Daughter moving out and won’t take her tortoise

[Questionsquestions23]

My daughter got a tortoise when she was 18 - she’s now 22. She’s moving out in September and says she can’t take him. I have done most of the work for him. I get up every morning and forage for healthy greens for him change up his water - I do the same when I get in from work. I prepare him for hibernation, give him a bath a few times a week.

daughter went to uni and looked after him in the holidays but since leaving she works full time so it me.
the tortoise is about 25 so will Probably out live me.
I don’t want this responsibility!
what can I do?

Offer him to your local primary school?

Someone will take him over the holidays, I'm sure. Like the class guinea pig.

RSPCA will put you in touch with someone who will take him.

This is terrible advise

You’ll have no trouble rehoming him, if your DS doesn’t want him. If she does, then you need to negotiate how that happens.

The problem is they arnt that easy to look after properly so I guess a sanctuary.

There are lots of good animal charities that will rehome your tortoise. Ask the local vets to recommend some.

They are quite valuable so be careful who you rehome it to, should you go down that route.

Maybe search for 🐢 sanctuary in your area. They live very long lives

Please don’t give him to a school!!! I’m a teacher and have two torts (see username) and they are totally unsuitable. I love mine but they are a lot of work. They have their own room, hibernating fridge and two huge runs in the garden. There is a tortoise rehousing charity. I’ll see if I can find the name.

I've had a tortoise for nearly 40 years, he'll outlive me definitely. Contact The Tortoise Trust, they've got the expertise and can find tortie a good home. Also I echo above poster, don't give to a school!

This is like ours. It’s so much work and constant worry - it takes about 20mins just to gather his breakfast from the hedgerows.

Can you not just sling him a handful of kale or some cucumber?
Foraging seems quite high maintenance...
Mine is 44, eats anything I pop down and sometimes gets some juicy dandelion leaves if I find some when walking the dog.
Do they need bathing three times a week? I don't remember the last time I bathed mine. Occasionally I forget to bring him inside and he has a lovely night of stargazing ⭐

Tell her she either needs to take him or take action to re-home him.

And she needs to start looking after him from today.

How on Earth did you get yourself in a situation where you ended up a martyr to a tortoise?

I don’t know how it ended up like this. I follow all the advice on line on how to best care. I’ve got an app that identifies safe food for him. So I just do that. It’s such a worry getting it wrong that it could hurt him.

Where are you ? I would love a tortoise. We have a a secure garden. Had one as a child.

In the nicest possible way, you could be anyone. Animal abusers/ people who use animals to train fighting dogs scour the internet for free animals.

OP go the thorough a reputable rescue to re-home him.

I couldn’t give him to anyone on line - it’s honestly so much work. I think a cat is easier. And they can climb and the escape if given a chance and the need so much space to roam. And the exotic vet is a 40min drive away. It’s a nightmare!

And they don’t drink but absorb water through their legs so this weather has to have a soak for 10-15 mins every day 😩

As suggested try a sanctuary or rehoming charity.

My neighbour is unhappy with her daughter, still lives at home at 25, wanted a kitten to take when she moves out. They got a kitten yesterday morning and by about 9/10 pm daughter changed her mind.

Neighbour now has 3 kittens to look after.

Contact your exotic vet, they will have contacts for tortoise rehome centres. And they do drink but can also absorb water through their vent (bottom). And eating leaves etc means they don’t need lots of water to drink. Foraged food keeps well in the fridge, we usually have enough for several days in the fridge that we collect when dog walking.

But I tried that and it seems to go limp in my fridge- I’ll try again- I’m so stressed as don’t want him to end up in bad hands - I’ve never seen mine drink so I’m just follow what the vet said last year when we went - I’ll book an appointment and see what they suggest. Thanks

Mine is also very low maintenance. He for ages himself in the garden, has a bowl of water that feeds from the water irrigation system and I bathe him occasionally, but he prefers to sit under the water irrigation. I put food out for him but he'd rather eat what's in the garden. He's in the fridge all winter. Puts himself in his house at night and refuses to sit under lamps, so I've packed that away. He's been around for nearly 20 years ike this.

Oh I'd love a tortoise - we had a rescue as a kid who came to live with us after being found and unclaimed in Essex. He was so resilient but ended up not waking up from hibernation after we moved during his big sleep :-(

I've been looking at rehoming one but anyone who's done decent research knows it's not as simple as it seemed to be 30 years ago - I haven't got space for a suitable home for him and there's a tortoise-sized gap under my shed that could lead to a massive rescue!

Maybe once the kids move out...

There are lots of reputable rescues in my area op - definitely worth a call to see if they have anyone hoping to rehome. My nearest one won't release animals until they've seen the new home and environment.

Wish I could do that 😭

Please learn what your tortoise actually should be eating!!!! Download the tortoise table app and stop poisoning your tortoise!!! NO they CANT just eat anything! There’s a LOT of vegetables etc they can’t eat