Urgent Care :: Turtle lost in backyard - help!

[ohhellojanie]

Hello all,

I hope this is the right board to post on. If not, please redirect me.

My turtle has been missing for 3 days now. She lives in an indoor tank, but we feed her in a smaller tank in our backyard so that she can get sunshine and not make a mess in her main living space. The other day my mom put her out in her feeding tank and about an hour later she was gone. She has climbed out of her feeding tank before, but we've always found her a short distance away and it's never been for long. Still, this was obviously easily preventable and my family and I just feel terrible about losing her, and are extremely worried about her.

We've searched everywhere. Our backyard is quite small (we live in the suburbs in Northern California) and we don't have a ton of bushes or other plants for her to hide under, but we have checked under all the ones we do have multiple times. There is no trace of her. :[

I have had her for 1.5 years and she is about 5 inches long. She has gotten lost for an extended period of time only once before, indoors, and for less than 24 hours. That was very traumatizing but she was completely fine when we found her. We're much more worried this time because we are just completely baffled as to where she could be. I've looked around the edges of the yard and I don't think there is anywhere she could have gotten out of the yard - there's only one hole in the fence but it's quite high off the ground and I don't think she could have climbed up that high to reach it.

There are hawks in certain areas of our city, but I almost never see them in our neighborhood because it's entirely developed with no fields or grassland nearby. Even considering the possibility of her being carried off by a hawk seems so difficult to believe, though... I just don't know what other possible explanations could exist. It's completely baffling.

We've put out dishes of water and food, and our sprinklers go off every morning, so I am hoping that wherever she is (I am convinced she has to be somewhere in our yard, my parents insist that they've searched it too thoroughly for that to be possible) she is at least getting access to water through yard sprinklers. She ate on the day she was lost, so at this point I'm comforted that she isn't starving. The weather isn't hot or dry by any means, so that also gives me hope that she is not dehydrated, but I don't know how realistic I am being. :[

Can anyone give me any advice, information, experiences, insight? I would appreciate it so much. We are just so heartbroken over losing our little turtle.

[steve]

Here are some tips: http://www.redearslider.com/lost_turtle.html

The best thing to do is keep looking, especially in places where she might be able to bury herself. If she has done so, she will not be easy to spot so carefully dig a little deeper. Most likely she will try to stay cool if it is warm.

If possible, I would also setup a video camera for your backyard and scan through it... hopefully you'll spot a glimpse and a clue as to where she might be.

[ohhellojanie]

Steve,

Thank you for the link, that was very useful information. I looked around just now but it's dark outside and so I'm going to give it several good tries tomorrow during the day. Provided she is in our yard somewhere, and given that the outside temperatures are cool (60-70 degrees F) our yard has plenty of shade, and our sprinklers go off every morning, do you think this is enough to keep her moderately hydrated until she is found?

[steve]

I would think so. They do have instincts to keep warm or cool and it can be hard to find them when they are hiding.

[Diamondbacks4Life]

get up early in the morning when the sun has just come up. i know turtles that find there way from the wood bask on the side walk early in the morning. I lost my turtle and he was found on the sidewalk basking early in the morning.

[marisa]

If the weather were warm, you'd be more apt to find him active in early morning or late afternoon. With the temp cooler, I don't think you have to worry about him getting dehydrated just yet.

[ohhellojanie]

Just wanted to let you guys know that our neighbor found her in her backyard today! Turns out she is more dexterous than any of us imagined, and maneuvered her way up and over a hole in the fences between our yards - how she did it, I'll never know. Thanks for all your help and advice. She doesn't seem to be injured, just a bit weak, and is eating, albeit slowly. I'm going to soak her in Pedialyte tonight and make sure her tank water is shallow and warm until she regains her strength. Anything to look out for?

[marisa]

If no physical injuries or unusual behavior (give the turtle a bit of time to adjust), just try to make sure she can't escape again.