# CA Desert Torts?



## RascalDesertTort (Feb 25, 2010)

who here has oe of these cuties besides me? I've noticed most of the desert dwellars here are sulcatas


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## Shelly (Feb 25, 2010)

Not too many owners are posting about their DTs because they are all hibernating right now (the torts, not the owners). There are plenty of owners. I have 3.


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## Yvonne G (Feb 25, 2010)

I have one pen with a male and female and another pen with a male and three females. Then throughout the summer, I usually have several isolation pens with rescued males who are waiting to be adopted.


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## dmmj (Feb 25, 2010)

I own one DT 19 years old, goes by the name of tank.


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## Shelly (Feb 25, 2010)

emysemys said:


> I have one pen with a male and female and another pen with a male and three females. Then throughout the summer, I usually have several isolation pens with rescued males who are waiting to be adopted.



What do you do with rescued females?


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## Yvonne G (Feb 25, 2010)

Shelly said:


> emysemys said:
> 
> 
> > I have one pen with a male and female and another pen with a male and three females. Then throughout the summer, I usually have several isolation pens with rescued males who are waiting to be adopted.
> ...



If you send me pictures of your tortoise pen so that I can see if it is a safe place for a tortoise to live, I will adopt one out to you...however, you have to come pick it up...no shipping.


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## Shelly (Feb 25, 2010)

emysemys said:


> Shelly said:
> 
> 
> > emysemys said:
> ...



Huh? I wasn't asking to adopt one, I was just asking why you you have isolation pens for males, but none for females?


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## dmmj (Feb 25, 2010)

males like to fight more than females.


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## dreadyA (Feb 25, 2010)

uhhhh, OT, but out of all banners, why is p a p a j o h n s pizza here . haha


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## kimber_lee_314 (Feb 25, 2010)

I have 5 (and am babysitting a little hatchling right now.) They are the best - super personalities!


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## Yvonne G (Feb 26, 2010)

Shelly said:


> I wasn't asking to adopt one, I was just asking why you you have isolation pens for males, but none for females?



No. The females are few and far between. I get 99% more males than females. In fact, in all the years I've been taking in rescued turtles and tortoises, I can count on one hand the number of female desert tortoises I have taken in.


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## Shelly (Feb 26, 2010)

Why is that? Is the population skewed that much?


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## Yvonne G (Feb 26, 2010)

I really don't know. I doubt its the temperature/sex/egg thing because a higher temperature produces females. Its pretty hot in the desert. Maybe more people keep the females and turn in the males. Who knows.


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## Shelly (Feb 26, 2010)

That's really odd. I do remember you mentioning that in the past... Is the same disparity documented in wild populations?


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## Yvonne G (Feb 26, 2010)

If you scroll down to table 5 on page 179, you'll see that there are more males in the wild than females:

http://quest.nasa.gov/projects/spacewardbound/docs/Mojave6.pdf


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## galvinkaos (Feb 26, 2010)

I have Doris and Maude hatched Oct 2007 (still too young to know male/female). They aren't hibernating. They live inside, but they have gotten to enjoy a few of our warm days outside. 

Dawna

(Avatar is Doris and Fred (Fred is no longer with us RIP))


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## cuppidsarrows (Feb 26, 2010)

Between me and my boyfriend we have 4 the oldest is a year and the 3 youngest were all hatched August 2009.


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## Madortoise (Feb 27, 2010)

I have a 4 years old; too early to tell the gender but I call her Penelope. She's hibernating now. I love her so much--she brings out the best in me.


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