Your donations and memberships help to feed and care for rescued unwanted pets, ill, injured and displaced turtles and tortoises. If you would like to help, we accept PayPal to make giving (or joining GCTTS) easy.

Here are some of our rescues and their stories:
(click on the thumbnail to see a larger image)

Babe is a Russian Tortoise or Horsfield's Tortoise, Testudo (Agrionemys) horsfieldii. He is one of the light phase Russians. He has a very sweet personality. Babe is one of the many tortises and turtles that come to GCTTS because the owners no longer want them. He was purchased at a pet store in 2006 as a gift for a grandchild. It didn't take but a few months for the child to lose interest in the tortoise. Care was now up to the parents. Babe was housed indoors and never allowed outside. Care dwindled gradually and when the basking light burned out, Babe was left in his dimly lit cool rubber tub. Within a couple weeks he quit eating and tried to go into hibernation but not able to do it properly indoors. Finally, Babe's owner grew concerned and contacted GCTTS to see if we would take him.

A GCTTS rehabber took in Babe and set him up with a warm basking light shining 12 hours per day. Because he was obtained during the winter, Babe has to remain inside until the weather warms. Within a few days he became more active and started to eat Romaine lettuce. At first that's all he wanted because that's all he was fed for a year by the previous owner. Gradually Babe was introduced to new higher fiber foods such as fresh grasses, broad-leaved weeds and occasional hibiscus flowers. Sometimes he gets carrots and dandelion blooms and loves them. He now eats all of these foods with gusto!

Russian Tortoise's need a dry climate so if possible, Babe will be adopted to someone in a better climate than here in humid Houston.

UPDATE September 2007: Babe has been adopted by a veterinarian who has experience with tortoises and will soon go to his new outdoor home!.

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Pretty Boy is a Florida Red-bellied Turtle, Pseudemys rubriventris. He was found wandering around a local Nature Center in the Houston area. These turtles are not native to Texas so Pretty Boy was obviously a released pet. The GCTTS tries to educate the public about not releasing non-native turtles. Release of exotic and non-native species can sometimes negatively impact the environment or the native species. Species that are not native to an area may carry organisms that the native species are not immune to and it can work the other way around also. The released non-native may not have immunities to the organisms outside his normal range. This can cause illness and death. Release of pet turtles whether native or not should not be done by the public. Unwanted exotics and non-natives should be turned over to a rescue organization like the Gulf Coast Turtle & Tortoise Society for adoption to knowledgeable caring members.

So... Pretty Boy will be adopted by one of our members with a backyard inground pond.

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Samantha a large 8 inch Red-eared Slider that was kept as a pet for four years since she was small. She was kept inside in a 30 gallon tank half full of water with no UBV lighting. She's moderately pyramided. For the last year she was forced to live with a young male. This allowed her no place to retreat from the sexual advances of the male. Besides being in such a small tank she had to have been stressed by his harassment. Since she had no land access she occasionally laid an egg in the water which is stressful and not natural for water turtles. Samantha was known to have had a respiratory infection and after she was given up to a GCTTS rehabber, they allowed her outside with land access during the day. She was brought in at night because the nights are too cool for turtles recovering from respiratory infections to be out. After a couple weeks Samantha did lay eggs in her pen. If she would have still been in a tank, she could have become egg bound and became very ill and even died from infection.

Samantha's has a lump on the top of her neck and the vet said this is probably caused by repeated biting by the male she was housed with while she was a pet in a small tank. She also does not act completely normal. She swims with her eyes closed and we have decided she is blind. We are not sure of the cause. Past Infections? Improper nutrition? However, she really enjoys being in the Sun away from the male. Her health is still in a delicate time but she is on her way to a better life. Sometimes respiratory infections recur and have to be retreated.

UPDATE July 2006: Since Samantha is able to find food in a smaller pond, one of GCTTS long time members has adopted her. He has a secure, wonderfully landscaped back yard with several small turtle ponds. Samantha should be able to live a happy life at her new home.

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Miss Stumpy a 5 inch Red-eared Slider. We don't have many details on what happened to Miss Stumpy but someone brought her into the Pasadena Animal Rescue. Her left front leg had somehow been cut off and the stump was bleeding. One of the rescue employees got her and the amputated leg to a vet's office. The vet's office stopped the bleeding but it was not possible to re-attach the leg. Miss Stumpy was put on antibiotics for a few days and turned over to a GCTTS rehabber. We are happy to say that Miss Stumpy is doing great, eating and swimming well. She has no problem climbing out of her pond to bask.

Was Miss Stumpy abused? Did she get too close to some yard equipment? We will never know. Sometimes we wish animals could tell us what happened but… do we always want to know their sad stories?

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Cookie is a large, wild, adult female Red-eared Slider. She's named that because she is one tough Cookie. Cookie was found near a drainage ditch, in February 2006, by someone living in the area. Because she had obvious serious damage to her shell, this person wasn't sure whether she needed attention so they got her to one of the GCTTS rehabbers for evaluation. At one time Cookie's injuries had been serious. She was probably hit by a car in the Summer of 2005 but made her way back to the water where she eventually started healing without intervention by human's. Cookie's strong immune system allowed her to heal on her own. We can never know how many other turtle's in Cookie's situation do not survive their injuries on their own. When in doubt, it's always best to get an injured turtle you find to a rehabilitator and let them decide what is best.

Since Cookie had nice healthy solid tissue turning to bone she needed no treatment.

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Perdido is a Red-foot tortoise. In October 2003 fifty Red-foot tortoises and ninety eight Savannah Side-necked River turtles were confiscated from a cargo plane refueling at Bush Intercontinental Airport on its way from Venezuela to Japan. Perdido was one of seven juvenile South American Red-foot tortoises (Geochelone carbonaria) and ten Savannah Side-necked River turtles (Genus Podocnemis) that GCTTS was given to place in homes. These two species are on a regulated world wide list to prevent them from becoming endangered by over harvesting from the wild. The shippers did not have the required permits for these turtles and tortoises and the owners were given 60 days to file a property claim. Since the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Dept. did not have facilities to care for the confiscated animals, they called on local organizations for assistance. Moody Gardens in Galveston also received some these turtles and tortoises. Some were eventually placed in facilities such as zoos. Moody Gardens kept ten of each species for their exhibits.

Some of the tortoises were from just a few days to two months old. The seven GCTTS juvenile Red-foots received were 2 1/2 inches long and the River Side-necks (also known as Podos) were less than 2 inches long. The shipping conditions were so poor that the animals had a foul odor. After their health was assessed by GCTTS, all of the turtles and tortoises were placed with experienced keepers, as they were stressed from handling and transportation after being taken from the wild.

Red-foot tortoises can reach 12-14 inches and 15 pounds. The Savannah Side-necked River turtles can reach up to 35 inches and up to 200 pounds. Both of these species need a lot of outdoor living space in natural environments for a healthy life expectancy which could be up to 40 years.

Perdido was one of the weakest ones and was eventually placed in the home of a GCTTS tortoise keeper with 12 years experience. To provide a varied natural diet, she did research and purchased South American vines and fruits to grow in her yard. This has attributed to the good health of Perdido.

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This is Arod's story. In about 1998 GCTTS received a call from a 90 year old woman who was concerned about finding homes for her turtles, due to her advancing age. Upon arrival, we searched through her 20 x 2 foot pen and found over fifty box turtles! Some had obvious problems like fungus and shell rot. The horrid flower pot saucer-type water bowls were in place making any disease likely to spread to all in the crowded pen. The woman told us they were fed her leftovers like chicken fried steak! No hatchlings or juveniles were found and we assume the young ones did not have the stamina the adults had for survival in the disease infested pen.

After evaluation, many of the turtles were found to have other illnesses besides fungus and shell rot. Some were as serious as bleeding out of the mouth. One of our rehab vets was contacted and we were told to bring in the worst five. Blood work and cultures were done on them and many serious pathogens were found, three of which were not even common to turtles.

Through time and treatment, all but one survived and regained their health. Eventually, all but Arod were adopted. Arod has been prone to very mild respiratory illness after hibernation every year which clears quickly with antibiotic treatment. He is a very active turtle and always banged the sides of his container constantly when wintered over indoors. Therefore, a decision was made to allow him to hibernate outside with close observation and treatment. He is a very dominant turtle and although he gets along with other males, he lets them know pretty quickly that he is the boss. Arod was adopted by a GCTTS member and is healthy and happy.

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Splashy is a Florida Red-bellied Turtle, Pseudemys rubriventris, who was brought back from NYC right after 9/11. He was found in a tank in the back of a store in Chinatown, along with assorted sliders and softshells. He was the only turtle that noticed the GCTTS member looking into the tank, as he paddled frantically at the glass seemingly trying to get her attention. Whether he was meant as a pet or for food, she was unsure. He had a shell infection usually found in turtles housed with or fed crustaceans such as crayfish or shrimp. His early years were probably spent in bacteria and parasite laden water also. This GCTTS member has used him for three years as an educational animal during outreach programs. Like all cooter species, he is very friendly with people and other turtles.

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BR was a large 6 year old male Red-eared slider that was a pet. The sad thing is that he was housed ALL those years inside in a 20 gallon aquarium half full of water with no basking or UVB light of any kind! He was named BR by a GCTTS rehabber because his aquarium was in a bathroom.

An aquarium is no place for an adult RES, let alone a 20 gallon one only half full! We can't imagine the boring life that must have been for him. He was only fed commercial turtle pellets and koi food. The pink on him is from the koi food. It's amazing he only has moderate pyramiding on his shell. The flaking on his shell is the result of not getting proper UVB light and not being able to properly bask and completely dry out his shell.

BR was placed outside on warm days to enjoying the natural sun light he was designed to bask in. But he seems unable to lift his body to walk. Since BR did not eat enough to please his rehabber, he had to be force fed by placing a tube into his stomach.

UPDATE May 2006: BR was kept indoors for the Winter and was still not doing well. He never was able to swim or crawl well. His history of long term nutritional imbalance is the suspected cause. He was probably fed koi food longer than his original owner let on. This was not reversable in his case. After being treated for a number of recurring respiratory infections BR took a turn for the worst and was euthanized.