Hi from Tucson, AZ!

[smc]

Hi! My name is Sean, 36 year-old kid. Here is a picture taken about 8 years ago when I first adopted these guys:

Leonardo is the gold box turtle, and Pebble is the desert tortoise. Pebble was found as a hatchling wandering an alley in the city. Pebble is now 3 times the size as Lenny.

Taken 2 years ago:

Up until this year when they came out of hibernation, we thought Pebble was female. HE must have had a growth spurt; horns grew, prominent glands, and now he measure 9x7". They are the best of buddies to this day.

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi Sean:

Welcome to the forum!!

Thanks for sharing your pictures with us. I love it when folks join and immediately post pictures!

Your box turtle is called Terrapene carolina triunguis (3-toed box turtle), and I get the impression that "he" is a "she" but without a more detailed picture I couldn't be sure. Leonardo could use a beak trim.

What a lucky find on the desert tortoise hatchling. He would have been toast without your intervention.

(That close-up shot of Pebble is worthy of a calendar page. Why don't you send a PM to Josh and see if box turtles could be included in the contest?)

 

[Missy]

Great pics, welcome to TFO

 

[Jacqui]

Welcome! Great pictures! Hope to see you around.

 

[Tom]

Hello and welcome to the forum.

 

[smc]

Thank you!

Lenny has since had a couple of beak trims and he seems to like having it done now. He closed his shell on my vet's finger when she tried it!

Pebble is still my baby and whistles at me and follows me around the yard. Lenny is still a little grump and is definitely male. He use to "mount" Pebble when we thought he was a she. Maybe a dominance thing, but he can't even get on Pebble's shell anymore.

I've lived with a couple of "visiting" desert tortoises before. They just came right up to the houses and ate out of the dogs' bowl. One came into the house and hibernated under one of our couches. Scared the crap out of my grandpa when he was visiting and decided to vacuum under the couch!!!

And I did do my part to rescue these guys. I was a vet student and have my beliefs, but I knew what I had to do. These guys weren't being properly care for or kept. I didn't have the room, but I made room and now they are a part of the family. One of my Dachshunds wanted to make them her babies, but I decided to give them a whole side yard when I finally bought a house.

 

[egyptiandan]

Welcome to the forum Sean

Danny

 

[armandoarturo]

Hi welcome to the forum!
lovely pictures!

 

[Isa]

Cute tortoises
Welcome to the forum!