# bolson tortoise care?



## qixer01 (Sep 30, 2012)

i rescued a bolson tortoise. i cant find any info on there diet. housing needs, or anything. all i can find is how endangered they are. does anyone have any good info on how to care for these guys. here is a post that has pictures..

http://www.tortoiseforum.org/Thread-New-rescue-Please-help-ID?pid=540392#pid540392


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## Itort (Sep 30, 2012)

The info I find on them is they are a burrowing specie like a gopher tortoise that used to native to the Chihuahuan desert of New Mexico and Arizona and presently the Boson basin of Mexico. With that info I would treat them like a combination of Gopher tort (the burrowing aspect) and Texas tort (habitat and diet).


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## qixer01 (Sep 30, 2012)

Thanks alot


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## tortadise (Sep 30, 2012)

Yep. Use loose sandy soil mixed with hiry. Some peat moss. Feed lots of succulents, and they usually eat dark leafy greens too. Will graze on some grasses. Give about 12-14" of soil for your guys size. Should dig a nice burrow. You can use pompas grasses for plants in the enclosure they will hide in them. I would also suggest upper 90s for hot side .


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## greyshirt (Oct 1, 2012)

Hi. I'm probably a day late and a dollar short, I have this. You may already have seen it.


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## tomt (Oct 1, 2012)

qixer01 said:


> i rescued a bolson tortoise. i cant find any info on there diet. housing needs, or anything. all i can find is how endangered they are. does anyone have any good info on how to care for these guys. here is a post that has pictures..
> 
> http://www.tortoiseforum.org/Thread-New-rescue-Please-help-ID?pid=540392#pid540392
> 
> Since you are in el paso you could contact john kiseda at the el paso zoo for advice. They have bolsons and are connected to the Ted Turner project of rewilding with bolsons, They are actively breeding bolsons so it would be a great source for care info. Do you have any idea where the parents are?


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## qixer01 (Oct 2, 2012)

greyshirt, thanks for that PDF.

tomt. thanks for that info. i will have to go by and check it out.


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## ascott (Oct 3, 2012)

_The Bolson tortoise or giant Mexican gopher tortoise (Gopherus flavomarginatus), was only recently (1959) categorized as a separate species.

It lives in a small region of north-central Mexico; typically, it may mature to about 1 foot (30 centimeters) in length, but a number of individuals have been recorded with a carapace length exceeding 2 feet (60 centimeters).

It has a pale yellow or straw-colored carapace when young, turning pale brown in adults.

The Bolson tortoise digs burrows ranging from 10 to 20 feet (3 to 6 meters) long. Like the gopher tortoise, it feeds along grazing paths in the early morning and late afternoon, retiring to its burrow at midday and at night.

_

http://www.chelonia.org/Articles/Gpolyphemuscare.htm

While this is for gopher, it is similar in food items, well, as similar as possible considering the bolson tortoise has a very geographic diet---since it is natural to such a small range/geographic area, their diet is very specific....I would try however, to get as close to the gopher diet as possible....


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