Miami Beach Turtles July 4, 2009 I must have some kinda Turtle Karma or else Miami Beach is being overrun with the creatures. I ride my bicycle all the time when getting around the Beach, taking different routes for variety. Last October, while riding to Lincoln Road along LaGorce, I came across this out of place tortoise walking along the road. Tortoise Found Wandering the Street on Miami Beach in October 2008 He was walking with some determination, but I don't think Miami Beach is a natural habitat for tortoises. There were other people around concerned about someone's pet having escaped so I figured he would be taken care of and continued to the movie. Then in November 2008, while coming back from a movie and traveling along Alton road, a very busy thoroughfare on Miami Beach I saw this quite large tortoise ambling along the sidewalk toward a lawn. There were several people around, including a cop who was checking for any missing turtle BOLO. Again, I left when it seemed the police were going to transport the tortoise somewhere. A Large Tortoise Found on Alton Road Large Tortoise Grazing on a Lawn. So, today, Independence Day 2009, I got out of the house to do some shopping before the storms came in. I wanted to see if the local supermarket was open and took a different route than usual in my trip to SoBe. That is when I almost ran over a tiny turtle on the sidewalk off Harding Ave. I almost didn't believe what it was. There are no water sources around this part of the city except the beach or the bay, both several blocks away. This was a fresh water turtle like the ones I saw as a kid in Mississippi and also that were sold as pets. Baby Turtle I Found on the Sidewalk on July 4, 2009 There was no one around, so it was up to me to rescue the little guy. (I call it a guy - but its bottom carapace is flat, which I know indicates female in box turtles). There is a pet store a couple blocks away so I figured I could get rid of the critter there. The woman at the pet store told me that this particular turtle is illegal to sell in Florida. They had similar turtles but not this one. The woman said it was not illegal for me to have it but they can no longer sell them.
I later looked it up and apparently what I found wandering the streets of Miami Beach is a red-eared slider, a fugitive from the Southeast U.S. that is not indigenous to Florida. I bought some very expensive, smelly turtle food pellets from the pet store and the woman gave me a hamster box to carry my new pet home. I took him home and got an old hospital wash basin, turned a clay flowerpot upside down and poured in some water. My Makeshift Turtle Home. I don't want a pet - especially a pet turtle, which is just a little more interesting than a goldfish. Although the little guy was hungry and it was kinda fun watching him eat the stinky pellets in the water. I am now tasked with finding this reptile a home. Had it not been a holiday, had I not wanted to know if the store was open I would have gone a different route today. Had I been a few minutes later or earlier I would not have seen this little turtle crossing the sidewalk. Had I been a less caring person I would have kept on riding my bike and left the turtle to a different fate - probably a fatal one. I keep thinking of those hundreds of little sea turtles being scarfed up by hungry sea birds as they try to cross the sand to the sanctuary of the sea. Logic says that this is just one of those many lost creatures. But something else says that this is my responsibility now because it was given to me. This Will Give You an Idea of Turtle's Size Anyone want a free turtle?
I dont want a free turtle but I liked reading your post and it made me smile to see him floating in his new home.I think that its pretty cool you went to the trouble of looking after him as not everyone would of made the effort you did. Say hello to him for me from worcester UK
Turtle Has a New Home Monday, July 6, 2009 I put up fliers at work. Sure enuf there was a co-worker who used to have a turtle and had the whole tank setup and knew about taking care of them. She was happy to take the turtle off my hands. Glad she did because I was already starting to get attached to the little life form and I don't need a pet right now. I usually watch other peoples pets when they go out of town.
