What kind of tort is he?

Lilmama162803 said:

Good evening everyone:
My name is Sarah and I live in Tucson AZ.
I have a tiny tort named Tank. He was found in the alleyway near my home on a cold rainy evening and still had some of the (don't remember what its called) the thing that was attached to his egg on his tiny belly, so I'm assuming he's only a few months old. I'm also not 100% sure if he's a Mojave desert tortoise or a solcada. I am attempting to post pics...I also want to know what the best diet is for him. Thanks in advance!View attachment 269691

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SweetGreekTorts said:

Welcome to the Forum! The tortoise you have is a regular Sonoran Desert Tortoise, they are native to Arizona. Not a sulcata.

The thing on his belly that you're talking about is the yolk sac, they absorb it within a few days of hatching, so the tort is only a few days old.

Best diet is weeds, grasses, and broadleaf greens. Because he's still very young I would recommend soaking him regularly to help him stay hydrated.

I also live in Tucson if I can help with anything [emoji6]

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KarenSoCal said:

Hi, and welcome!

As SweetGreekTorts said, we don't have a care sheet specifically for desert tortoises.

However, their care is the same as a Russian's, so here's a link to that care sheet.

https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/russian-tortoise-care-sheet.80698/

Also, here's a copy of a long list of foods written by one of our forum members.

You may need to rely on grocery store foods for now. Good foods for tortoises are "chicories," types of lettuce that are likely to be on the far side of the more common floppy green heads of lettuce most people buy. Anything labeled as simply "chicory" is good, as are radiccio, frisee, escarole, and endive; you might even find something labeled as dandelions. You may find a bag of "Spring" or "Spicy" mix that is good, just check the label to be sure it has some of the chicories I just mentioned. The leaves (just the leaves) of turnips and radishes are also good, as are carrot tops. Collards, mustard greens, bok choy, and other dark, leafy greens are okay as well. If you have any kind of Mexican/hispanic market near you, they will sell cactus, labeled "nopales." Cactus is a great food to rotate in the diet, as it is high in calcium.

You don't need to feed all of these at one time, just make sure your tortoise is getting access to different types of food. As you get more experienced, you can find the better types of food listed on the care sheets.

Here are a whole bunch of non-grocery store suggestions.

Mulberry leaves
Grape vine leaves
Hibiscus leaves
African hibiscus leaves
Blue hibiscus leaves
Rose of Sharon leaves
Rose leaves
Geraniums
Gazanias
Nasturtium
Lavatera
Pansies
Petunias
Hostas
Honeysuckle
Cape honeysuckle
Leaves and blooms from any squash plant, like pumpkin, cucumber, summer squash, etc...
Young spineless opuntia cactus pads

Weeds:

There are soooooooo many...
Dandelion
Mallow
Filaree
Smooth Sow thistle
Prickly Sow thistle
Milk thistle
Goat head weed
Cats ear
Nettles
Trefoil
Wild onion
Wild mustard
Wild Garlic
Clovers
Broadleaf plantain
Narrow leaf plantain
Chick weed
Hawksbit
Hensbit
Hawksbeard

Other good stuff:

"Testudo Seed Mix" from http://www.tortoisesupply.com/SeedMixes

Pasture mixes or other seeds from http://www.groworganic.com/seeds.html

Homegrown alfalfa

Mazuri Tortoise Chow

ZooMed Grassland Tortoise Food

Ones that you can buy in every store:
Arugula
Lambs lettuce
Chicory
Kale
Mustard greens
Organic kohlrabi leafs
Organic carrot leafs
Organic radish leafs
Dandelions
Radiccio

And your baby is beautiful!

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