* After 6 years in our care, Fluffy finally found her forever home! Woo hoo! *

Fluffy was brought into Hamilton Animal Services as a “stray.” It’s likely someone purchased Fluffy from a pet store when she was small and then abandoned her in the wild when she got too big. Unfortunately, this happens quite often. It can be a death sentence for the turtle, and detrimental to wildlife and the ecosystem, as Red Ear Sliders are not native to Ontario. Please, never release a pet turtle into the wild!
Turtles who end up at Hamilton Animal Services normally go to an amazing reptile rescue organization called Little ResQ, but they were packed to the brim, so Fluffy became our first turtle rescue!

After being with us for many months, Fluffy’s first foster home had to move to a place where they weren’t able to take her. We transferred Fluffy to the same home where our second turtle rescue, Shelly, was being fostered. Shelly’s foster home has a fantastic outdoor turtle pond where Shelly lived in the warmer months, so we introduced Fluffy to the pond. After a few days of Shelly adjusting to having a new turtle in her space, the two made friends. Shelly and Fluffy were often seen swimming together and soaking up rays on a sunny day. Sadly, Shelley passed away in 2021, and Fluffy became a single turtle again. She has adjusted just fine, and to be honest, she seems happier not having to share space with another turtle.

Fluffy isn’t a fan of being handled, but she’ll tolerate it. She’s happiest swimming or basking on rocks, and she also enjoys the occasional walk in the grass.

Because she’s a larger girl, Fluffy will need a tank or tub that is at minimum of 150 gallons. She’s used to a lot of space, so the bigger the better! Check out this page for guidelines of proper turtle set up.

From the Little Res Q (turtle and reptile rescue) website:
Unfortunately red ear sliders are the #1 most commonly surrendered reptile in the world. The sad reality is that few people realize after purchasing these turtles that they have very long lifespans of up to 50 years and will eventually need extremely large habitats to house them for life. Because of this, rescues like ours have been flooded with requests to take them in and quite honestly even we cannot meet the demand.
Secondly, we always encourage owners to ask themselves if they really need a rescue organization to help them? Rescues ultimately exist to help pets that have no advocates, those that have been completely abandoned. Luckily for your reptile, they still have you and there are some great resources out there that will help you re-home your own pet and leave the rescue spaces for those that really need it.
If you really cannot take care of your turtle, and you can’t find a home for it DO NOT RELEASE YOUR PET INTO THE WILD. If you release your turtle you are not only breaking the law, but you are also potentially subjecting your turtle to a slow agonizing death due to inability to adapt to the environment or even worse – introducing disease and an invasive species to an already delicate ecosystem.

Helpful turtle info websites: