Came across a gopher tortoise, please read

Quote:

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Originally Posted by WebbyD

It's currently sitting in a blue plastic tub with some lettuce.
My girl wants to keep it but because of it's current status as vulnerable I want to make sure it has the best chance at a good life.

What do you guys think I should do? I like it and want to keep it but I don't think that's best.

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First off lettuce is not a healthy food, no nutrients.

If it is vulnerable wouldnt removing it do more damage than good.

He must be released back where you found him. Turtles/Tortoises have a homing instinct. They will search and search for their home if removed. He will die looking for his home :( They mostly stay in a area the size of a football field.

I am happy you let him back into the wild. There are plenty of rescues that you can get a turtle or tortoise from. People collect them from the wild and lose interest because they dont play fetch, they are not very exciting, lol. A captive bread Red Foot Tortoise hatchling can be had for $150 or so. Red Foots have awesome personalities and will follow you like a small dog when a adult. Many pet shops sell sulcatas/african spur tortoise, they get HUGE! The pet shops forget to tell buyers that almost all the time :mad: Do some reading, get a rescue or a CB hatchling and follow the care sheets, online ones not pet store ones! Here is a cool forum for tortoises...

http://tortoiseforum.org/index.php

^^not sure if that is considered spam, if so PM me for link^^

Thanks again for releasing him :)

Yay you let him go, did you get a quick pict first?