# Tortoise species



## Hollygolightly (Jan 5, 2015)

i have these new tortoises and cannot determine their species. Any help would be great!


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## ttran (Jan 5, 2015)

It's sulcata tortoise, this one will be very big


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## Hollygolightly (Jan 5, 2015)

hi everyone. I am a recent baby tortoise owner. Im not sure what species they are. I think they are sulcatas however their little legs don't really look like the legs on photos I've seen. They are awesome pets and love to hide under their log. They frequently climb on the log and fall off. It's adorable.

I am located in Southern California.


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## Hollygolightly (Jan 5, 2015)

They don't have the same legs though. Mine don't really had the scales.


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## wellington (Jan 5, 2015)

Hello and Welcome. They are not Sulcatas but CDT and I'm not sure about the laws, but there are some in regards to owning them. @Yvonne G would be able to tell you more about them.


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## Jodie (Jan 5, 2015)

This was answered on your other thread. Not sulcata. CDT i believe was the answer.


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## ALDABRAMAN (Jan 5, 2015)

Welcome!


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## Yvonne G (Jan 5, 2015)

Welcome to the Forum, Holly!

Yes, you have desert tortoises. It is ok for you to have them, and when they get to be about 3 years old you can apply for a permit to keep them. All of the SoCal chapters of the California Turtle & Tortoise Club can supply you with the application (it's free).

Your babies look a little dehydrated to me. Do you soak them in warm water every day?

Don Williams has a good care sheet for desert tortoises:

http://www.donsdeserttortoises.com/2.html


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## Grandpa Turtle 144 (Jan 5, 2015)

Hello Holly welcome to the TFO from AZ . DT 's Rule !


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## Jodie (Jan 5, 2015)

Welcome to the forum. Falling off the log is no doubt cute, but could be a tipping danger. I would keep an eye on that. Especially if it is under the basking area where they could overheat if tipped and unable to get out of the heat.


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## russian/sulcata/tortoise (Jan 5, 2015)

ttran said:


> It's sulcata tortoise, this one will be very big


its a desert tortoise! if you look bend the head you will see a nuchal scute, desert torts have them but sulcatas do not.


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## Gillian M (Jan 6, 2015)

Welcome to forum!


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## tortadise (Jan 6, 2015)

Welcome


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## Tom (Jan 6, 2015)

Many of these babies die due to dehydration in their first few months. Most of the care sheets and care info on them is old outdated and just plain wrong. I typed this sheet up for russian tortoises, but care for the two species is identical. Please read these threads ASAP to get you up to speed and keep these babies alive.
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/russian-tortoise-care-sheet.80698/
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/thread...or-other-herbivorous-tortoise-species.107734/
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/semi-underground-russian-box.98590/

I typed this one up for sulcatas, but it has a long list of good foods. For a CDT just use more emphasis on weeds and succulents and less emphasis on grass.
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/for-those-who-have-a-young-sulcata.76744/

This last one will help to explain what goes on when these babies are kept dry, on dry substrate, with a dry hide, and not soaked enough:
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/hatchling-failure-syndrome.23493/


Hello and welcome to the forum! Congrats on the new babies.


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## Ciri (Jan 6, 2015)

If you haven't already found this information, you might like to check out this list of healthy foods for hatchlings. "The hatchling diet should contain about twice the protein and half the fiber content of the adult diet until the third year." See:
http://www.azgfd.gov/w_c/tortoise/hatchling.shtml

Native foods for desert tortoises (California and Sonoran desert tortoises are cared for the same):
http://www.azgfd.gov/w_c/tortoise/documents/NativePlantsforDesertTortoises_2008.pdf

A good source of seeds (they even have a desert tortoise wildflower mix):
http://shop.nativeseeds.org/pages/seeds

The Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum has excellent info compiled by reptile specialist veterinarian who has cared for the museum's desert tortoises for 35 years, and is well known here among tortoise keepers for his excellent veterinary care:
http://www.desertmuseum.org/programs/tap_tortcare.php

This care sheet doesn't address how often to soak a hatchling desert tortoise. I prefer to have water constantly available.

I hope I'm not overwhelming you with information.


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## Hollygolightly (Jan 6, 2015)

Thank you ciri. I have definitely done a lot of research and appreciate any advice!


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## Hollygolightly (Jan 6, 2015)

Wow everyone! Thank you so much for all the valuable information. I've had them for a couple months now and have been looking for good advice on food. When it was warmer Id take them outside regularly for sunlight and fresh grass and leaves. But I defintiely want to vary their diet more (they mostly eat kale and mixed greens with grass). I'll have to get some weeds. 

They have flipped over a couple times but are getting so much bigger and are learning how to right themselves. Their home has a uvb lamp and a heating lamp on one end with a heating pad for winter (it gets cold here). But the other half of their home is cooler. 

At what point will they be able to burrow? I was told around three years old.


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## russian/sulcata/tortoise (Jan 6, 2015)

can you post some enclosure pics?


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## Hollygolightly (Jan 6, 2015)

Yes.


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## Hollygolightly (Jan 6, 2015)

Here is the basking area


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## russian/sulcata/tortoise (Jan 6, 2015)

Hollygolightly said:


> Here is the basking area
> View attachment 113138


they need actual substrate. some good substrates are coco coir, cypress mulch and orchard bark which need to be moist. are they housed together?


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## russian/sulcata/tortoise (Jan 6, 2015)

the water bowl is a flip hazard replace it with a thin plant saucer.


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## Hollygolightly (Jan 6, 2015)

Oh good to know. I'm hoping to move them outdoors but was told they had to be a little bit older. Yes they're housed together. Is that okay?


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## russian/sulcata/tortoise (Jan 6, 2015)

Hollygolightly said:


> Oh good to know. I'm hoping to move them outdoors but was told they had to be a little bit older. Yes they're housed together. Is that okay?


they should be housed in two different enclosures, torts are territorial creatures they like there own space. being kept together can stress both torts.


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## Gillian M (Jan 7, 2015)

russian/sulcata/tortoise said:


> the water bowl is a flip hazard replace it with a thin plant saucer.


 Hi. It (the water bowl) seems a bit too deep for a tort to be able to reach it, doesn't it?


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