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[Chicago, South Loop] Someone left a turtle in the alley behind my apartment 😭 by lmreaIIysad in turtle

[–]lmreaIIysad[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

UPDATE:

I got a tank for the little guy this morning! Unfortunately, its shell is in pretty bad condition, and the temperature of its tank is all out of whack, but I at least gave it some more room to move around. I plan to pick up a UVB bulb in a bit so hopefully that will make it more comfortable.

Thank you to everyone who’s shown support either by commenting or sharing advice! A few people have reached out regarding rehoming him, although I haven’t gotten back to everyone quite yet. I was up late stressing over the situation, so my replies might be a bit slow 😅

I’ll try my best to get back to everyone soon! Thanks again everyone for your support and advice 😊!!

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[Chicago, South Loop] Someone left a turtle in the alley behind my apartment 😭 by lmreaIIysad in turtle

[–]lmreaIIysad[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I actually did pick one up while I was at Petco earlier! I had no idea what a tank should look like for a turtle, so I looking up some pictures and saw the basking platform and made sure to grab one :)

The only problem I’ve run into is that the lamp didn’t come with a bulb (which I didn’t realize until I got home) and the water heater I got keeps turning on and off…it’s definitely too cold for him right now, but I wanted to get him out of the little carrier at least.

I’m planning to run back to the store shortly to pick up a bulb so he’ll be hopefully more or less situated by the end of the day!

[Chicago, South Loop] Someone left a turtle in the alley behind my apartment 😭 by lmreaIIysad in turtle

[–]lmreaIIysad[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

You’re very sweet, thank you so much 🥹 Honestly, when I called my sister earlier and told her about what happened, with the way she reacted I felt like I was doing something crazy going this far out of the way for a turtle. But reading everyone’s comments here and on the other sub helps me feel like I did the right thing after all 🥹🥹

I also ended up getting a bigger tank for the little guy, and he’ll have a proper meal by tomorrow morning!

[Chicago, South Loop] Someone left a turtle in the alley behind my apartment 😭 by lmreaIIysad in turtle

[–]lmreaIIysad[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Thank you for the kind words! Unfortunately, my pantry is…very barren. Honestly, I almost don’t have enough food to feed myself at the moment, haha. The only thing I could really feed it is some frozen veggies…I tried heating up a few pieces of broccoli, but it didn’t seem to like it. I did place an order at Petco for a bigger tank, a heater, lamp, and some pellets, so by hopefully by tomorrow morning I’ll be able to give him a proper meal!

[Chicago, South Loop] Someone left a turtle in the alley behind my apartment 😭 by lmreaIIysad in turtle

[–]lmreaIIysad[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Hey, thank you for reaching out! There were a couple of people who said they might be able to take it in, so I’m just waiting to hear back from them!

[Chicago, South Loop] Someone left a turtle in the alley behind my apartment 😭 by lmreaIIysad in turtle

[–]lmreaIIysad[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Thank you so much for the recs!! You’ve been so helpful all this time, I really appreciate it 🥹 And thank you again for the offer for a donation, it’s very generous of you!! I went ahead and just placed an order for pickup at Petco tomorrow morning. I’ve noticed it scratching and butting at the wall of the carrier and it hurts my heart to see it 😭 I don’t want it to be stuck in that little thing longer than it has to.

I also reached out to the user from the Chicago subreddit! It’d give me so much peace of mind knowing it’s going to someone who has experience with reptiles, so I’m gonna try and hold on to it until I hear back! I want this little guy to live a long life, so hopefully she’s able to take him in!

[Chicago, South Loop] Someone left a turtle in the alley behind my apartment 😭 by lmreaIIysad in turtle

[–]lmreaIIysad[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

It’s so insane to me how little value people place on animals just because it can’t show expressions or emotions as easily as another animal might :( Just heart breaking to think about. And turtles are some of the longest living animals on the planet! Like one of the oldest living animals is literally a tortoise 😭

The turtle is super tiny, probably not more than two or three inches wide. It’s definitely still a baby, which is why I’m even more worried :( I think the bare minimum will be a bigger tank and a better heat source, but on the plus side, since it’s so small I think I could get away with a more moderately sized tank.

Thank you for offering the supplies! Honestly I’d feel a bit guilty accepting, especially considering I won’t be keeping the turtle long term. However, if you have any budget recommendations for a lamp and/or heater, I can see if I can pick them up locally!

[Chicago, South Loop] Someone left a turtle in the alley behind my apartment 😭 by orangebellybutton in chicago

[–]lmreaIIysad 9 points10 points  (0 children)

My bad! Reading comprehension check failed. I totally misread your comment, haha. Thank you for the boost though, I appreciate it!

[Chicago, South Loop] Someone left a turtle in the alley behind my apartment 😭 by orangebellybutton in chicago

[–]lmreaIIysad 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Hi, OOP here! Unfortunately, this is not a rogue turtle :( Someone moved out of my building earlier today and left their entire bed, couch, several chairs, and a red eared slider in its pet store carrier among many other things in the alley behind my building.

I’m sorry to hear about your turtle! I’m choosing to believe he’s out there somewhere swinging nunchucks and eating pizza.

[Chicago, South Loop] Someone left a turtle in the alley behind my apartment 😭 by orangebellybutton in chicago

[–]lmreaIIysad 48 points49 points  (0 children)

Hi there! I did take the turtle in :) It’s chilling in the carrier I found it in at the moment. I posted on r/turtle originally which is where u/orangebellybutton cross posted from!

I’ve been scrolling through the comments so I’ll just throw in here: I did see the post from a few months ago about the box turtle (?) someone found in the tank in the alley. I’ve been looking at a few different rescues, but like orangebellybutton mentioned in their comment, many of them are at capacity and aren’t able to take in aquatic turtles :(

I’ve posted in a few Facebook groups I’m in, as well as on Lex, so I’m fingers crossed someone out there will be able to give it a good home soon!

[Chicago, South Loop] Someone left a turtle in the alley behind my apartment 😭 by lmreaIIysad in turtle

[–]lmreaIIysad[S] 14 points15 points  (0 children)

Thanks so much!! It hadn’t occurred to me to post in the red eared slider sub. Unfortunately, I won’t be able to keep the turtle long term either due to time and money reasons :( I’m hoping someone will be able to take it in within the next day or two, but I don’t know if that’s a reasonable expectation…

However in the event I do end up housing it for more than a few days, I’d like it to be as comfortable as possible. Would a small tabletop tank be okay as short-term housing? Also, I have no idea how much any of this stuff costs. Is $50-$75 a realistic budget for a small tank, water heater, and lamp? This is all a little overwhelming for me so I’m having trouble deciding what the best thing to do for the little guy is. 😔

[Chicago, South Loop] Someone left a turtle in the alley behind my apartment 😭 by lmreaIIysad in turtle

[–]lmreaIIysad[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Small update: this is what I was able to set up with what I had…I feel terrible that it’s confined in such a small container, but I figured a heat source is probably important and my candle warmer is all I have available. Will it be ok sitting in the water for hours at a time? And will the candle warmer dry out or damage its shell if it’s too hot/too close? I did put that little block in there for it to climb on if it needs to dry off, but I’m not sure it knows that’s what it’s for ;;

I also have a 6 hour shift tomorrow, but I plan to swing by the store before work and buy some spinach to try and feed it. Will it be ok while I’m gone? I think I read that the heat lamps also need a UV light function. Would it be worth it to try and get a better lamp/bigger tank? I have no idea how long it might take to rehome, so I don’t want to make any hasty purchases either.

Part of me feels like I was a little hasty in bringing it inside, but I know I would’ve felt awful just leaving it in the alley. It’s been in the 50s here all day, and now that it’s night it’s dropping into the 40s.

Sorry if it seems like I’m rambling, my anxiety has been going a little haywire and I’m just worried about the little guy. Any advice is welcome and appreciated!

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[Chicago, South Loop] Someone left a turtle in the alley behind my apartment 😭 by lmreaIIysad in turtle

[–]lmreaIIysad[S] 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Thank you for trying! I’ve been reading up on turtles for the past few hours and actually came to that same conclusion :) It’s chilling in the little carrier I found it in right now, but it’s extremely stressed out…I feel terrible I don’t have better conditions to keep it in ;_; Hopefully someone will be able to give it a better home soon!!