# Wild Desert Tortoise pic, near Barstow.



## sushisurf13 (Jun 1, 2010)

check out this big guy. This was taken over the holiday weekend, near Barstow. Enjoy!


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## RascalDesertTort (Jun 2, 2010)

How did you find him?


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## Maggie Cummings (Jun 2, 2010)

You shouldn't ever touch one. If you scare it and make it pee that could cause it to die as water is very scarce and it might not find any water to replace what it lost when you scared it. So please don't touch them.


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## Tropical Torts (Jun 2, 2010)

Cool pic! Could you guess how big he is. It is hard to tell since there is no reference in the photo.
Thanks for sharing!


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## terryo (Jun 2, 2010)

Nice shot. I think his hand is a good comparison.


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## sushisurf13 (Jun 2, 2010)

this guy happend upon us at our campsite. we were there for about 4 days and he stayed nearby pretty much the whole time. I'm sure his creosote bush and burrow was close by. He would not leave. He was very calm. 
I would guess 10 inches or so. I did not pick him up, so not too sure if its a male or female. 
AND, the person touched his back for reference only. He was moved or harrased. And Maggie, he did not loose his pee either. But thanks for the lecture. 
He was not stressed and seemed very interested in us.
BY the way this was one of three we found. I will not reveal the location other than it was in the Barstow area.


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## Maggie Cummings (Jun 2, 2010)

I am sorry you felt like I was lecturing you. I was simply pointing out a fact that is not widely known by novice keepers. Not everyone knows about Gopherus agassizii and as they are an endangered species and there are more now in private collections then in the wild, I have made it my life's work to do what I can to help preserve the species. You were very privileged to see him that much.


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## sushisurf13 (Jun 2, 2010)

so now I'm a novice keeper? Wow. How insightful of you.
I've had first hand experience with DTs my wholes life. I was raised in a household with 4 adult DT's. All of which are still alive. My grandmother had all of them since before I was born and I have always been facinated. I got my first tortoise when I was 12 years old. I am 33 and I still have him.
I have a female DT that mysteriously laid eggs and Now I have 3 DTs at my house. Plus all the others.
I know enough about them to know if they are stressed. Fingtips on the carapace will not cause a tort to dump its bladder. Especially a relatively calm, wild one. I actually never had a wild tortoise dump its bladder. But then again, I dont pick them up, move them or harass them. 
But hey, what do I know, I'm a just a novice.


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## Maggie Cummings (Jun 2, 2010)

So again I apologize. I don't know why you took so much offense from me, I certainly didn't mean it. So I apologize for offending you. TFO has over 4000 members now and not all of us know all of you. I don't know you and don't know why you think I am out to call you any insulting names. If you are not a novice keeper then you didn't need my information, so you could have simply ignored it. Not all keepers, novice or not understand how to treat a wild tortoise. You evidently know all about it even tho you touched it, so instead of taking offense you could have ignored my comment or said thanks or any number of responses instead of taking offense. 
BTW, touching that tort is a bad thing no matter what spin you put on it. It's against the law to touch them. Touching another temperament of tort might have made it void then he'd be in trouble. That's all I was trying to say, not start a disagreement with someone I don't know.


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## dmmj (Jun 2, 2010)

So I am not taking sides one way or the other, but you just don't touch wild torts, even for reference. One thing people are usually amazed by are how people friendly some desert tortoises seem to be, they often will walk right up to you. I am always amazed when I run into one in the wild.


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## Nay (Jun 2, 2010)

Thanks for posting Eric. I find it very cool that as adult you continue to have torts.I mean that you had them in your life as a kid, then continued liking them. I was interested as a kid seeing them in the woods, but didn't acquire them untill adulthood. My son is 14 and we have had our Red foots, well one of them for 10 years.Now we have 5 and I really really hope he gets more of an interest in them when he is all grown up!!! I have explained that they will be left to him and he better let me know if he won't want them. But at 14, family pets longevity is the last thing you are concerned with.
There was one other poster I inquired about his interest in torts and when he became serious in them, as he also said his grandmother had them. I always tease my son he will probably live in the city and become a lawyer.(The furthest extreme from where we live now and what we do!!)
I would love to see torts when I camp.Or for that matter anytime in the wild would be cool.
Na


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## sushisurf13 (Jun 2, 2010)

Wow Maggie and Dmmj, someone is feeling overly liberal today. So I touched a wild tortoise. Whoopdeee dooooooo. Call the Feds.
At least I am not kicking, throwing rock, shooting, running over or collecting them. I have seen WAY more dead DTs than living. Most have been shot or crushed by cars or large rocks. Its very sad. Obviously we dont agree with what is acceptable. Whatever.

And to NAY, Yeah I've felt very close to the tortoises. As I get older I seem to be more and more concerned with habitat protection and helping others with their torts. I hope your son sparks an interest as well!!

And by the way........
to anyone who has a problem with this photo, thats a shame. It seems like someone usually has issue with my pics. So once again. I'll apologize. 

I posted it to share with all of the fellow members here. I'm sure most of you have never seen a Desert Tortoise, let alone a wild one. And this one was a good looking dude. I just wanted people to see that they are still out there. This pic is for you all to ENJOY, not get upset over. Use it as a screen saver, send it to a friend, what ever.

If you notice, the hand in the pic is GLOVED specificly to not transfer human oil/scent to the carapace. This guy camped with us for 4 days, I think I can at least get a good close up pic.

Once again, ENJOY!


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## dmmj (Jun 2, 2010)

I enjoyed the photo, and as I stated I was not taking sides. But for someone who claims to not be a novice keeper, you should know you don't willingly touch a wild tort, and it most likely could be considered a federal offense if someone wanted to make a case out of it, which I don't, I honestly don't see why you are so upset, no one said you are bad or evil, we don't know everyone here and some helpful advice was offered.I could be mistaken but I do believe it is against the law to touch one, since they are a federally protected species, and in the wild should not be disturbed in any way. glove or not, but lIke I said I like the photo, but you could have put your hand next to it, for a size refernce. As for the liberal reference, I should take insult at that but I won't


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## Tom (Jun 2, 2010)

Wow. Somebodies got their sensitive pants on today.

Nice pic of a nice tort. I see them out there regularly. There are still quite a few around.


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## Maggie Cummings (Jun 2, 2010)

Eric I am sorry you are offended. I am really not concerned with you touching a wild tortoise so much. What I am worried about is the young boy who sees your picture and reads your attitude and the next time he sees a wild tortoise he feels because of what you said that he can touch or otherwise harass that wild tort and his tort is not as calm as yours so it loses it's urine and dehydration sets in. There will be many young boys and girls to see your picture and read your attitude and think it's alright to touch or mess with the next wild tort they see. Wild desert tortoises will suffer because of it I'm afraid.
That was my whole point. You say that tortoise was very calm, but that's not what I see. That picture shows me a tortoise that is all tucked in with his eyes barely showing so he can see what is going on. I don't see a tortoise that is relaxed and curious about what is going on around him. I see a tortoise who is, like I said, all tucked in and tense. 
I am very glad to hear both you and Tom say that you regularly see wild Gopherus agassizii, because the last report I got from the Bureau of Land Management told me that there now were more desert tortoises living in private colonies in captivity then there were living wild in the Mojave area.
I am sorry you felt I was insulting you, that was not my intent at all. My whole concern is the wild Gopherus agassizii and not having in disputes with other TFO members. Please accept my apology and let's move on from this.


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## Tom (Jun 2, 2010)

Maggie, your BLM report is probably accurate. I've seen tons of them in captivity, all over CA, but I've only seen a handful out in the wild. It is always a huge thrill every time I see one out there. One day out near Yucca Valley I saw three different ones.

I didn't touch any of them.


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## ChiKat (Jun 2, 2010)

Very cool! I would love to see a wild tortoise 

Your posts are very defensive however 

Maggie, thanks for the sharing the tip about seeing torts in the wild. I would assume not to disrupt them, but didn't know that little fact about them peeing. Ya learn something new every day


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## sushisurf13 (Jun 2, 2010)

Thanks Tom. I'm suprised at how often I see them.


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## Candy (Jun 2, 2010)

I myself loved your picture because it reminds me of my Fernando. This one has a very nice shell. Fernando's is a little messed up due to some evil boys who once used him as a skateboard ramp. It sounds like he liked being around you. I know that Fernando likes being around people. Thanks for the picture.


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## terracolson (Jun 2, 2010)

Thank you for sharing the photo, i was happy to see it.

my husband has been working on a fence to protect these guys out in the wild. Some where he works on it, down south from where we live in Sacramento, i think about 3 to 4 hours down, more towards the cost.

I tell him how unfair it is, that he is trained to build fencing to protect CDT nesting sites and i cant get a mini pen at home!


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## Stephanie Logan (Jun 3, 2010)

Candy said:


> Fernando's is a little messed up due to some evil boys who once used him as a skateboard ramp.



Geez, it's a shame there are so many ignorant and reckless people around. This forum serves a much-needed educational purpose for the uninformed, though there's not much that can be done about the willfully stupid, I suppose.


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## sushisurf13 (Jun 3, 2010)

Maggie, just for the record, I never took "insult" to your posts. But, I hear where your coming from and I respect your input.
So yes, time to move on. 
Can you please just remove the entire thread? It got a bit off topic and was never the intent. I really dont want anyone else commenting on stuff that is irrelevant to topic at hand. I think it would be better if it was just gone. 

And Djjm, sorry for the liberal reference. Obviously I dont know you and that was a low blow. I wouldnt wish liberal thinking on anyone. So, Im sorry for that.


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## Missy (Jun 3, 2010)

Great pic I have never seen a wild tortoise but if I do I promise not to touch it.


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## sushisurf13 (Jun 3, 2010)

Missy said:


> Great pic I have never seen a wild tortoise but if I do I promise not to touch it.



Good Idea!!


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