A Missing Pet Turtle Has Been Found After 30 Years She was always at home (3 photos)

In many cultures around the world, the turtle symbolizes patience, endurance, and longevity. These qualities are attributed to this reptile for good reason. The Brazilian Almeida family from Rio de Janeiro was able to confirm this. They found a turtle in a storage room that had been missing for 30 years. The much-mourned pet didn't escape or die, but lived peacefully in the house, surviving on meager food.





A coal turtle named Manuela, who disappeared in the 1980s, was found under tragic circumstances. The head of the family, Leonel Almeida, died in 2013, and the family decided to sort through his belongings. While cleaning out the closet where the deceased kept his things, the family found a box containing a turtle.



Leonel Almeida was passionate about electronics and would scavenge old radios and tape recorders from all over the place. Over the years, a large number of them accumulated, and the closet became a chaotic jumble of equipment and boxes of radio parts. Leonel's granddaughter, Natalie, spent her entire childhood hearing stories from her mother about how her tortoise disappeared. It happened in 1982, when she was 8 years old.

The Return of the Prodigal Tortoise

Everyone was sure Manuela had escaped through an open door and died on the streets of the city. No one could imagine that the tortoise hadn't left the house all this time, but had been quietly living in a closet. The animal not only survived, but had grown noticeably. Most likely, the reptile fed on termite larvae that inhabited the closet, and got its moisture from condensation on the walls.



Natalie said that her mother, who had been living apart for many years, immediately arrived upon hearing of the discovery.

"My mom came running in tears because she couldn't believe it. We found Manuela!"

The turtle was immediately taken to veterinarians, who confirmed that she was completely healthy. Ten years have passed since the turtle was returned to her family, and 40 years since she disappeared. Manuela still lives in the Almeida family home and is doing well.

Many people believe that turtles make ideal pets, even better than cats.