Driving through the woods on my way back from shopping yesterday morning, No 1 son and I found the above Tortoise wandering along the road.
He's (I imagine he's a he) a big boy; he must weigh over a kilo.
Goodness knows where he came from; maybe he was abandoned by a returning holiday-maker, or simply escaped from someone's garden. I don't think he's wild; they're usually found much further to the south.
I'll ring the Vet' to see if he's been reported missing. If anyone wants a huge Tortoise, you know where to come....
He's been temporarily named 'Corbyn'.
He is a beauty!
ReplyDeleteand looks well cared for.
DeleteHe's very handsome, but we don't really want him. I'm hoping we'll find him a good home.
DeleteHe'll make someone a good frind for life - for a few lives.
ReplyDeleteI expect he's already quite old. My son suggested 40.
DeleteThat's not old at all if he's a tortoise!
DeleteIf we lived nearer we would adopt him, my husband loves tortoises. I wonder how long he had been travelling?
ReplyDeleteNo idea; strange to find him in the middle of the road.
DeleteI think your tortoise is actually a turtle, see the webbed feet? He's probably come out of somebody's pond, or a nearby ditch. Better get him back to water soonish I think...
ReplyDeleteI think it's a 'Painted Turtle'. I'll take it to the lake.
DeleteWe have turtles around here and I often see them crossing the road. On occasion, we have picked them up and helped them along. If the one you found is a pet, I hope you find his owner.
ReplyDeleteThere was no nearby pond, or house. Very strange.
DeleteI thought it was rather an exotic looking tortoise. Turtle makes more sense. I wonder where he had come from.
ReplyDeleteI suspect someone may have dumped him.
DeleteDo you ever see them in lakes and ponds Cro ? .... I wonder if he is wild or if there is a little girl or boy breaking their heart ?!!!!! XXXX
ReplyDeleteI've seen them in Greece, but not here. I'm still waiting for the Vet' to ring back; someone must have owned him.
DeleteHe was having a nice holiday until a couple of idiots in a car came along and thought he was lost.
ReplyDeleteI'm not talking to you any more. What happened to your page? Have you abandoned us?
DeleteDear Rachel, hoping you are only taking a little break. xo
DeleteRachel will not be beaten in the charm department, will she. Wonder how she'd fare lost in the French countryside and, heaven forbid, found two FRENCH men. Most likely scratch their eyes out.
ReplyDeleteDon't underestimate the Corbyns of this world, Cro. Tortoises/turtles may be slow - but don't be lulled in a false sense of security. I know this because, once upon a time, in absence of any other pet, I "kept" an assortment of garden snails. I'd named them all. My favourite being "Amanda". She was stately. Their gorgeous home (shoe box and rent free) lovingly interior designed by me - giving them a varied landscape. In my presence I'd let them frolic in their own little outdoor garden; both my mother and grandmother donating the outer leaves of heads of green salad to feast on. Paradise. Or so you'd think.
Turn your back for five minutes - and those ungrateful swine had fled and left me heartbroken. That was when I learnt that even the slow can be pretty damn fast.
U
Oh dear, ungrateful beasts. Snails must be similar to Cats, showing no allegiance to one particular human.
DeleteWe sometimes see turtles on the gravel walkways by the ravine and near the kids park and baseball diamond which is gravel. Someone told me they lay their eggs in the gravel.
ReplyDeletePerhaps ours is female, and was heading off to find some gravelly ground. Who knows!
DeleteI think he/she will make a splendid addition to Haddocks - pity about the name though.
ReplyDeleteI was not responsible for the name... it was the children. He seems to sleep a lot.
DeleteThey love leftovers, especially raw meat.
DeleteI thought they were veggie.
DeleteTo determine gender turn it upside down. Males will have a concave belly and females have a flat belly. Put it in a shady moist spot under some foliage in your garden and give it a piece of banana or pineapple and it won't go far. They also love lettuce.
ReplyDeleteHe's got a nice shady spot and plenty of food. He seems quite content.
DeleteI grew up about a mile from a university campus that included a lake. College Lake was home to lots of turtles that sometimes wandered off. Whenever we'd find one in our back yard, my Dad would put it into a box and drive it over to the side of the Lake.
ReplyDeleteThere are lots of turtles living over in the Central Park Lake, and another area called Turtle Pond. Some of those turtles are quite large.
Please keep us updated on Turtle Corbyn.
As soon as the children are all gone, I'll take him to the lake. There may be others there.
DeleteNow I know the difference between a turtle and a tortoise! Hope she / he finds the right home soon.
ReplyDeleteBREAKING NEWS: Lady M has taken him down to the Vet's, and they accepted him happily. End of story!
DeleteI saw one of those things in the garden at Saint Johns Hotel in Athens, back in 1982. Never have seen any quite like it here, maybe there are not any in Appalachia. We have little ones though. I have been nearly run down a couple of times getting the damn things off the road before some jackass runs over them on purpose.
ReplyDeleteGlad this guy was taken care of.
He's with the Vet's; no doubt they'll find him a good home. I do hope so.
DeleteMy Brother and Sister in Law are parents to several endangered Desert Tortoise that have been too injured and or removed from their native range and can not be returned. They work with the local vet who is the tortoise healer.
ReplyDeletecheers, parsnip and thehamish
Your critter is a Painted Turtle...as mentioned above...
ReplyDeleteThey are far from being a veggie...they eat fish and carrion.
They are an invasive species in France, and carry some sort of virus that the native European Pond Tortoise is not immune to... It is "contre la Loi" to harbour them...and certainly, please, do not find it a lake somewhere!! It must not be released back into the wild, sorry... You are now stuck with it.
Tinned dog food is the best sunstone ce for them...and some raw fish...in fact, given today's post, cut some long lengths of bamboo...tie on some string and a fishhook...and send the kids to catch it some supper.
The reason they are in France...and the U.K...is all down to the Ninja Turtle era...they were sold as pets as little baby turtles...grew to big and dangerous [they have a nasty bite]....and parents, unwilling to kill the disastrous invaders...let them go in a nearby pond...where they grew big and fat eating our native crayfish, perch, carp, dragonflies, damselflies....et etcetera, etcetera.....
So, please, keep it as a pet for the next thirty years...or more...
But, don't release it back into the wild!!
Bleedin' predictive spelling...for "sunstone ce"...please read "sustainance"....
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