rescue services

Please contact the society to report lost and found box turtles or tortoises in San Diego county, or to relinquish a box turtle or tortoise that you can no longer care for. We are an all-volunteer Society and process hundreds of rescues each month,  so please allow some time for a rescue team member in your area to respond. When you are contacted, our volunteer may ask that you download a relinquishment form, and have it completed and signed for them. Thank you. 

 
 

water turtle rescue

Thank you for contacting the San Diego Turtle and Tortoise Society about water turtles. Read the following to better understand our situation, and exactly how we can help you.

 IMPORTANT

* * *  Never just release a turtle!  This act is illegal in the State of California!  * * *

Except for the endangered Western Pond Turtle, water turtles are not native to California and they are an invasive species that causes serious harm to our State's environment. 

OUR CAPACITY

While we continue to have excellent capacity to rescue tortoises and land turtles, we are experiencing difficulties in handling the large number of requests we get about water turtles. We receive relinquishment phone calls and/or emails every day!  Fifty to one hundred a month. 

This is a major challenge we continually face. Fortunately, we still have a few foster homes now setup that can handle this large number of incoming turtles. These are volunteer homes with substantial outdoor storage ponds where we can keep one hundred healthy water turtles while searching for suitable new homes.  Any donation you can give towards the care and maintenance of these hundreds of turtles waiting for homes would be greatly appreciated.  

Teresa O'Donnell, Water Turtle Foster Home coordinator, may be contacted at: turtlecountry1@yahoo.com

SDTTS will have about four volunteers fostering water turtles.  We will be limiting relinquishments to San Diego County only. In the past we have takin in about 500 a year.  That huge number will, most likely, be reduced to one to two hundred.  Your patience is appreciated.

PLEASE TELL YOUR FRIENDS, CO-WORKERS AND NEIGHBORS TO PLEASE NOT SUPPORT THE WATER TURTLE TRADE BY PURCHASING THEM AS PETS!  THEY ARE AN INVASIVE, NON-NATIVE SPECIES.  THERE ARE THOUSANDS AVAILABLE AND WAITING FOR ADOPTION, AND TENS-OF-THOUSANDS MORE THAT ARE ALREADY DISRUPTING MANY OF CALIFORNIA'S FRAGILE ECO-SYSTEMS. (MANY STATES AND COUNTRIES HAVE ALREADY OUTLAWED THEM).

SULCATA RELINQUISHMENT GUIDELINES

  • Unless the current living situation for your sulcata is unsafe and/or unhealthy please read the care sheet available on this website and consider contacting a care consultant to learn of ways to improve the current enclosure.

  • Download a Relinquishment form from this website and bring the completed form with you to the exchange.

  • Under most circumstances we do not accept sick or injured animals but, we can direct you to one of our vet specialists for treatment.

  • Please provide your tortoise’s diet and health history.

  • Those who foster would welcome and appreciate donations of viable housing and heat bulbs