Help me identify my tortoise. Found him/her near my business site.

[kapiljhajhria]

I found a tortoise yesterday near my office. (Pics attached). I am having trouble identifying it and also he doesn't eat anything that i try to give him. I have tried some vegetables and grass.

Also, one guy who was near the place where i found him told me that he took him to his home as well but he was not eating anything so he left him where he found him. He even bought some tortoise food from a pet shop but when he had him he didn't ate anything for 2-3 days.


How long can they stay without food.

I have also attached a pic where he was found. Its sort of open warehouse. Nothing to eat there except garbage and some plants. I wonder how he survived there so long. People who work nearby told me that there are 2-3 more tortoise there. I tried to find them but found none.

My location: gurgaon, haryana, india
Its north india and near delhi

If you can't see the pics here then you can visit my imgur album http://imgur.com/a/5Hix0

Tortoise pics

 

[peasinapod]

I can't see the picture, try posting it again. Where do you live? They could be native to your area.

 

[dmmj]

Salutations
Pics not attached.

 

[kapiljhajhria]

 

[kapiljhajhria]

I can't see the picture, try posting it again. Where do you live? They could be native to your area.

I am trying. Its not uploading. Uploading to imgur nlw and will share album link

Salutations
Pics not attached.

I live in india.
North india
Gurgaon ( its near delhi)

Will add details to my post

 

[kapiljhajhria]

Salutations
Pics not attached.

I can't see the picture, try posting it again. Where do you live? They could be native to your area.

Can't upload pics. Can't even edit the content of my main post. Tried both web and app. Please visit my imgur album and help if you can. I took him home yesterday evening and he is not eating anything. Looks like that stranger who was claiming to have kept him for few days was right.

http://imgur.com/a/5Hix0

 

[dmmj]

It's not a tortoise, but a water turtle, it needs to be in water to eat, and it is carnivorous. the pic, isn't good enough for me to nial down the species.

 

[kapiljhajhria]

It's not a tortoise, but a water turtle, it needs to be in water to eat, and it is carnivorous. the pic, isn't good enough for me to nial down the species.

This is where i found him.

http://imgur.com/66TOpTg

There is no water there. Just a dry land for storing empty water tanks. New water tanks and some garbage that workers throw there. Its locked most of the time. So tortoise or turtle can't even get out.

There is no water body near this area...for miles.


R u sure its a turtle?
I am very new to this just thought of taking him home so that he doesn't die but now i am thinking that it was better at this place.


Again new to this but what i have read and seen on internet so far raises some question.

1. Biggest question is are you sure that he is turtle because that changes lot of things.

2. How could have he survived for so long in that filthy place.


3. What do i need to feed him if he is a turtle

4. I have a very big space in front of my house. Protected. Sort of inside my house. Should i dug some big hole about a cm or two deep and as wide as possible. When i put him outside? And what about inside? Too many questions about how to keep him and feed him if he is a turtle. As i think keeping a tortoise is easier then turtle.

5. How big will he grow? Now his shell is approx 6cm long.

6. What is his life span?

7. Anyway to judge how old he might be?

8. Any extra info, precaution or stuff that you think i should be aware of.

 

[kapiljhajhria]

Also i can take more pics in the evening. After 4-6 hrs. To help you tell me about him in more detail and also if he has any health issue. I can take pic as requested by any one of you

 

[dmmj]

Positive on it being a water turtle, I can tell by the back feet, someone else may ID the specific species. care and stuff will sort of depend on the species, lets see what other s think.

 

[russian/sulcata/tortoise]

i think its a giant asian pond turtle

 

[russian/sulcata/tortoise]

where are you located? this turtle is most likely someones pet.

 

[kapiljhajhria]

where are you located? this turtle is most likely someones pet.

It is not anyone's pet. I called the owner of this open warehouse. And asked him to unlock the gate so that i can take the turtle. He told me he has no idea where it came from and most of the structure nearby is not residential and some of which is residential don't own any pet. Not even dog. Just bunch of house and i know almost all of them.

There is no water body like pond, lake, river etc for miles too.

I am guessing he must have come in a truck with one of the used water tank or any one of the constructions truck. When it was small and it has stayed here since.

If it is someone pet then it is very far from his home and i am surprised that he made it so far.


I will take more pics when i get back home and will try to feed him something from pet store supplies. Maybe some worms or whatever they have for turtles. But aren't sea turtle omnivorous? Means they can eat grass and plants???

 

[tortdad]

Turtles do not have a saliva glands so it is impossible for them to eat unless they are in water. There has to be some water around there or it couldn't survive. Maybe a storm sewer? Toss it in a bucket full of water with some gold fish in it


0.0.1 Redfoot (Spike)
0.0.1 Cherryhead Redfoot (Bruce Wayne)
1.0 Sulcata (Hal Jordan)

 

[Maggie Cummings]

Or worms. It actually looks like some kind of a Chinese Box turtle to me. But try some worms and keep it warm. We'll figure out what it is and you can set him up right and have a great pet...

 

[tortadise]

Looks like an Indian pond turtle they are aquatic and require marsh like ecosystems. I'd recommend placing it near a body of water with trees, and Lilly pads.

 

[Maggie Cummings]

Looks like an Indian pond turtle they are aquatic and require marsh like ecosystems. I'd recommend placing it near a body of water with trees, and Lilly pads.

So if it's aquatic, wouldn't it eat worms? Or are you saying to release it before he feeds it?

 

[tortadise]

So if it's aquatic, wouldn't it eat worms? Or are you saying to release it before he feeds it?

Yep. These guys eat floating vegetation and snails. So worms would probably be consumed.

 

[tortadise]

It is not anyone's pet. I called the owner of this open warehouse. And asked him to unlock the gate so that i can take the turtle. He told me he has no idea where it came from and most of the structure nearby is not residential and some of which is residential don't own any pet. Not even dog. Just bunch of house and i know almost all of them.

There is no water body like pond, lake, river etc for miles too.

I am guessing he must have come in a truck with one of the used water tank or any one of the constructions truck. When it was small and it has stayed here since.

If it is someone pet then it is very far from his home and i am surprised that he made it so far.


I will take more pics when i get back home and will try to feed him something from pet store supplies. Maybe some worms or whatever they have for turtles. But aren't sea turtle omnivorous? Means they can eat grass and plants???

It's hard to tell by the pic you provided, but it may be a spotted pond and not a black pond like I initially had thought. Are you in northern to northwestern India? Could you maybe get a good face photo and see if it's really spotted or not? The size of it appears to be a female for sure as both black ponds and spotted the females reach much larger sizes. They can be found very far from water to lay eggs. Because of the monsoon seasons you receive over there will search for a nesting site far from water not to risk a nest being flooded. @Anthony P is very versed in aquatic species. He would have more knowledge than I on this matter too. If indeed it is an Indian spotted(need more photos) that's cool as they are critically endangered.

 

[kapiljhajhria]

It's hard to tell by the pic you provided, but it may be a spotted pond and not a black pond like I initially had thought. Are you in northern to northwestern India? Could you maybe get a good face photo and see if it's really spotted or not? The size of it appears to be a female for sure as both black ponds and spotted the females reach much larger sizes. They can be found very far from water to lay eggs. Because of the monsoon seasons you receive over there will search for a nesting site far from water not to risk a nest being flooded. @Anthony P is very versed in aquatic species. He would have more knowledge than I on this matter too. If indeed it is an Indian spotted(need more photos) that's cool as they are critically endangered.

I will upload more pics in the morning. Difficult to take any good pic as it goes in its shell if i come closer. Have to stay still and let him/her get out of shell and move. And when it has gone a bit far i get up and make some sound and it goes back in.

You see....difficult to take a good pic.

I can hold it in my hand and take good pics of shell and just small portion of his face that he sometimes keeps out while i hold him.

He ate some spinach and grass. No tomatoes. (Maybe this can help a bit)