Baby turtles and tortoises make for unusual orphans.
The reptiles -- all 250 of them protected by international law -- were confiscated from a wildlife smuggler at Baltimore-Washington International Airport in August.
Since then, a battery of biologists, veterinarians and caretakers have worked to resuscitate the creatures, all between 2 and 4 inches long. The spotted-bellied sideneck turtles and the Argentine "chaco" tortoises were emaciated and dehydrated by their clandestine trip from the ponds, lakes and arid lands of Argentina.
Now, housed in a tank overlooking the Inner Harbor or huddled on beds of rabbit chow, the 50 turtles and more than 200 tortoises are waiting for zoos around the country to give them a permanent home.
"They just sort of sit there in a little herd. They're cute little guys, actually," said Don C. Forester, who is supervising their care at Towson State University.
Initially, the turtles, which are aquatic reptiles, and tortoises, land dwellers, were given emergency treatment at the Baltimore Zoo. Anthony Wisnieski, curator of the zoo's reptile house, said the animals were injected with dextrose and saline solutions. They improved and were later moved.
Tomorrow, Roberto A. Daverio, a citizen of Argentina, will be sentenced on two felony counts of importing the tortoises in violation of international trade laws. He faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison, three years supervised release, and a $250,000 fine on each count.
U.S. Customs inspectors, who discovered the reptiles wrapped in towels and concealed in cloth bags in a single suitcase, said Mr. Daverio described them as "samples." He also said he was a trader and collector, according to court papers.
Authorities suspect that the creatures actually were destined for the black market and for private reptile collections.
The tortoises sell for up to $300 each and the turtles for as much as $75, according to court papers. Their export is illegal under both Argentine and international trade laws.
The seizure has caught local animal curators off guard.
"When you suddenly get a flood of 68 sideneck turtles, that's a little bit of a problem in placement," said Jack Cover, the National Aquarium's rain-forest curator.
The Baltimore Zoo already has signed up to keep six sideneck and one snakeneck turtle.
The seizure was perfect timing for the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo, which was looking for a new set of South American turtles, and agreed to take eight of the orphans.
"We're going to be putting them into our new $30 million rain forest building," said Donald Kuenzer, senior rain forest and aquatics curator. "I'm sure they'll make a great addition because they are really beautiful turtles."
Some are headed to a zoo in Vancouver while others were recently delivered to Denver's zoo.
The turtles are the latest in a series of Baltimore Zoo acquisitions from customs seizures, including two Indian flapshell turtles rescued from the kitchen of a Chinese freighter.
The sideneck turtles have dark spots on their white bellies and fold their necks under the front of their shell.
"They're very active, and they'll add a lot of movement," Mr. Wisnieski said.
Each tortoise has a unique brown and tan shell design.
While the tortoises are rare to consumers in this country, they are popular "disposable pets" in Argentina. "It's really a cheap toy," said Tomas Waller, a wildlife trade and management consultant in Buenos Aires.
He estimates that 10,000 chaco tortoises are sold illegally as pets each year in Argentina's capital.
Their life expectancy as pets is as low as three years, Mr. Waller said.
But when properly cared for, they can live 40 to 50 years, according to Mr. Cover.
And for these 250, that long life is a possibility.
"We feel very good about the difference we were able to make, considering most of the tortoises were either hatchlings or they were baby animals," Mr. Wisnieski said.