Desert tortoise health concerns

[guttermouse]

I have questions.
I just drove 2 hours to pick this girl up. The woman I got her from said her grandmother wasn’t giving it the proper care. Luckily the woman was able to talk her grandmother into giving it to a new home. We have an enclosure ready to go, and have successfully raised healthy sulcatas, leopards, a redfoot, and a desert tortoise, so I’m confident in the life I will give to this one. So here are my questions. She said she’s had this one since she was a hatchling, and she is now 5 years old. Am I crazy for thinking a desert tortoise this size is too large for that age or does that timeline match up? Also, her feet have several scales sticking out to the side which are taking on a nail like shape..what is causing that?

Aside from the pyramiding, she looks very different from the desert tortoises I’m used to seeing. I’m aware of Sonoran vs. Mojave, so could this be a Sonoran? Does anyone have any other thoughts on the way it looks and it’s health? I’ll be monitoring her over the next week and making a vet appointment if she shows signs of sickness/concern.

 

[SinLA]

I don't have anything useful to add, but wanted to thank you for taking her and taking good care of her...

 

[guttermouse]

I don't have anything useful to add, but wanted to thank you for taking her and taking good care of her...

Thank you !

 

[guttermouse]

I do want to add that upon further research, I’m reading about a tortoise called a Bolson which she seems to replicate more than the desert tortoises you can find in our area. Does anyone have any experience with Bolson tortoises, or just thoughts on her possibly being one?

 

[SinLA]

Not my area of expertise, but she sure does look like my neighbor's desert tortoise, and not like what I see in photos of a Bolson tortoise...

 

[Tom]

I have questions.
I just drove 2 hours to pick this girl up. The woman I got her from said her grandmother wasn’t giving it the proper care. Luckily the woman was able to talk her grandmother into giving it to a new home. We have an enclosure ready to go, and have successfully raised healthy sulcatas, leopards, a redfoot, and a desert tortoise, so I’m confident in the life I will give to this one. So here are my questions. She said she’s had this one since she was a hatchling, and she is now 5 years old. Am I crazy for thinking a desert tortoise this size is too large for that age or does that timeline match up? Also, her feet have several scales sticking out to the side which are taking on a nail like shape..what is causing that?

Aside from the pyramiding, she looks very different from the desert tortoises I’m used to seeing. I’m aware of Sonoran vs. Mojave, so could this be a Sonoran? Does anyone have any other thoughts on the way it looks and it’s health? I’ll be monitoring her over the next week and making a vet appointment if she shows signs of sickness/concern.

This is a male DT. It has just been raised and fed with the typical wrong advice. Here is the correct care info:

The Best Way To Raise Any Temperate Species Of Tortoise

I chose the title of this care sheet very carefully. Are there other ways to raise babies and care for adults? Yes. Yes there are, but those ways are not as good. What follows is the BEST way, according to 30 years of research and experimentation with hundreds of babies of many species. What is...

tortoiseforum.org

 

[guttermouse]

Not my area of expertise, but she sure does look like my neighbor's desert tortoise, and not like what I see in photos of a Bolson tortoise...

Thank you.

This is a male DT. It has just been raised and fed with the typical wrong advice. Here is the correct care info:

The Best Way To Raise Any Temperate Species Of Tortoise

I chose the title of this care sheet very carefully. Are there other ways to raise babies and care for adults? Yes. Yes there are, but those ways are not as good. What follows is the BEST way, according to 30 years of research and experimentation with hundreds of babies of many species. What is...

tortoiseforum.org

tom

This is a male DT. It has just been raised and fed with the typical wrong advice. Here is the correct care info:

The Best Way To Raise Any Temperate Species Of Tortoise

I chose the title of this care sheet very carefully. Are there other ways to raise babies and care for adults? Yes. Yes there are, but those ways are not as good. What follows is the BEST way, according to 30 years of research and experimentation with hundreds of babies of many species. What is...

tortoiseforum.org

tom thank you. Any thoughts on the feet? And I had initially thought male, but the plastron is completely flat on the bottom. Is it just too young?

 

[Yvonne G]

. . . and his eyes are kinda' squinty. I'd bet he'd like a good, long soak in warmish water.

 

[Tom]

Any thoughts on the feet?

Scale growth that isn't being worn down, as it would be in the wild. I don't think you need to do anything about it.