How We Rescued a Turtle

Although this post should technically be an old post, I thought I'd share the journey we went on to rescue our Common Musk Turtle Pebbles. We've had Pebbles over a year now, and she is a big part of our family.

I little back story, I have always loved turtles and tortoises. From a young age I had my perfect tortoise name planned, Gordon. As in Flash Gordon and I could draw go-faster stripes on his shell with chalk and he would be the greatest tortoise that ever lived. Unfortunately, this was not to be. Despite calling my dad at 17 while he was at work, citing an emergency, only to ask if we could go halfies on a tortoise brought into a local pet store.

So lets fast forward a bit. A friend of mine had posted an amazing storey on Facebook which caught my eye. On his way walking to work in a rural town he found this little fellow trying to cross the path. Her shell was scuffed up and she obviously wasn't supposed to be there. He had said that he returned her to his home to put her in some water and then went to work late. When he returned home he had gotten some advice from some online turtle forums and found out she is a young adult musk turtle which are native to the Canadian region. This means she was clearly a pet at some stage and had became unwanted and was thrown out to the elements.

By this point I was captivated. I knew I needed to save her and I wanted to help. My friend was very honest that he couldn't keep the turtle and wanted her to go to a loving home. I asked my partner what he thought, and in his ever supportive nature, he said of course we can take her in. I immediately got in touch and arranged a day for us to pick her up. I had 24 hours to find a set up. And boy was in a steep learning curve!

I found a tank and filters on Facebook market place, which was lucky as it meant it wasn't going to cost a fortune. Thanks to Amazon Prime and their next day delivery I could get the lights and food needed quickly. The only other thing was how we were going to transport her. Luckily (or unluckily for the deceased fish) we had a small old fish tank from when my step-daughter won a fish at the fayre which lived for the whole of 24 hours.

Now we have her home and her set up has grown with her. Surrounded by textures and plants, the right water and the correct filters she is thriving. But what I never expected was her personality. I know many people think of turtles and the sort as just being "boring" pets. But let me tell you, this turtle is sassy and a little trouble maker who loves her food. When someone new comes into the house she's right up to the glass inspecting them. When it's feeding time she comes up to the glass and does what has been named, the feeding dance. Which is an adorable series of moves which my partner is actually very good at. Sometimes she comes out of the tank and has an explore around the house, she's so inquisitive and always trying to get into places she shouldn't.

In total our home for strays and run-aways has gained an underwater member and we couldn't be happier.