Lost - 1 Tortoise

[Damp Squarie]

If its yours let me know.
It just wandered into my front yard. Its about 8 inches long and oval shape.

I love it.
I dont want to give it back
Its myprecious ,,,,,,,,,

What do I feed it?

 

[MightyFighting]

Originally posted by topjars
Its oval shape.

You don't say.

Originally posted by topjars
What do I feed it?

Tortoises only drink the blood of the innocent.

 

[CharlieG]

In all likelyhood, it is a wild animal. I'll post some pics of species present in your area, and we'll see if its any of them.

If it isn't, I wouldn't worry about feeding it just yet. I'll find a link to the SA wildlife authority for you. They'll be able to find out if there's any Port Pirie keepers missing a turtle (tortoises are land dwelling, by the way).

That, of course, would result in you not being able to keep the turtle. If that is your intention, then do you have a pond in your backyard? If you do, then that should, depending on the species, be adequate.

You can feed them fish, worms, insects such as crickets or woodroaches, the occasional baby mouse. We have a snake-necked turtle which we primarily feed seafood marinara, a combination of octopus, calamari and a couple of other slimy things. That's not really necessary though. Whole food items are much better than cut up or processed foods, but they can't be bigger than the animals head.

If you wish to keep it inside, it's much more complicated. You'll need at least a 3-foot aquarium. You'll also need lighting - a UV flourescent light and preferably a basking light as well. A 40W spotlight is fine for basking. Much easier to keep outside.

 

[CharlieG]

Just looked it up - the only species that occurs near your area is the Eastern snake-necked turtle. Does the turtle you found look like this?

If its a snake-necked, then you shouldn't have any problems keeping it outside. They occur much farther south than Port Pirie.

 

[crudbucket]

Give it to Dean Rioli, he'll have it for smoko ...

 

[NICK THE PIE MAN]

I found one in my backyard also on Friday.

 

[Damp Squarie]

Originally posted by CharlieG
Just looked it up - the only species that occurs near your area is the Eastern snake-necked turtle. Does the turtle you found look like this?

If its a snake-necked, then you shouldn't have any problems keeping it outside. They occur much farther south than Port Pirie.

Sorry for my tardy reply.
Yes its just like the photos.

 

[Damp Squarie]

What a wonderful past 12 hours its been.
It slept the night in a tub with a rock and water.

I have a Tenterfield Terrier called Milo; a bitch; who has gone as Yella as the turtles belly.....sorta jealous...

Its intrigued, ****-scared and hungry all in one {The dog I mean}

 

[MightyFighting]

I'm just imagining the dog trying to eat the tortoise.

...Hours of fun?

 

[CharlieG]

Ok - sorry I haven't got back to you... computer's been sick. I don't know whether I'll be able to get on here anytime soon.

BTW - my paragraph on feeding is a little deceptive - "whole" prey items refer to feeding the entire animal, ie to feed fish whole includes bone and scale. Whole prey items can be cut up, but "cut up" food items is, for instance, giving it fish fillet pieces. Do you understand what I mean?

It's quite possible that the turtle is wild, in which case the best thing you can do is set it up with a pond in the backyard - feed it, and it'll quite possibly stay there whether enclosed or not.

If you don't have a pond in your garden, do you have an old kiddie pool? That can work just as well. As long as the animal has a) enough water to submerge in, b) dry areas where it can leave the water and c) access to sunlight, an outside pool or pond is going to work brilliantly.

Otherwise, it's an inside set-up. This can still work quite well, but is more complicated, as I said, as well as expensive.

You'll want to try feeding it within a couple of days. Don't panic if it doesn't eat - it most likely won't, until it adjusts to its new circumstances. Turtles can last for a long time without food... post here if it isn't eating within a couple of weeks, but don't stress.

Keep handling to a healthy level - a brief hold each day will help it adjust to being handled (if its a wild animal) without stressing it too much.

 

[dreampolice]

I want one. Do they come in other flavors?

 

[sp-mac]

Originally posted by crudbucket
Give it to Dean Rioli, he'll have it for smoko ...

It probably is Rioli's. By the looks of him lately I would back the Tortise to be able to run away from him.

 

[Essendon Fan]

They are so cute!
I will have to get one oneday

 

[Damp Squarie]

Originally posted by CharlieG
Ok - sorry I haven't got back to you... computer's been sick. I don't know whether I'll be able to get on here anytime soon.

BTW - my paragraph on feeding is a little deceptive - "whole" prey items refer to feeding the entire animal, ie to feed fish whole includes bone and scale. Whole prey items can be cut up, but "cut up" food items is, for instance, giving it fish fillet pieces. Do you understand what I mean?

It's quite possible that the turtle is wild, in which case the best thing you can do is set it up with a pond in the backyard - feed it, and it'll quite possibly stay there whether enclosed or not.

If you don't have a pond in your garden, do you have an old kiddie pool? That can work just as well. As long as the animal has a) enough water to submerge in, b) dry areas where it can leave the water and c) access to sunlight, an outside pool or pond is going to work brilliantly.

Otherwise, it's an inside set-up. This can still work quite well, but is more complicated, as I said, as well as expensive.

You'll want to try feeding it within a couple of days. Don't panic if it doesn't eat - it most likely won't, until it adjusts to its new circumstances. Turtles can last for a long time without food... post here if it isn't eating within a couple of weeks, but don't stress.

Keep handling to a healthy level - a brief hold each day will help it adjust to being handled (if its a wild animal) without stressing it too much.

What a day!
It began by letting the turtle out of its bucket and into a pond about 1 metre by .5 metre x .2 meter deep.

I made it up last nite and filled it this morning.

Ive fed it 2 crickets, 2 bits calamari and dicedfine chicken breat......to no avail.

It finally pigged out on some pink salmaon that I had in the fridge.

Its VERY active and walks further than you think when you dont look ...so to speak


I went out into the trusty Flinders Ranges this morning and collected grey black rocks to surround the waters edge.

Looks cool.

 

[dreampolice]

So its the fish john west reject?

 

[Docker_Brat]

Apparently a tortoise is knackered if you put it on its back. So really you need two and glue them together so that they're unstoppable.

 

[Damp Squarie]

It turned turtle 3 times in the pond yesterday and righted itself quite quickly.
I came home today only to find it MISSSING!!!

It got out under the mesh.....not b4 pulling into the pond, small rocks to stand on and get leverage.

Brought and fed it Turtle food today
(35) small tiles of mince stuff =$ 5

It gulped it down....I was able to hand feed it too.

My lad ( Blues fan) named him Kouta....I said weeelll, its probably a girl anyway.

 

[Rough_Edges]

I want a tortise, you lucky bugger topjars.

 

[Tim56]

Originally posted by dreampolice
I want one. Do they come in other flavors?

They go very nicely with my special oyster sauce.

 

[CharlieG]

Originally posted by topjars
What a day!
It began by letting the turtle out of its bucket and into a pond about 1 metre by .5 metre x .2 meter deep.

I made it up last nite and filled it this morning.

Ive fed it 2 crickets, 2 bits calamari and dicedfine chicken breat......to no avail.

It finally pigged out on some pink salmaon that I had in the fridge.

Its VERY active and walks further than you think when you dont look ...so to speak


I went out into the trusty Flinders Ranges this morning and collected grey black rocks to surround the waters edge.

Looks cool.

Sorry this is so late... I've managed to be on here for no more than a few minutes in the last 3-4 days.

Sounds like you've got it down pat. I'm assuming you have a dry area that the turtle can access?

The commercial turtle food is a bit of a rip-off, though... You're better off focussing on seafood and insects - you can get a lot more mileage out of them, but if you're happy with the commercial stuff, go for it. It won't hurt.

Here's some websites for you to check out, if you're interested...

www.kingsnake.com

http://reptile.senet.com.au/

http://www.kingsnake.com/australia/index.htm

http://www.australianreptilesonline.com/

Enjoy. Warning though, reptiles are an addiction.