A gopher tortoise was among the seventy-six animals admitted to the von Arx Wildlife Hospital at the Conservancy of Southwest Florida this past week. Other admissions include a red-tailed hawk, a striped mud turtle, a fish crow, an eastern screech owl and six mourning doves.
The gopher tortoise was found on a golf course construction site in North Naples. The tortoise had the word “Tom” painted on its carapace (top shell); aside from that, the tortoise was in good physical condition.
While it takes considerable time, the paint was successfully removed from the tortoise’s shell using a non-toxic soy based product. The challenge with the product is that it must sit on the area contaminated with paint for 20 minutes before staff can begin to carefully remove the paint using a toothbrush and soft cloth.
The paint removal process was stressful for the tortoise so it took several days. The tortoise was very active and only tolerated limited amounts of handling before becoming agitated.
Over the years, numerous tortoises have been admitted with their shells covered in paint. Knowing these helpless creatures suffered due to human ignorance and cruelty is incredibly disheartening. A tortoise/turtle shell is living tissue and being covered in paint is harmful to the animal’s health.
Please, if you see or hear of a situation involving animal abuse contact law enforcement. Be an advocate for animals. Some people may think this is a harmless prank but that type of thinking is misguided and must not be tolerated. No living creature should ever be subjected to any type of intentional cruelty.
Recent Releases
A great blue heron, a Florida softshell turtle and an eastern cottontail were released this past week. Releases were limited last week due to the inclement weather caused by Debby. Weather related admissions were significant.
The day after Debby passed by our coast, we had 12 admissions in the first 3 hours the hospital was open.
Many ground nesting animals were affected by the flooding. We’re grateful to the caring members of our community who rescued these animals and brought them to the von Arx Wildlife Hospital so they could receive immediate care.
Opportunities to Help
Please check the Conservancy website to view all of the amazing volunteer opportunities at the Conservancy of Southwest Florida. Your volunteer time, donations, and memberships are vital in helping us continue our work to protect Southwest Florida’s water, land, wildlife and future. Support from the community enables the von Arx Wildlife Hospital to continue to help injured, sick and orphaned wildlife.
Joanna Fitzgerald is the Director of the von Arx Wildlife Hospital at the Conservancy of Southwest Florida, 1495 Smith Preserve Way, Naples, Florida 34102. Call 239-262-2273 or see conservancy.org.