Desert or texas or ??

[nancykj]

here are pics of my two boys. one is a for sure desert tortoise. he is 13 inches long and weighs 11 1/2 lbs. my little boy is only 6 lbs, and less then 9 inches long. i also see a difference if the nuchal schute (sp)? between the two. thanks for you ID help!

 

[diamondbp]

Deserts. I don't Texas get any where near that size. Beautiful tortoises

 

[nancykj]

Deserts. I don't Texas get any where near that size. Beautiful tortoises

thanks diamonbp! they sure think they are beautiful! pretty sure the little one is texas tort size however. he is just shy of 9 inches, is full grown, and ID guides say the texans get to be about 8.5 inches. so i don't think he is too big..........

 

[Yvonne G]

I'm not real sure, but I think the smaller one is one of the graeca species.

 

[Tom]

I'm not real sure, but I think the smaller one is one of the graeca species.

I dunno. The leg scales and gulars say "Gopherus" to me...

I think its two deserts. TT have a different shape and tend to be very dark or black, and that would have to be a record setting male TT at that size.

I can't be 100% certain from these photos, but that's my guess.

 

[Yvonne G]

Take a look at this Ibera:

http://www.gctts.org/node/409

The leg scales aren't quite the same, but the carapace is very similar.

A shot of the plastron on the smaller one will clinch it. The Texas tortoise male's plastron is VERY concave and quite distinctive.

 

[nancykj]

Take a look at this Ibera:

http://www.gctts.org/node/409

The leg scales aren't quite the same, but the carapace is very similar.

A shot of the plastron on the smaller one will clinch it. The Texas tortoise male's plastron is VERY concave and quite distinctive.

thank you for your thoughts on my boy. i will take a pic of his plastron and post it tomorrow.

 

[nancykj]

ok, took a couple of pics of joxer upside down. he was not happy about it. also took pic of him next to a yardstick. my for sure desert tort was so far into his house i did not pull him out to compare. i also took a pic next to a yardstick. what do you all think?

 

[thatrebecca]

While we wait for the experts to weigh in on his species I will note the incontrovertible fact that he is handsome as all get out.

 

[nancykj]

While we wait for the experts to weigh in on his species I will note the incontrovertible fact that he is handsome as all get out.

ah, thatrebecca, and he is already so darn conceited......

 

[BeeBee*BeeLeaves]

I wonder if it is a hybrid of California-Texas? It looks a little boxy but yet the coloring is not Texas. I suspect that there are more of those out there than we realize from the old days, before folks knew better.

 

[Yvonne G]

Yup...he's got Texas in him for sure. The plastron is a dead give-away. But he's a strange color for a Berlandieri.

 

[nancykj]

wonder if he is indeed a hybrid then, like BeeBee suggests? his origins are murky. one version had him stolen out of the new mexico desert, another that he was found wandering the street in california. i always wondered why he was only half the size of my other tort.

when i took them both to the vet last week for a wellness check before hibernation, i pointed out to her that his shell was "different". Now that i look at pics on this forum, i think he is indeed a bit pyramided. after she had examined both torts in the back she came out and said "it is like he is a completely different tortoise." she noted differences in his shell and mentioned something about scales between his claws. anyway, that is why i started thinking the Berlandieri thing>
this is a wonderful forum with so much information! such fun and interesting stuff!

 

[diamondbp]

Most TT males have Split gulars that can point slightly outwards , where your male has almost a singular gular that points directly forward.

I guess a hybrid is possible but I still think he is an unusually small DT. Possibly from genetics, early improper care, or both.

---

---

 

[nancykj]

Hi diamondbp!

thanks for sending those pics! my guy does indeed have split gulars, the pics i took of him do not show that clearly. not sure if they point outwards or not. but they are very split. i always noted this diff from him and my for sure desert tortoise, but as the CD tort gular was shorter, and rounded off at the end, i guessed that his had been split also originally, but had worn down or been broken off. shows how much i need this forum for my long overdue tortoise education!

 

[BeeBee*BeeLeaves]

nancykj, the reason I suspected hybrid is because I too was given a tortoise that I need to post pictures on for positive identification (sorry, I haven't yet because I am a lame-oid when it comes to posting pics) but it is also a fair complexion (LOL) little bit of Texas there I totally suspect desert tortoise. Pictures of mine can be found in the link below but I need to do the vital plastron one, to be sure. My leopard tortoise babies breeder had a friend give it to him after 3 weeks of trying to find its owners. It was found in an industrial part of Los Angeles on Figueroa Street. What? Signs on poles for weeks, and craigslist ads in 3 counties, for a month, before I was finally given the opportunity to adopt this funky (thanks Will) tortoise, hence his name FunkeeDeeTee. Love-love-love him. : )

Here is mine: http://tortoiseforum.org/thread-78291.html

 

[MildredsMommy]

Must be the season-I had the same issue on this boy I adopted last week. The person I got it from said Sulcata, then it went back and forth between Desert and Texas. Crazy!

 

[diamondbp]

Must be the season-I had the same issue on this boy I adopted last week. The person I got it from said Sulcata, then it went back and forth between Desert and Texas. Crazy!

I would say yours is a male TT for sure. So beautiful!

 

[MildredsMommy]

Must be the season-I had the same issue on this boy I adopted last week. The person I got it from said Sulcata, then it went back and forth between Desert and Texas. Crazy!

I would say yours is a male TT for sure. So beautiful!

Thank you-initially I thought it was a female so I am back to thinking of names-it never fails to amaze me how personable tortoises are-this one is sweet as can be

 

[nancykj]

Must be the season-I had the same issue on this boy I adopted last week. The person I got it from said Sulcata, then it went back and forth between Desert and Texas. Crazy!

he is very beautiful! i will try to get a pic of mine and his gulars in the next day or so, but i can't say my guy is as good-looking as yours!