General Care Discussion :: Rehoming A Turtle

[staceyloobug]

No. Not mine. I <3 my turtle.

My Dad's roommate up and left in the night and left behind his RES. He's upset, because he can't take care of it (my dad's retired on disability - he is very ill, which is why he had a roommate to help him with his bills and errands), and wants to do the right thing. I have a turtle, so he asked if I wanted it. He clearly doesn't understand that the turtle's going to need a huge tank (I think this turtle is in a tiny tank, although I've refused to look at it or go into the room to see it because I knew if it wasn't well taken care of, I would be upset, and no one was going to listen to me (believe me, I tried) about turtle care). I said I just don't have the money or space (I'm in a 2 bedroom condo, and I couldn't invest money into it anyway, as I'm laid off with the rest of America right now).

He said he'd take it to a lake, which is clearly what my Dad's generation did. Set it free! But not only is that illegal, I think it's a terrible idea. I said before doing that, he should take it to a petstore, which clearly doesn't sound as "You're Free!" as the first option, but it's the most responsible, right?

We live in a rural economically-depressed area, so anyone we rehome this thing to is not going to get care it needs, and even if we take it to a petstore, it won't get proper care there. I'm really sort of upset with my back up against the wall.

[missibsu]

What area do you live in? Many states have rescue operations (although usually overcrowded). They may be able to give you some advice.

[trudykurz]

Where do you live? I'd like to help

[theartbook35]

One thing you could try is calling the SPCA in your area. They are typically very good about hearing the story and helping out to get animals adopted.

A lot of people also post ads on Craig's List to rehome their turtles. Rehoming pets is not against the rules, you'll see if you read carefully. There is an add recently that my friend posted up about a 180 gallon tank, for $400 I believe. It's still cheaper than the price her husband got the tank for.

What area are you in? I happen to be in the New England/CT (United States if you aren't in the US) area.

I can't necessarily afford another turtle myself, but, I have two friends who I know would love to have another turtle. One has raised turtles for years, has had I think over 10 throughout his life, the other has parents who have a big pond and he's been around turtles for years too.

[TheComputerGremlin]

Remember not to assume that whoever adopts this turtle will not take care of it. Just because we are economically-depressed doesn't mean that people aren't willing to invest in a pet turtle. Someone may have the equipment left over from a previous pet and be able to reuse it, and there are plenty of people that still have jobs, sadly, when some of us don't.

Don't take it upon yourself to find "the perfect home", just look for a better home than right now. The other option is to have the turtle humanely euthanized, which is terrible, but better than releasing it or leaving it in sub-par conditions. If you do find an adopter, just send them our way! We're happy to help out!

Oh, and theartbook, I'm concerned that you have a friend that has had over 10 turtles in his life, I hope they are all still alive? Otherwise, with turtles having a lifespan of like 40 years, he'd need to be awfully old ...

[trudykurz]

I wouldn't trust Craigslist at this point with what's been on the news! I ask again, where do you live? I would love to help out if possible. Please don't put the turt in the wild. Let us help give you options.

[theartbook35]

I wouldn't trust Craigslist at this point with what's been on the news! I ask again, where do you live? I would love to help out if possible. Please don't put the turt in the wild. Let us help give you options.

I haven't heard anything about the site lately... I don't go on there very often, anyways. They do have a lot of explanations on the site about staying safe, though.

Yes, please do not put the turtle in the wild. And please don't have it euthanized either. There are so many better and easier options in the world than those two.

[Diamondbacks4Life]

I wouldn't trust Craigslist at this point with what's been on the news!

They met under the adult section on craiglist. asking for trouble when you doing that kind of thing. It wasnt like i wanna buy your sofa..etc and he killed them.

Anyway my experience with craigslist is nothing but the best. I sold 3 turtles and I got about 20 emails. I was able to select the best home. They were a nice little family i met. The turtles went into a niced sized pond they built.