My pet turtle escaped into our pond. Can he survive on his own?

I'm sorry to hear about this! The best thing you can do is purchase/use another unused cage and fill it with food and water and place it in your backyard. If your budgie becomes hungry enough, she may come back to eat, which you can then close the cage and bring her back inside. If you do recapture her, a vet visit is best to check for any injuries. If she doesn't come back, her mate will likely be sad for a while as birds do bond, but if you have other birds, he may do OK. Eventually, adding in a new friend may help as well. It's hard to say if a pet bird would survive well in the wild or not. It greatly depends on the predators around, and the environment and food available.

Thank you for your question, and thank you for the pictures! I would recommend taking this turtle back to where it was found, and placing it on the side of the road that it was trying to get to. It may have just been moving around in its territory when it was found. This would be the best course of action for the turtle, so that it can be part of the wild population and hopefully make little turtle babies in the future! It is so important to leave these guys in the wild because their population numbers are declining. Every turtle being back out in the wild will help! Thank you for caring for this turtle, and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach!

Once a turtle is in captivity it should not be released back into the wild for the following reasons: 1.The turtle can spread disease picked up in captivity to other turtles in the wild. Pathogens, viruses, and bacteria are not always presented in the form of a symptom. Even if the turtle looks and acts like its feeling well it can still carry pathogens that will wipe out entire populations of wild turtles. Your turtle could be immune but be a carrier and therefore highly contagious to other turtles. 2.Wild turtles live in areas where the food will sustain their needs. If everyone who decided his or her turtle would be better off free, think again. If you release the turtle into an area that is already heavy with native turtles, you end up with a situation where they are all competing for a limited amount of food. 3.Turtles should also never be released into the wild because of climate and adaptation. For instance, a non-hibernating turtle such as a Mexican Wood turtle or an African sideneck released in a cold climate like Tennessee, Maine, or anywhere there is potential for freezing weather will surely die. In addition, if your turtle was a pet and has relied on you for food, he may not be the strongest hunter and will slowly and painfully starve to death when he cannot find food easily.

Clean the tank and perform a partial water change. Rinse the filter media in some tank water, not tap water, to preserve beneficial bacteria. Make sure the water is warm, between 75F and 86 F, and the basking area is at proper temp ( 85 F to 90 F). Low temps can affect activity in reptiles. She may need a few days to reacclimate to you, even though you weren't gone long. Monitor for lethargy, loss of appetite, swimming crooked, difficulty breathing or discharge from the eyes or nose. If necessary, have her examined by your veterinarian or an experienced herp vet to diagnose and treat injury or infection.

Thank you for your question about your turtle. I think that housing your turtle in your pond during the warmer months would be a great idea, as long as you feel that the husbandry parameters that are required can be met. This will include appropriate water temperatures (often times supplemental heat is required for ponds), protection from predators (some owners will bring their turtles indoors at night), and a mixture of shad and sun (so that your turtle doesn't overheat). As far as your question about the winter, I would not recommend allowing your turtle to hibernate outdoors. Even though this is done in the wild, an artificial pond is unlikely to allow for the same parameters as a wild setting, and this may result in a dangerous situation for your turtle. You could continue to house your turtle in the winter and then add the outdoor housing in the summer as well. I hope this gives you a place to start, and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Hello, Reptiles are cold blooded, and require controlled temperatures at all time in captivity. Noor likely became malnourished, dehydrated, and very cold in her time outside of her enclosure. This can lead to many different problems. It is difficult to force turtles to eat, and many require feeding tubes to get nutrition when they are ill. I would recommend taking Noor to a veterinarian. I hope this is helpful.

This looks like an eastern long neck turtle. i would recommend reading the following page, this should give you the basic information you need. i would of course recommend putting it back in nature in a suitable environment for him/her: http://www.backyardbuddies.org.au/backyard-buddies/eastern-long-necked-turtle