hi, i'm alex and this is steve

[the_newzie]

Hi Alex. I've had many desert tortoises over the years. The only thing I notice other than the one acute discoloration is that his whole carapace seems a little dark. Do you know how old he is? They are typically more of an orange/yellow color with dark spots here and there. If he is a little older than his color is probably ok.

I think he prob just turned 1 year old. He's super small. I'm going to actually measure him tomorrowbut he can fit (legs and all) in the palm of my hand (actual palm only, no fingers).

Hi Alex. I've had many desert tortoises over the years. The only thing I notice other than the one acute discoloration is that his whole carapace seems a little dark. Do you know how old he is? They are typically more of an orange/yellow color with dark spots here and there. If he is a little older than his color is probably ok.

 

[VixenKitten]

Oh soooooo cute!

 

[AZTurtleGuy]

If you need to keep him inside make sure you get proper lighting. Reptileuv.com has the best uv bulbs on the market. Uv and heat. I use the self ballast 100 w bulbs. They need sunlight and proper diet more than anything. It's getting chilly out so I'm not sure if you should hibernate him this year since you don't know the state of his health yet.

 

[the_newzie]

Eating earlier this summer. The size of my thumb should give some size perspective.

 

[AZTurtleGuy]

Eating earlier this summer. The size of my thumb should give some size perspective. View attachment 101416

If he is a year old he is small. I should ask how long you have had him and what is his setup like? I love desert tortoises. My favorite animal by far.

 

[the_newzie]

I have had him since late May. That picture with my thumb was taken within a month or so of getting him. I promptly built him a outdoor habitat that spans almost 100 sq feet. There's small rocks againat the walls of the enclosure to discourage him from flipping on the walls. His main area is half grass half dirt (mostly regular old Bermuda with tufts of deer grass as well) with prickly pears and hibiscus planted in for grazing. When building I printed out the nv dept of wildlife adoption guidelines and made sure I followed or exceeded everything in case they ever had to check out my set up. I make him a salad of the two grasses, the hibiscus leaves, the prickly pear pads (no spines) and add in a bit of carrot (he goes nuts for it) and some re-hydrated alfalfa mix.

 

[AZTurtleGuy]

Sounds like you're doing everything right! Good job. It's good to see someone research and do the right thing!!! Outside is the best. I'm still unsure about him hibernating. He eats well right?

 

[the_newzie]

He eats like you wouldn't believe. Although wed & thur he stayed in his burrogh all day (first time he'd ever missed a day out). I'm in las Vegas and we are still warm bordering on hot, so I was concerned. But he popped out today and ate and soaked like nothing happened so I'm relieved.

 

[AZTurtleGuy]

He eats like you wouldn't believe. Although wed & thur he stayed in his burrogh all day (first time he'd ever missed a day out). I'm in las Vegas and we are still warm bordering on hot, so I was concerned. But he popped out today and ate and soaked like nothing happened so I'm relieved.

I'm in phoenix and it's still hot here but the mornings are chilly enough that tortoises will start taking days off so to speak. It was 95 today but chilly in the morning

 

[the_newzie]

Ok. Good to know cuz we're about the same weather here. Well it should be stressed that I don't know much of anything about his existence before he came to me. I assume he hatched in September because that's normal right? And I know it wasn't this September because I got him in late may. Sorry for the rookie question, but what are your worries with hibernation? Steve's my first tort and I read that Vegas deserts are pretty safe for hibernation because of the relativly mild winters. open to advice from someone with experience.

 

[AZTurtleGuy]

Ok. Good to know cuz we're about the same weather here. Well it should be stressed that I don't know much of anything about his existence before he came to me. I assume he hatched in September because that's normal right? And I know it wasn't this September because I got him in late may. Sorry for the rookie question, but what are your worries with hibernation? Steve's my first tort and I read that Vegas deserts are pretty safe for hibernation because of the relativly mild winters. open to advice from someone with experience.

Just because you haven't had him very long. You really don't know if he's healthy. Hatchlings and hibernation are always scary. You can research hatchling desert tortoise hibernation and get some good info online

 

[the_newzie]

I will definitely look into it.

 

[the_newzie]

Well, it's not the winter villa in the south of France that Steve was hoping for, but since the weather turned real cold, real quick, we thought we'd listen to the overwhelming advice and bring him in for the season. put this together in about 3 hrs. Has both a uvb/heat lamp (for sun simulation in the day) and an CHE for nighttime temp control. a digital thermometer. Substrate is coconut. There's a bit of wheat grass for immediate grazing. And yes, that's a 100% authentic game of thrones box set acting as his burrow. Okay, so now the question is, besides a water dish (it'll be in tomorrow) and some more grazing food, what am I missing?

 

[the_newzie]

Ok. Steve seems to be doing well in his new indoor habitat. We added in a nice paved stone for basking. He's eating well, soaking well. If anything, my only worry is he doesn't seem quite as active (barely noticeable, I may even be imagining it). Could that be due to smaller winter enclosure or stress from moving? Got him outside for an hr or two to take advantage of an unusually hot day. Also, finally got around to measuring and weighing Steve. This is after he ate some salad and had a soak. Weight = 30.8g and see picture for size. Thoughts, comments guesses at actual age? EDIT: as soon as we got outside, worries about activity level vanished he was speed racing up and down his outdoor habitat. I think he misses being outside.