]

Glad to hear they've got a great new home. Now have a Gatorade and upload some pix.

 

[Floof]

Haha! Still getting used to how HOT it gets out here! I'm a PNW girl, temperatures over 80 are completely foreign to me. Hell, even sunshine is a foreign concept... LOL. It probably didn't help that I spent 4 hours working on the tortoise pen in 95F weather before heading out there. Common sense? What's that?

---

Ok! Pics.

The tiny yearling (darker colored one) weighs 16 grams, while tripod (lighter color) weighs 20 grams. 3 legs appears to be somewhat puffy to me, but maybe I'm paranoid.

Tripod has already munched a little bit on mustard greens, but tiny didn't touch it. Hopefully they'll be more interested in food after settling in a bit. It's been a long day...

Tripod's missing foot...

A couple plastron shots, and then a pic of their temporary accommodations (still hunting down a shallow enough water dish).

 

[Keeblercop]

Aww, they're so tiny! I'm so glad you rescued them; I hope they do well.

 

[thatrebecca]

Oh such darling little guys! Tripod is a sweetheart. It's lovely to see them eating and I look forward to your updates. Way to go!

 

[Floof]

I'll make these guys their own thread when I get home from work, but for now I wanted to throw up a quick update.

The yearling seems to be settling in well. He's very active, and finally ate for the first time yesterday!

I am very concerned about tripod, though... He's definitely puffy/swollen. He's also more lethargic and keeps rubbing at his eyes. I haven't seen him eat anything since that little bit of mustard greens the first day.. Going to try mustard greens again this evening or tomorrow.

I was able to start squash baby food soaks yesterday. So far have done 1 with pedialyte and 1 with a bit of liquid calcium mixed in. As of yesterday, I'm taking them outside to soak and eat in natural sunlight wherever possible. I have tomorrow off, so I'll be taking the whole table outside so they can get sunlight all day long.

So, that's where we're at right now. I don't suppose anyone has suggestions/advice on how to help the Tripod?? I'm so worried about him, especially with the puffiness/swelling.