General Care Discussion :: Ivan escaped!

[DocShay]

Well, at around 2am I was putting on a tv show and dropped some pellets in my tank - Saw Leonardo and thought nothing of where ivan was.

Until I was going to peak to see if they were basking, and I couldent find him. Looked all around my tank - no sign of Ivan anywhere!

Frantically i've been looking all over my bedroom, and outside of it (basement). I have soo much stuff everywhere but I cant find him anywhere!

Is there any tips of baiting him out? I'm so worried,

Ivan please come out!

[sezzyb2k7]

dont you have a lid on your tank or anything to keep them secure?

i thought joey had gone missing yesterday and i realised he had hid himself right underneath the slate and couldnt see him unless i looked really carefully

you could try putting some live meal worms on a jam jar lid near the tank and see if he came out for it.

im not too sure though. I do hope you find Ivan

[DocShay]

Kind of hard to explain, but I built an out of tank basking area - which had a 2nd back wall on it, so I can put the tank lights that light up the tank behind it - which was about 1 1/2 inches onto the surface of the water. then the lights on that - some how ivan pushed that light up, and snuck out of a 1 1/2 inch gap...

Ah..

[nc-turtles]

have you found Ivan yet???????

[industrial_girl_2000]

Sorry, but baiting a turtle out doesn't work. They aren't hamsters & since they can't eat out of the water (they need water to swallow), food isn't usually a good lure.

You will have to get down on your hands & knees & scoot along the floor digging with your hand under every soft pile of stuff in your rooms. Grab a flashlight & inspect under every little crevice.

The few times my Sheba got out, she would dig her way under the beanbag in the living room so it was always easy to find her. Or if she found her way into my bedroom, she dug her way under a big pile of stuffed animals.

Once they DIG their way under something, they very rarely come out of there because they "feel safe."

Take your time looking for him (don't get impatient with the search) & don't leave any stone un-turned. Turtles often don't feel safe out in the open & they are looking for shelter.

Good luck in finding him! Let us know how you do.

[TheComputerGremlin]

So, you need to look in the obvious places (and even if you don't think it's obvious, it probably is). Look on the floor and under anything in the room with the tank. I doubt he's going to be able to dig/bury into anything unless you keep like clothes piles around! Then move room to room. I'd imagine he could smell some tuna or salmon, maybe put that in the middle of the room or each room.

[DocShay]

Still no luck...I feel i've lifted up every object in my bedroom, basement area, bathroom downstairs and sisters room!

Oh ivan, please come out!

[megcornell]

Check every dark, dusty corner you can think of. He's most likely laying low in some quiet area...

I hope you find him!

[Dein211]

try looking around warm places. *shrug* its worth a look and usually turtles will wedge themselves in places you never would have thought they would fit

[DocShay]

I can't believe where I found him! He was behind my TV in my bedroom, where I had a TON of old boxes, and bags of random micelaneous things - he dug himself to the very bottom middle of it!

I thought he was dead at first, eyes closed - not the slighest movement, everything tucked in. Picked him up and put him in a bowl of water - still nothing. Then about a minute later he popped out finally!

Checked and looked for cracks, then put him back in the tank (after re-turtle proofing it). Seems to swim fine and eat fine, not really struggling with anything.

Thank god hes okay...

[eugenetimpog]

When I let my turtles walk around the house. One of my turtles stayed under the fridge. He stay there for about 20 hours until someone had help me pick her up while I'm tilting the fridge. Keep searching. I hope you find Ivan soon.

[TheComputerGremlin]

It's good that you found Ivan!! Now just make sure he can't escape again!

[megcornell]

I'm glad you found him!

[eugenetimpog]

I'm sure Ivan is also happy you found him.

[AnthonyGarcia]

scaree. i hope this won't happen to me and my turts...