What to Do If Your Turtle Is Lost? Common Hiding Spots for Pet Turtles at Home!

The premise is to ensure the turtle is still in the house and couldn’t have run outside. If the turtle might have run out the door: in a walk-up apartment, look on the same floor and the floor below; in an elevator building, check if the elevator doors opened during the time the turtle went missing; as for a single-story house, well, try your luck. After finding the turtle a few times, you will discover it has a favorite spot, so look there first in the future.

Finding the Turtle

Damp and Dark Places

Look for damp and dark places in the home. If it is inside the room, it is basically in dark nooks and crannies (corners).

For places with corners and gaps like cabinets and beds, it is recommended to shine a flashlight, or the built-in flashlight on your phone, to see clearly. I once found a lost turtle in a dustpan in the corner.

Low Gaps

Look for low gaps in the home; places far smaller than the turtle’s shell height can be ignored. It is best to start from one corner and search towards other spaces, ensuring that there is definitely no turtle in the place you have searched, so you can focus on searching the next place.

Dark Corners

Look for dark corners in the home.

Sheltered Places

Look for sheltered places in the home, such as under the curtains.

Common Hiding Spots

I have found them in the following few nooks and crannies (corners); I won’t mention the places that are easy to find.

• Underneath hanging curtains
• Behind the rice (bag) placed under the table
• The gap behind the flush toilet
• The drainage groove on the balcony (small turtle, its size got stuck exactly in the groove)
• Behind the storage box we thought was placed against the wall
• Inside the wardrobe where the door wasn’t closed properly (sliding door, not very high off the ground)

My 2 are both big turtles now, and can’t get into many small gaps, so they are relatively easier to find. As for the small turtle, we rarely let it out, precisely because it is too hard to find.

What If You Can’t Find It?

If you really can’t find it, then stop looking (don’t roast me); maybe one day it will come out on its own. After all, turtles are very resistant to hunger.

Within a few days, it might just come crawling out, waddling happily (moving quickly and happily)!

My turtle escaped (jailbroke) 2 times. The 1st time, I also searched the whole house and couldn’t find it; 1 week later, I found it had crawled to the living room waiting for you to discover it. Then, after the 2nd escape, I simply didn’t look for it, and sure enough, 1 week later it came out again to wait for you.

It just wants to play hide-and-seek with you. Later, when it feels that “why haven’t you found it yet,” it will come out to find you!