'No words': Florida gopher tortoise found with airbrush painted shell
Owl's Nest Sanctuary for Wildlife
ODESSA, Fla. - A Florida wildlife sanctuary is caring for a gopher tortoise that was recently found with its shell illegally airbrushed by an unknown person.
"Sometimes honestly, we have NO WORDS for what people do to animals for their entertainment," Owl's Nest Sanctuary for Wildlife wrote on Facebook.
The sanctuary said that a good Samaritan recently found the female gopher tortoise in Zephyrhills who contacted Florida Fish and Wildlife. The shell of the tortoise was completely painted with a pink floral design, which the sanctuary said is not only illegal, but extremely dangerous for the animal.
Owl's Nest Sanctuary for Wildlife
"This is not our first case of people illegally painting tortoises in seven years, but this was different, it was fine airbrush paint. A turtle or tortoises shell is a living thing; The shell is not only attached to the tortoise’s skeleton but also blood cells and nerve endings. Consequently, an injury on it can affect the blood cells and cause internal bleeding and eventual death."
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Also, the shell contains the dermal bone, so when a fine spray paint clogs the holes, it can actually almost suffocate the reptile, the sanctuary explained.
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"This has been a tough for one for the reptile medical team, but we have progressed forward to getting this off! Then it will be up to the Head Biologist to determine where he is going, hopefully far away from the people who thought this was entertainment!"