Do I hibernate my tortoise? Species? Help!

Rosario

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I found my tortoise 4 months ago, I’m new to owning one. Do I hibernate? Does anybody know the species? I’m aware that not all need to be hibernated. I’m assuning it’s not a baby but it’s less than 5 years old, anybody have an idea please? Here is the house I made him :)

373081B2-EC9A-4314-90F4-D86196940134.jpeg 1A881D6E-1636-4278-9464-5C2E27BBDD71.jpeg EA3F5265-7E3D-45B4-BB23-CC7E10B29D95.jpeg 45BF85F5-F41F-4C1E-974C-80BF67ABA62E.jpeg
 

Yvonne G

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Hi Rosario, and welcome to the Forum!

Many years ago, I was just like you. . . that is, I would find a tortoise and put it into the backyard, not giving a single thought to finding out what it was or how to feed it.

But in this enlightened day and age, we now know that there are many species of tortoise and not all of them eat the same diet or take the same kind of care.

What you have there is someone's escaped pet. I can tell it's not a wild tortoise by the bumps on the shell. He has been raised by someone in a dry environment, and that someone has probably been pretty sad these past four months not being able to find their tortoise. Did you try to find his owner?

Your new tortoise is a desert tortoise, more than likely from the Mojave desert (Gopherus agassizii). They forage on grasses and weeds and DO NOT EAT fruit.

It wouldn't be a good idea to allow this tortoise to brumate this year because you haven't had him long enough to know if he's a good weight for brumation or if he's healthy enough.

You'll need to set him up indoors with a good UVB light to keep him warm and in a large enough enclosure that he has room to wander and exercise.
 

JoesMum

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To add to Yvonne's exceelent advice ... fruits are actually bad for your tort's health. They cause digestive and kidney problems. Sweet foods like fruit, bell pepper, carrot and tomato should only be fed very sparingly and very occasionally if at all.
 

Rosario

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Hi Rosario, and welcome to the Forum!

Many years ago, I was just like you. . . that is, I would find a tortoise and put it into the backyard, not giving a single thought to finding out what it was or how to feed it.

But in this enlightened day and age, we now know that there are many species of tortoise and not all of them eat the same diet or take the same kind of care.

What you have there is someone's escaped pet. I can tell it's not a wild tortoise by the bumps on the shell. He has been raised by someone in a dry environment, and that someone has probably been pretty sad these past four months not being able to find their tortoise. Did you try to find his owner?

Your new tortoise is a desert tortoise, more than likely from the Mojave desert (Gopherus agassizii). They forage on grasses and weeds and DO NOT EAT fruit.

It wouldn't be a good idea to allow this tortoise to brumate this year because you haven't had him long enough to know if he's a good weight for brumation or if he's healthy enough.

You'll need to set him up indoors with a good UVB light to keep him warm and in a large enough enclosure that he has room to wander and exercise.
Thank you so much for the great advise, I haven’t found the owners unfortunately so we are trying to have the best home for it. I rarely give it fruit but I will avoid it. I will take him to a reptile place to get more help in setting him up indoors. I appreciate all the help, I’m learning everything I could every day :)
 

Rosario

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To add to Yvonne's exceelent advice ... fruits are actually bad for your tort's health. They cause digestive and kidney problems. Sweet foods like fruit, bell pepper, carrot and tomato should only be fed very sparingly and very occasionally if at all.
Thank you, I’ve gotten different advice from other tortoise owners but I will definitely eliminate the fruit... only occasionally l. Thank you for the advice I sure want to provide the best life for it.
 

Lyn W

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Hi and welcome, I had a steep learning curve to climb when I first rehomed my tort too but the advice on TTF is up to date and will help you keep your tort safe and healthy.
If you search the Species Specific section you will probably find a caresheet which will tell you all about diet, temps, humidity, substrate etc for the species you have there; www.thetortoisetable.org,uk is also a good guide to tort safe plants.
The Enclosures thread also has some great ideas for enclosures.
Ask as many questions as you like there will always be someone around to help or point you on the right direction.
 

Cheryl Hills

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Do not go to a reptil place. You will get sold all kinds of things you don’t need. Look under the species spacific section and follow the advice given there. Most things you find at pet stores, vets, and other places, will be the old and wrong info.
 

Rosario

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Ok thank you, I’m sure they want to make a profit over helping tourtoises. I appreciate it
 

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