Meet Scooter! Celebrating 15 years of life, and 10 years since his rescue from improper care and neglect. 

Part 2 of Why proper care is important and how our local rescues save the day. 

Scooter then and now: 

(Source: Turtle Rescue of Long Island http://www.turtlerescues.org/scooter.htm )

Scooter Then:  Why the right diet and environment matter so very much. 

Scooter, as we have named her, was taken in to the rescue in June of 2003. The person who had found her as a quarter sized hatchling in 1998 kept him as a pet for five years.  The condition she was kept in was not suitable for a box turtle. she was kept in a 10-gallon aquarium on reptile bark, which was kept in the person’s office on his desk. She was given a water dish for drinking, but not soaking. There was no uvb lighting and he was fed only processed box turtle pellets. When the turtle was surrendered the person wasn’t even sure that what he had was a box turtle and thought he may be a little deformed.

As you can see from the picture little Scooter is quite deformed. His shell is saddled and skirted all around. In the bottom picture you can see how his tail was absorbed into his little body. He has no functioning hinge and will never be able to live anywhere but in captivity. His legs were like toothpicks and his nails all curled in different directions.

Scooter Now: The difference 10 years and incredible people make!

Today marks 10 years since Scooter arrived at the Turtle Rescue of Long Island and he’s looking better every year (and darn adorable)! The hard work of TRLI and Director Julie Maguire, has made an incredible difference.  

More Pictures of Scooter at the TRLI website http://turtlerescues.com/gallery2/main.php?g2_itemId=7369

Visit the TRLI Website and Donate if you can: http://turtlerescues.com/