SerpApi.Org
You’ve likely heard stories of a dog or cat gone missing.
But how about a lost tortoise?
And we’re not talking about a small, pet turtle.
A Fresno family earlier this week found a fairly good-sized tortoise in their front yard of a Clovis North High-area neighborhood.
Weighing roughly 45 pounds and about the size of a baking sheet, this Sulcata African Spurred tortoise (as it was later confirmed to be) was believed to be someone’s pet that somehow got away.
Or worse, the tortoise was abandoned and dumped?
Trevor Sadler, 29, was in and out of his house cleaning in preparation for the upcoming bulk trash pickup in his neighborhood when he surprisingly discovered the tortoise on his front porch.
“Just really caught me off guard,” Sadler said. “I see there’s this turtle shell. Called my wife, called the rest of the family to come check it out.
“Once he sees me noticing him, he starts walking away. So now I’m thinking, ‘OK, it’s alive. What are we supposed to do now?’”
Sadler and his family initially just admired the creature and gave it some lettuce after noticing it started eating weeds. Sadler’s 3-year-old son approached the animal to get a closer look and the turtle “didn’t get aggressive at all.”
Neighbors on a walk, and even some driving by, soon after stopped to notice the tortoise, too.
One woman paused her walk to compliment the beauty of the animal, then asked Sadler’s family how long they’ve had the pet.
“We just found him,” Sadler replied with a laugh.
Eventually, the tortoise started wandering around the neighborhood.
“He was moving pretty fast,” said Lisa Mabry, Sadler’s mother-in-law. “We were hoping he’d walk back to his home.”
After the tortoise crossed the street and approached a home, Sadler contacted the nearby neighbor to find out if they’d lost a reptile pet.
Nope.
And now, it was getting late.
So Sadler carried the tortoise back to his home before it got dark and decided to rehome it for the night.
His wife shared photos of the missing tortoise on social media, asking if someone lost their pet.
Meanwhile, Sadler created an isolated area for the tortoise to keep it separated from his two dogs.
Then he spent a little more time with his new friend.
“He walked up to me and was taking food out of my hand,” Sadler said. “He listens very well; definitely made me think it was someone’s pet.
“It also crossed my mind that maybe someone dumped it because it was bulk trash pickup. But who would do that? He seemed very well taken care of. But I guess, you never know.”
The next morning, Sadler took the tortoise to a veterinary clinic - Waterhouse Animal Hospital near Champlain and Perrin avenues - and the vet said she’d foster the tortoise for the time being.
Turns out that pet tortoises are known to escape backyards, often digging under or climbing over barriers.
A baby sulcata can cost anywhere from $225 to as much as $5,000.
And a fully grown African Sulcata tortoise can grow as heavy as 150 pounds.
And they’re pretty much pets for life considering that these tortoises can live 80 to 100 years.
“We thought about keeping it,” Sadler said. “But the reality is, we didn’t want someone to lose their pet.”
