RabbitSide
New Member
Hi, we live in Slab City, California. We took on two Desert Tortoises a while back as a "mated pair". We quickly separated the male from the female but it was too late and she had babies. She then had babies again the next year. Hopefully after this year it'll slow down/stop.
As a result, we currently have 4 babies here that are about a year old. We have already re-homed 5 other babies. They are in great health and very active. They are housed in an outdoor enclosure here in the California desert and eat a varied diet of plants and grasses we grow here plus native plant matter we forage.
Once you become "tortoise people" other torts always find their way to you. There was a 150lb Sulcata wandering around out here last year and we took him in. We found the original owner but they said we'd be a better option for the tortoise so we were asked to keep him. We then were also brought a different Sulcata that was about 2 years old by our neighbor, again because we were more suited to take care of it. We now have:
1 adult female Desert Tortoise - ~ 30 yrs old
1 adult male Sulcata Tortoise - 18 yrs old
1 unsexed Sulcata Tortoise - 3 years old
4 baby Desert Tortoise - 1 year old
We are going to be moving from the area to the Appalachian mountains in the next year or so, which is why we are re-homing tortoises. We'd love to bring them with us but the environment we are moving to just isn't suitable for these types of tortoises. We'd much rather see that they are kept in an optimal environment and stay happy, warm and healthy!We are going to be moving from the area to the Appalachian mountains in the next year or so, which is why we are re-homing tortoises.
These Desert Tortoise babies are free to a good home in the local area. They are suitable for someone living in the desert region of California / Arizona as that's the habitat these tortoises are native to and do best in. We're not going to ship them but if you're unable to come the whole distance to pick them up, we can possibly deliver them half way to you or whatever works best.
The adult female is also up for adoption to a good home. Her name is Apples and she is the sweetest thing to walk this earth. She is so friendly and affectionate. She's the one we really, really don't want to part ways with. She's wonderful.
The smaller Sulcata will also need to go to someone local enough to come pick it up. You'll also need to be sufficiently prepared to house it when it's larger, because it will grow fast and quickly become a 150lb monster. An ideal situation is someone on a large enough property to be able to fence off and secure a nice sized area for the tortoise to grow into.
As for the big Sulcata, his name is Ninja and he is very strong and very curious. He isn't aggressive but will approach you quickly and be a bit pushy to see if you have any food. Once he sees you have nothing, he gets bored and walks away. We have him in a small pen with a covered "house" that he dug a burrow in which goes about 15 feet underground. When he comes up, we let him out into a large fenced in run that is time-shared with other tortoises and our dogs will pop out there too. The tortoise, dogs and cats all get along fine. We don't let him mingle with the smaller tortoises because he's so large we worry he could harm them. Since he has ample space to roam around, he never has attempted to dig under the fence to escape. he just hangs out in the yard and then goes to bed in his hole. The good tortoise life.
veggies
So for the big guy, an experienced keeper is preferred and you'll of course need plenty of space to house him. The best scenario would be a zoo or wildlife park because he is a nice specimen and they would have the space, knowledge and disposable income for greens needed to give him a good life.
If you meet the location criteria and have a good situation for any one of these tortoises send a message and we'll talk!
Thanks so much
RabbitSide
Small Sulcata:
Babies:
Adult female Desert Tortoise:
*Youtube video is of the big fella*
As a result, we currently have 4 babies here that are about a year old. We have already re-homed 5 other babies. They are in great health and very active. They are housed in an outdoor enclosure here in the California desert and eat a varied diet of plants and grasses we grow here plus native plant matter we forage.
Once you become "tortoise people" other torts always find their way to you. There was a 150lb Sulcata wandering around out here last year and we took him in. We found the original owner but they said we'd be a better option for the tortoise so we were asked to keep him. We then were also brought a different Sulcata that was about 2 years old by our neighbor, again because we were more suited to take care of it. We now have:
1 adult female Desert Tortoise - ~ 30 yrs old
1 adult male Sulcata Tortoise - 18 yrs old
1 unsexed Sulcata Tortoise - 3 years old
4 baby Desert Tortoise - 1 year old
We are going to be moving from the area to the Appalachian mountains in the next year or so, which is why we are re-homing tortoises. We'd love to bring them with us but the environment we are moving to just isn't suitable for these types of tortoises. We'd much rather see that they are kept in an optimal environment and stay happy, warm and healthy!We are going to be moving from the area to the Appalachian mountains in the next year or so, which is why we are re-homing tortoises.
These Desert Tortoise babies are free to a good home in the local area. They are suitable for someone living in the desert region of California / Arizona as that's the habitat these tortoises are native to and do best in. We're not going to ship them but if you're unable to come the whole distance to pick them up, we can possibly deliver them half way to you or whatever works best.
The adult female is also up for adoption to a good home. Her name is Apples and she is the sweetest thing to walk this earth. She is so friendly and affectionate. She's the one we really, really don't want to part ways with. She's wonderful.
The smaller Sulcata will also need to go to someone local enough to come pick it up. You'll also need to be sufficiently prepared to house it when it's larger, because it will grow fast and quickly become a 150lb monster. An ideal situation is someone on a large enough property to be able to fence off and secure a nice sized area for the tortoise to grow into.
As for the big Sulcata, his name is Ninja and he is very strong and very curious. He isn't aggressive but will approach you quickly and be a bit pushy to see if you have any food. Once he sees you have nothing, he gets bored and walks away. We have him in a small pen with a covered "house" that he dug a burrow in which goes about 15 feet underground. When he comes up, we let him out into a large fenced in run that is time-shared with other tortoises and our dogs will pop out there too. The tortoise, dogs and cats all get along fine. We don't let him mingle with the smaller tortoises because he's so large we worry he could harm them. Since he has ample space to roam around, he never has attempted to dig under the fence to escape. he just hangs out in the yard and then goes to bed in his hole. The good tortoise life.
veggies
So for the big guy, an experienced keeper is preferred and you'll of course need plenty of space to house him. The best scenario would be a zoo or wildlife park because he is a nice specimen and they would have the space, knowledge and disposable income for greens needed to give him a good life.
If you meet the location criteria and have a good situation for any one of these tortoises send a message and we'll talk!
Thanks so much
RabbitSide
Small Sulcata:
Babies:
Adult female Desert Tortoise:
*Youtube video is of the big fella*
