Hello I'm new and looking for answers

kcfkid

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Mar 2, 2021
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Redding
Hello, I have had tortoises that I have rescued for years. I thought I had learned a lot but I have not had this experience before. I just got one that appears to be a Sulcuta. She has really large scuts and I am guessing is 2-3 years old but I am not sure how fast she grew. She is only 4 inches across. I know I cannot reverse the damage but can I prevent it from causing further problems and is so, how? What is my best plan going forward? I have a pen for her outside but know she cannot do our cold so am keeping her indoors for now.
 

Yvonne G

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Hi, and welcome!

Like Zero said, we'll need to see pictures of the tortoise, preferable with something so we can judge the size of the animal.

If it IS a sulcata, 4" is still too small to live outside 24/7, and should only be going outside in warm weather for a couple hours to start acclimating it to being outside. Once we know for sure that you have a sulcata, we can give you species specific help.
 

MeganHudson

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Jun 10, 2021
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Beaumont
My sulcata looks like that too. Not sure what happened before with old owners but shell is bumpy and I guess there's no fixing it. I'm new to this
 

Jan A

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My sulcata looks like that too. Not sure what happened before with old owners but shell is bumpy and I guess there's no fixing it. I'm new to this
Welcome to the forum. The proper care sheet mentioned up in comment #6 is what you should read and cone back & ask questions. You can hopefully stop the "pyramiding" by implementing the care mentioned throughout the sheet & hopefully stop further pyramiding in your tort in the future. Please post pictures & tell us more about your tort. We love photos!!
 

MeganHudson

New Member
Joined
Jun 10, 2021
Messages
11
Location (City and/or State)
Beaumont
Welcome to the forum. The proper care sheet mentioned up in comment #6 is what you should read and cone back & ask questions. You can hopefully stop the "pyramiding" by implementing the care mentioned throughout the sheet & hopefully stop further pyramiding in your tort in the future. Please post pictures & tell us more about your tort. We love photos!!
 

MeganHudson

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Jun 10, 2021
Messages
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Location (City and/or State)
Beaumont
Thanks Jan, I'm still getting used to this site and my phone makes it jumpy so bare with me while I learn to navigate lol would you be able to help me determine the gender of my tortoise ? 4 year old named chopper, but I'm wondering if my shell friend is actually Ms. Chopper lol so cute, and ancient looking. Going to be working on an outdoor enclosure soon, can't wait20210610_114753.jpg20210610_114821.jpg
 

Jan A

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Jan 9, 2021
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1,808
Location (City and/or State)
Boulder, CO
Thanks Jan, I'm still getting used to this site and my phone makes it jumpy so bare with me while I learn to navigate lol would you be able to help me determine the gender of my tortoise ? 4 year old named chopper, but I'm wondering if my shell friend is actually Ms. Chopper lol so cute, and ancient looking. Going to be working on an outdoor enclosure soon, can't waitView attachment 326935View attachment 326936
He/she's a cutie. I'm awful at guessing, & your tort might be too young to tell yet. Since this was started as someone else's thread, you might want to post this in a new thread as a new question.
 

Maggie3fan

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Jun 30, 2018
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PacificNorthWest
I live where it is extremely dry and hot and have always had desert tortoises. We have a breeder here and so many of these guys end up at the local rescue place.
Sulcata come from a Savannah, they are not desert type tortoises
 

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