RiverRescues Weekly Round Up 2
- Scott Lockhart
- Dec 2, 2025
- 3 min read
Updated: 5 days ago
What's been happening at RiverRescues Animal Sanctuary in Edinburgh?
Stowaway Escapes
The Indian House Gecko, Picalo, has ventured out of his vivarium to the dismay of the Sanctuary owner. AJ, the boss, sent out a message to the volunteers on 28 October: "please be aware, 'Picalo' the indian house gecko has got out of his enclosure and is loose in the office.
Please keep your eyes peeled and if you see him, try catch him, (like you would a spider, with a container and paper.)
Please also keep watch where you walk to not step on him, as he is reserved for a new home.
Do not open windows or keep door open, until this has been resolved."
No sightings of him as of yet but we will keep you updated within the coming weeks.
New Arrivals
Since last week's news update , there have been a few new, fresh faces to be welcomed to the rescued family.
Turbo, another Red Foot Tortoise, has graced us with his presence. At 2-3 years old, he is still a young lad and will live for another 67 (or more) years in captivity. He is still finding his feet and hides under his log for much needed rest and humidity.
Rita the Ball Python is another new resident, who adds to the ever-growing Python population here at Riverrescues. She is a 7 years old female and has a lovely temperament to add to a lovely name. We may see Rita in a new bigger enclosure once we get more space.
Our arid-living, Russian or Horsefield Tortoise called Teddy has arrived as a tiny bundle. The sex is still to be determined with this one. He is also still warming to us, like Turbo, but he is still young at only 4 years old. We took him out of his tank for a runaround and it only moved once to defecate so it looks like it's still acclimatising with his surroundings.
Relocating an old favourite
Morgana, the permanent resident Boa Constrictor Imperator, has specific genetic traits that show a mutation with extra black pigment and a combination of Albino and Anerythristic traits but will not show those ones externally. She is the bosses' pride and joy and so it has to been moved to a nicer vivarium.
She was also hiding behind the background of her old enclosure so this may have been a management decision to put Sheldon, the Sulcata tortoise, in her old home.
Hunger strike Ball Python gets enclosure makeover
Our tick-ridden and anti-feeding Ball Python, Tank has been given the all clear regarding his parasitical invasion. However, he is still not eating and has been force-fed in the past with no success. Hopefully this will change now with his newly designed home that was originally just newspaper as the substrate to control the pests.
Coming Out Of Their Shell
It has not taken long for Dahlia to be more confident when approached by volunteers. After cautiously keeping an eye on us today from under her hide, whilst they replenish her food and water, she felt brave enough to venture out to see what all the commotion was all about. She drank from her water bowl as the volunteer filled it up, which is a promising sign.
There is still work to be done with this old girl but each week will bring more courage in letting her personality shine through.
This Week's Reserved Cohort
Lastly, here is a list of the current residence that are lucky enough to have been reserved recently:
Cornelius the Coral Corn Snake
Fidget the Corn Snake
Sandy the candy stripe Corn Snake
Teddy the Russian Tortoise
All will go to new, loving homes soon and if you to consider taking in a wee friend then find the full adoption list here
You can then reserve a new crawling critter by contacting us: https://www.riverrescuesanimalsanctuary.com/contact
If you rather visit us physically then contact us to make an appointment.
Stay tuned for the future, weekly updates, where we bring sanctuary to the herptiles of Scotland and beyond.
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