# Need !help. Found tortoise



## Bartlebie (Aug 18, 2021)

Ok, here is the situation. Out walking with my family this evening and we found a tortoise walking down the street. Obviously this guy isn't native to Texas. He looks just like our Russian, only he is at least twice as big. Obviously, we can't put him in with our smaller Russian. I'm making a sign to go post in the area we found him, and hopefully his owner contacts us very quickly. In the mean time, I'm putting some of our extra orchid bark, water, and food in this tub. I've go an extra heat lamp I can rig up for him. My question: what do I do? Is there proximity risk of transmitting sickness to my Russian if we let him stomp around in our Russian's walk-about area? What can I do to make his stay comfortable while we search for his owner. I don't have another large area to house him in! I'm 99% certain I made the right decision to NOT let him keep wandering down the road, but if one of the experts here can give me some peace of mind, it would be much appreciated.


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## ZEROPILOT (Aug 18, 2021)

He's a wild indigenous tortoise.
You need to release him near where you found him and before it or your Russian have a chance to infect each other with foreign pathogens


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## Bartlebie (Aug 18, 2021)

Ok, there is the makeshift house I put together with no prep time.


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## Bartlebie (Aug 18, 2021)

ZEROPILOT said:


> He's a wild indigenous tortoise.
> You need to release him near where you found him and before it or your Russian have a chance to infect each other with foreign pathogens


I found him walking down a busy street without any fields or wild area in northern san antonio. He doesn't seem like a big city wild animal. Are you sure it is indigenous?

Edit: I looked it up and he DOES look like a Texas Tortoise! but how could he have gotten so large in the middle of the city?


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## TeamZissou (Aug 18, 2021)

This looks to be a Texas tortoise _Gopherus berlandieri_, which are native to your area. It was good that you got him away from the road, but it's not ok to keep it. They are illegal to keep in TX and it seems to be one of the rare laws that they enforce.









Texas tortoise - Wikipedia







en.wikipedia.org


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## ZEROPILOT (Aug 18, 2021)

It looks like a desert tortoise to me.
Google some photos and see for yourself.

The last Florida Gopher tortoise I found (a close relative) was roaming around a gas station parking lot.
Both of these are illegal to possess.


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## ZEROPILOT (Aug 18, 2021)

Florida Gopher is very similar.
This was the gas station wanderer.
I released him into a scrub area close by.


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## Yvonne G (Aug 18, 2021)

Yeah, he's not quite the norm for a Texas tortoise or a desert tortoise, so maybe he's an intergrade. At any rate, I'm thinkin' he's an escaped pet.


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## ZEROPILOT (Aug 18, 2021)

Bartlebie said:


> I found him walking down a busy street without any fields or wild area in northern san antonio. He doesn't seem like a big city wild animal. Are you sure it is indigenous?
> 
> Edit: I looked it up and he DOES look like a Texas Tortoise! but how could he have gotten so large in the middle of the city?


Some species travel for miles in search of food or a mate.
Some get taken from the wild by kids. Then released or escape later after they're not interesting anymore


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## Bartlebie (Aug 18, 2021)

TeamZissou said:


> This looks to be a Texas tortoise _Gopherus berlandieri_, which are native to your area. It was good that you got him away from the road, but it's not ok to keep it. They are illegal to keep in TX and it seems to be one of the rare laws that they enforce.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Thank you both. We had no intention of keeping him, just to house him until his owners picked him up. It looks like I should release him where I found him; but since its the middle of a neighborhood, I'm going to call TPWD in the morning to see what I should do (they may take him to a rehab center). If he is wild, someone probably found him and brought him to their house. No other way I see a wild tortoise getting this big in the middle of a neighborhood. Anyone think I should do differently? Here is a PDF I found about it.


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## TeamZissou (Aug 18, 2021)

Bartlebie said:


> Thank you both. We had no intention of keeping him, just to house him until his owners picked him up. It looks like I should release him where I found him; but since its the middle of a neighborhood, I'm going to call TPWD in the morning to see what I should do (they may take him to a rehab center). If he is wild, someone probably found him and brought him to their house. No other way I see a wild tortoise getting this big in the middle of a neighborhood. Anyone think I should do differently? Here is a PDF I found about it.



I guess he could have been transported. The brochure does list them as being in Bexar county though.


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## Bartlebie (Aug 18, 2021)

I just want to do the right thing. So if holding him until the morning calling Parks and Wildlife isn't the right answer, please tell me what is. There is a green belt with power lines that goes down the middle of our neighborhood, that would be the safest place within 1 city block from where we found him.


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## Bartlebie (Aug 18, 2021)

On a positive note, he just started chowing down on the greens we put in there. Hopefully his diet isn't too different than a Russian's


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## Bartlebie (Aug 18, 2021)

Sorry to flood the forums on this thread. I found "AustinASU" had posted this in another thread when someone asked why a captive tortoise couldn't be leased back where he was found (thanks AustinASU). 

--Not a stupid question at all, the main reason is if he contracted some form of respiratory infection during captivity it would spread to any tortoise he came in contact with. he more than likely wouldn't die due to his immune system being somewhat immune to it, but all of the wild ones would contract the respiratory and infection and would die. This happened to the desert tortoise in California and Nevada, people would keep them as pets and take them to the vet when they got sick and when they couldn't keep them they would let them go back into the wild. Little did they know that their tortoise was a ticking time bomb that literally would wipe out a whole colony of tortoises in that region. Pathogens are another threat to.--

So I'm keeping him in a room in the other end of our house from our Russian. When our Russian is in doors, he stays in his terrarium and never wanders. I don't plan to let this guy in the back yard at all where our Russian has a wander area. What are the threats of them spreading disease separated by multiple rooms and doors? Should I put him in the garage until I can contact TPWD in the morning?


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## zovick (Aug 18, 2021)

Bartlebie said:


> Sorry to flood the forums on this thread. I found "AustinASU" had posted this in another thread when someone asked why a captive tortoise couldn't be leased back where he was found (thanks AustinASU).
> 
> --Not a stupid question at all, the main reason is if he contracted some form of respiratory infection during captivity it would spread to any tortoise he came in contact with. he more than likely wouldn't die due to his immune system being somewhat immune to it, but all of the wild ones would contract the respiratory and infection and would die. This happened to the desert tortoise in California and Nevada, people would keep them as pets and take them to the vet when they got sick and when they couldn't keep them they would let them go back into the wild. Little did they know that their tortoise was a ticking time bomb that literally would wipe out a whole colony of tortoises in that region. Pathogens are another threat to.--
> 
> So I'm keeping him in a room in the other end of our house from our Russian. When our Russian is in doors, he stays in his terrarium and never wanders. I don't plan to let this guy in the back yard at all where our Russian has a wander area. What are the threats of them spreading disease separated by multiple rooms and doors? Should I put him in the garage until I can contact TPWD in the morning?


You are probably safe with them being at opposite ends of the house. Just wash your hands after handling each one before you handle the other one.

I am thinking that possibly someone picked up that tortoise in a more rural area and brought it to your neighborhood where it either escaped or the person who had it lost interest or found it was illegal to keep them and just let it go.

I don't think you should let it go in a busy area such as what you are describing. It should go to a rehab facility or a wildlife rescue. Some of the TX zoos have specimens which are turned in by well-meaning people. I know the Gladys Porter Zoo in Brownsville has a number of them. They are one of the sponsors of the brochure you linked. Maybe San Antonio Zoo does also. You could check on that possibility tomorrow, too.


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## Bartlebie (Aug 19, 2021)

Update, in case anyone was curious: Parks and wildlife gave me a list of people to contact for rehabilitators, and a game warden to investigate. Had to leave a message with each person including the game warden, except one of the rehabilitators did answer. He said to leave the tortoise in a box on this porch any time today and he'll pick him later this afternoon and bring him south to release him. That doesn't sound like the optimal response I was hoping for... Hopefully one of the other people call me back soon; if not, I'll wait until late afternoon and then go down there.


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## Bartlebie (Aug 19, 2021)

So final update, unless anyone asks any questions. I'm pretty sick to my stomach, as I think I made the wrong decision. I did get to talk to two more people from the list the parks and wildlife people sent me to. The first looked at a map with me around where we found it. She said it could have lived up in an area near by and was washed down to our neighborhood with the rains. I gave her more credibility, because I told her I thought it was bigger than a normal Texas Tortoise and that someone on this forum mentioned it was probably a integrate and she said the people here are knowledgeable and know what they are talking about. She said they are hardy and even it was transplanted, it would have a good chance of surviving there on its own. The next person I talked to agreed. So this afternoon we drove up to the area to let it go. I was very hesitant because the terrain seemed too harsh - the vegetation was a little too thick for a tortoise in my opinion, especially one of his size. Its only about 1 mile from where I found him though, probably a little less. So I found the most open area and let him go. When I got back I had to finish work, but afterwards I was researching what type of habitat do they like, and I think I was right, it was too rough of terrain. I'm going to drive up there tomorrow morning and see if he's hanging out by the road to avoid the terrain; I really really really hope I didn't just give him a tough life. Pretty sure I let him and tortoise lovers everywhere down.


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## TeamZissou (Aug 20, 2021)

I think you did the right thing. Regarding the density of vegetation, tortoises stand a better chance of surviving in an area with dense cover compared to a wide open landscape. Their number one strategy in the wild is to hide, whether it be in burrows, under bushes/trees or under leaf litter etc., and they are usually masters at it. The only thing I could think of that might make it unsuitable aside from a populated area is an extremely rocky or steep terrain. In general though, life is tough in the wild, only 1-2% make it to adulthood. This tortoise looks fully grown, so it's at least 15 years old, possibly decades older.

How big was this tortoise? Based on the picture of it in the bin, the size looks about right. 9" SCL seems to be typical, but there are most likely outliers. Did you ever confirm the sex? This could have been a female, which could be a bit bigger than average. The slightly less pronounced, less forked gular scute might be another indicator that it was female.


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## Bartlebie (Aug 20, 2021)

I did not confirm the sex. And he was about 10" or slightly more, which seems very large for a Texas Tortoise. So I'm not going to lie, after I typed all that up last night and was ready for bed, I was feeling so guilty that I got redressed and drove out to the site at midnight just to see if he decided the vegetation was too dense and he was hanging out on the side of the road. Where I left him has NO traffic. Its a dead end road with only 1 house. He, as expected, was no where to be found. So he must have been able to navigate the terrain enough to get started at least. That way I was able to fall asleep with a little bit less of a guilty conscious.


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## TammyJ (Aug 20, 2021)

Bartlebie said:


> I did not confirm the sex. And he was about 10" or slightly more, which seems very large for a Texas Tortoise. So I'm not going to lie, after I typed all that up last night and was ready for bed, I was feeling so guilty that I got redressed and drove out to the site at midnight just to see if he decided the vegetation was too dense and he was hanging out on the side of the road. Where I left him has NO traffic. Its a dead end road with only 1 house. He, as expected, was no where to be found. So he must have been able to navigate the terrain enough to get started at least. That way I was able to fall asleep with a little bit less of a guilty conscious.


You did your nest for him with a lot of thought and consideration and attempts to get good advice! Good for you and thank you for caring about him. Give yourself a break!


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## motogirl (Aug 20, 2021)

ZEROPILOT said:


> Some species travel for miles in search of food or a mate.
> Some get taken from the wild by kids. Then released or escape later after they're not interesting anymore


please put him somewhere safe and let him go..please
hes not a pet tortoise


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## William Lee Kohler (Aug 24, 2021)

Yvonne G said:


> Yeah, he's not quite the norm for a Texas tortoise or a desert tortoise, so maybe he's an intergrade. At any rate, I'm thinkin' he's an escaped pet.


Personally I think he looks more round like a berlandiers but also with the pyramiding like he is not a wild tortoise but was a captive. I think you made a mistake and released a captive pet tortoise and supposedly that is a very bad thing to do. You should have waited for the game/wildlife person for verification.


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