General Care Discussion :: Escaped!

[spaz]

lol ... one of my turtle got out ... spent 2 weeks in the house .. (which we turned upside down lookin for him) and just when i gave up hope he came crawling out from under the carpet ... interesting isnt it ....

[crabgrass]

We like to put Chomp outside sometimes in the summer. We use a little cage with no floor, so he can sit on the ground, and we make sure he has access to some shade and water.

One day last summer my husband put him out in the yard .. but he did not properly secure the sides of the cage .. close to the ground .. and Chomp must have crawled underneath and escaped!


Through a miracle, our neighbor found him in the street when she was walking her dog .. it was already after dark!

We were amazed at how fast he must have traveled .. we live on a lake, and he was already halfway to the water .. he had traveled across two families' back yards in about half an hour!!

I think it's amazing that he knew exactly which way to go.

[novroz]

maybe it will sounds a bit exagerate but it's true!! my kame knew her own house.

I always let her out to catch the sun whenever I'm not working and I will look at her from 2-4meters away....and to my suprise (at first) she went back to our front door when she felt tired.

For your Information: My frontdoor and my neighbour's frontdoor is only seperated by 2 meters

[crabgrass]

LOL I try to explain to Chomp:

Yes I understand: the lake looks really good in summertime!

(But now in March, I think he would miss his 78-degree aquarium and people who give him food?)

To be a wild turtle or to be a pet turtle?


Haha sometimes I think we should attach to him a small radio transmitter, like in wildlife documentaries on television ... Then let him spend summers in the lake & retrieve him in autumn to return inside. (Hmmm what would that cost? About $40k?)

[wisperin9 shad0s]

wisperin9 shad0s - First, 20 gallons is probably too small for the turtle. Even filled all of the way (which allows for escape attempts), that is good only for a 2 inch turtle. I'm going to guess that your turtle is getting bigger than that, if not already much surpassed it. The bigger the tank you can buy now, the less you will spend in the future upgrading.

Oh, and egg crate is sold at hardware stores, not pet stores, and it's sometimes called light diffuser. You will need to cut out pieces where the basking lights need to shine through because the bulbs will melt the plastic, I believe.

Thank you much, we got the egg crate as you suggested =)

[wisperin9 shad0s]

My turtle got out a lot when she was trying to lay eggs. Since then, she hasn't gotten out. Is your turtle a female?

It's not four inches yet, only about 3, so we don't know yet.

[pickerbp22]

if they escaped from the tank how do they not get hurt from the impact of the fall to the floor? thats crazy. hard shell or what. sorry if this is a dumb question i just never had my turtles escape

[untsmurf]

Mine escaped once too. He fell probably about four feet to the carpeted floor then crawled through/over all the luggage under my bed and hid until I got home. When I found him, I swear he grinned at me. I almost wanted to pop him on the behind when I put him back in the water

But yes, turtles are amazing climbers. Mikey still attempts to escape on a weekly basis but his home is fortified now, no more escapes.