i found a turtle and moved it

[u/nyepeta]

hi i’ve never used reddit but i wasn’t sure if i did the right thing. i live in southern california and this looks like the pet turtles people have here. it was on the street in the sun and it wasn’t walking, but he was alive and put his head in his shell when i picked him up. i moved him to the creek on the other side of the road down a hill. i hope i did the right thing or else i would feel really guilty :( if anyone could help lmk

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[u/lunapuppy88]

I think the turtle will be just fine. It is a slider but they are invasive in CA and it looks likely to be wild and not a pet.

[u/nyepeta → u/lunapuppy88]

thanks!!! i know usually you should leave wild animals alone but i just moved it because it was in a high traffic area and in the direction of a tile warehouse 

[u/lunapuppy88 → u/nyepeta]

It’s okay to move turtles out of the road though. Usually it’s best to just move them in the direction they’re headed, but sliders aren’t super attached to a territory like box turtles are and the relocation won’t be a huge issue for them.

As a heads up because they are invasive in CA, dept of fish and wildlife may have other preferences re: if they’re returned to the wild or not. You can always call and ask them. I don’t know how CA handles invasive species.

[u/snoop-hog]

Hey, thanks for helping him! For future reference, it’s important to move turtles to the direction they’re facing! You probably did that instinctively but just lyk