Tort was "free to great home" SHOULD’VE been "TERRIBLE OWNERS. NEEDS RESCUING" PICS

[Beverley]

Poor tortoise, it really has been through it, I am so glad it has got an owner to take care of it now and hopefully with a lot of tlc it will improve over time.

[jenc]

Poor little tort , I bet he is so glad to of found you. Well done for rescuing him

[Chris Ralph]

I was stunned by your story. Well done for rescuing the little chap. I am sure he will florish under your care. Don't forget to keep us updated with his progress.
lots of luck
Chris

[Pretty Penguin]

I am so saddened by this. At least now the little one has a chance. I wish you all the luck in the world with bringing him back to health.

I can understand your anger at the previous owners, but please don't be too quick to condemn... It is very, very difficult to judge another - there is an old Indian saying 'Do not judge another until you have walked a mile in his moccasins'. I find it comforting that the previous owners did there best to rehome this poor tortoise to a good home.

Anna

[ME SHELL]

I sat here stunned as I read your post, I am so glad you rescued him. I'm sure he will thrive under your care. Please keep us updated with his progress.

[Paulg1]

that poor animal has endured more horror then anything should have to go through. I may have used a sledghammer on the people. It does show the tenacity of the little guys will to live obviously. He will need lots of love. eg. heat,calcium,uv, good food, and a better house. If you possibly can I'd suggest getting him out of that stupid fish bowl. I'm glad you've saved him from any more torture.

[cazzykins]

Oh gosh That's really awfull... I didn't realise that shell actually had a colour! Well done for rescuing the poor mite. And as other's have said, congrats on the baby, and fingers crossed with your job!

[loogielv]

wow. thank you all so much for the kind replies. You all made me feel like i've made a difference with this poor little guy. Now if I can just get him eating...

Originally Posted by Jackie Stone

Thank goodness you were there to save him,what did the previous owner say when you turned up?were they embarrassed?

Good luck with your job and new baby

They didn't really act like anything. More like they were doing me the favor by letting me take him. The husband did mention they were a bit overwhelmed with him and having to feed him daily. Other than that, I dont believe they knew they were housing him so badly. I believe they did have the diet part down ok and they were using calcium/d3 supps, but no UVB.

Originally Posted by purplelinda

well done you!, i would take him to the vet, you may be able to get help with his bills, dont know what it is like in the states, but in the uk, you can apply to a animal welfare group for help, some vets will even help if its a rescue case, why not ask your vets for help, all animals are entitle to some free vets treatment if suffering

dont be too hard on the last owners, there are many whom would have just thrown it away, at least they give it up and did make some attempt to find it a good home, they could have done a lot worst

i hate to sound awful, but if you cant afford the vets bill or cant make arrangements to defere, you make find it better to pass it over to a rescue, at least you would have played a part in saving it

Believe me, I have every intention of letting him go if at ANY point I can't properly care for him. I would never forgive myself if I was to become one of those people who puts his passion for animals above the health and happiness of an animal. It's my passion that will make sure he is cared for in the best possible way.

Originally Posted by Jackie Stone

I wonder if your local paper would be interested in this story,maybe they would help financially for vets bills especially with a new baby on the way

Originally Posted by Pretty Penguin

I am so saddened by this. At least now the little one has a chance. I wish you all the luck in the world with bringing him back to health.

I can understand your anger at the previous owners, but please don't be too quick to condemn... It is very, very difficult to judge another - there is an old Indian saying 'Do not judge another until you have walked a mile in his moccasins'. I find it comforting that the previous owners did there best to rehome this poor tortoise to a good home.

Anna

Jackie, that might be an idea, however I can't help but feel sorry for the original owners. I know they were housing him terribly and that they could've avoided all this with 5 minutes on the internet and a few hours in home depot, but I still wouldn't want to call them out like this. I believe they truly did think he was housed well enough (again, 5 minutes on the internet would've set them straight) and only after they started to slack on his daily routine did they get rid of him. That part is noble.
Pretty Penguin, I agree, there is no need to judge people without knowing the whole story, and had the people said "we really messed up, this turtle is falling apart and we feel it's our fault" or "we've been neglecting him for months and we feel too guilty to let it continue" or even "we got the stupid thing, hated him, so let him rot in a glass tank. someone come get him" If the people had said somethign along those lines, I wouldn't have been so mad. Animals need rescuing all the time from owner ignorance and that's acceptable when you realize you've messed up and just want the best for the animal.

In this case, the owners made it seem like his well being was in their best interesest, and copying the housing requirements from russiantortoise.org is laughable because the part that they copied clearly says "no glass, need to burrow, deeper substrate" etc etc. I'm quite sure they asked one person who happen to know about their dietary needs and never bothered to find out their housing needs and never did one iota of research there after. That is inexcusable. Don't pretend to know, when you obviously have never spent a second learning.

ok rant over. I will let the owners be at peace and can only hope I can help him, and if not, he WILL go to someone who can. I promise

[Conor]

wow, pretty grim...

[lindso3000]

that's terrible - reminds me of bowser we rescued in December. His conditions were bad but not quite this extreme. Well done for saving him x