THE vets who have been looking after an alligator snapping turtle found in Urswick Tarn have given an update on his status. 

Great Urswick residents spotted the turtle earlier this month and parish councillor Denise Chamberlain carefully moved him to Wild Side Vets in Barrow in an old shopping basket. 

The turtle, which is native to Florida and other states in the south-eastern US, was later named Fluffy by the vets.

The story received international media attention after this publication first reported on it which Wild Side Vets director Kate Hornby said 'blew them away.' 

She continued: "He’s gone to a rescue centre in Cornwall and I believe he’s settled in well. He will be placed in quarantine before they will consider rehoming him. He is likely to go to an aquarium rather than a private home to ensure he can be properly monitored and receives the specialist care he deserves. 

READ MORE: Animal rights charity weighs in on Cumbrian snapping turtle

"He was relatively straightforward to keep for the short period we kept him. We had a UV/heat lamp over his rock but we kept the water at room temperature as advised by the specialist to keep him in hibernation.

The Westmorland Gazette: The turtle is native to southern parts of the USThe turtle is native to southern parts of the US (Image: Denise Chamberlain)

"Normally these turtles would require much warmer temperatures but we needed to keep his metabolism low until he could be transported to the rescue centre and warmed up slowly before they fed him."

International animal rights charity World Animal Protection said the turtle was 'very likely being kept as a pet,' which Cllr Chamberlain also raised saying he was a 'very dangerous invasive species.' 

"If people find themselves struggling to keep their reptile, we advise they speak to us for advice/rehoming support. Everyone got involved in his care as we loved having him, we love a new challenge," Kate said. 

"Due to our lower temperatures, Fluffy may not have survived in the wild. As an individual animal, he probably wouldn’t have done a lot of damage to the wildlife population but if they were dumped in groups and bred and established a population they could have decimated the local wildlife population in the tarn as they can grow to as much as 90kg."