Gaithersburg, MD Lost Male Reptile, Bruno Is Missing

Jdm A.

8 months ago

Dustin Dodsonumm because you're letting them outside. I'm not saying they don't deserve to get outdoor time but duh you should expect to lose them if you do that and aren't watching every second. This is why I didn't understand. I thought people were losing them from being inside.

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Dustin D.

8 months ago

Jdm Al I have an outdoor enclosure. One of our redfoots has found a way out twice. Our large male pushed a hide against the wall and that allowed her to climb out. The second time she dug out. Both times we have corrected the issues. Things happen. :)

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Mid-Atlantic T.

8 months ago

Jdm Al The answer is, it's easy. We get calls for about a dozen lost and found pet turtles and tortoises a year. 1) Turtles and tortoises are faster than most people realize, and if they are scared they dig under vegetation in a heartbeat so that they can't be seen, so even turning away for five minutes while a turtle is outside in the yard can result in a missing pet. 2) It may have been stolen from the yard or enclosure. 3) Turtles and tortoises can dig under fences and enclosure walls. 4) Turtles and tortoises can CLIMB rather well, especially in corners of enclosures. Put a "cap" on at least the corners of an enclosure that doesn't have a lid to keep a pet from climbing out. 5) Gates can be accidentally left open by utility workers and children. 6) Storms can bring down trees on fences and enclosures. 7) Heavy rains flood backyard ponds and outdoor stock tanks, allowing turtles to climb out of them. We even know of an instance when a hurricane flooded a box turtle pen and the box turtles floated out. 8 ) Sulcata tortoises are like mini tanks that can go through chain link fence, break some gates, and even break through some rock walls, depending on how large they are (they get up to 200lbs). One sulcata we know of learned how to slide open a gate that was on rollers (so he could fight a male on the other side of the wall). Here's a Russian tortoise that was caught climbing by wedging himself between two posts to work his way up.

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Mid-Atlantic T.

8 months ago

Just so there's no confusion, this is a tortoise species native to South America. It is not native to the US, and it will not survive our winter.

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Jdm A.

8 months ago

Sandia Lorrainebecause who gives a about being that technical. A lot of people just say turtle just like people call a tissue a kleenex or a cotton swap a Q-tip. And a tortoise IS a turtle actually. So get off your high horse.