Krista - New to the Tortoise World

[krista.lena]

Hello, I'm Krista and I live in Southern California. This little tortoise was recently found lost in front of my garage. I don't have any experience with tortoises, so I'm not sure what specie it is. I don't want to make a guess or assumption for it to be wrong, so I'll post the pic here. Any tips and advice is welcome on how to take care of this type of tortoise, or even a link to another thread about it if anyone knows how to do that. I'm still getting the hang of this app, but I want to be able to provide it a really good life.

 

[TechnoCheese]

Could you get a picture of the front? This appears to be a desert tortoise, which I believe is native to California, or a Sulcata. If it is a desert tortoise, I would recommend releasing it where you found it.

Here’s an article about desert tortoises-
http://cms.sbcounty.gov/dpw/Land/especies/DesertTortoise.aspx

Definitely wait for a second opinion.

 

[krista.lena]

Could you get a picture of the front? This appears to be a desert tortoise, which I believe is native to California, or a Sulcata. If it is a desert tortoise, I would recommend releasing it where you found it.

Here’s an article about desert tortoises-
http://cms.sbcounty.gov/dpw/Land/especies/DesertTortoise.aspx

Definitely wait for a second opinion.

I live in one of those areas where you'll find a lot of people with tortoises, goats, chickens, horses, etc. , so I'm thinking it escaped from someone's backyard, especially since it was at my garage rather than in the wild.

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi Krista, and welcome to the Forum!

That's a baby sulcata. They get to be about 150lbs and you have to keep them warm in winter, as they don't hibernate.

Someone in your neighborhood has an adult breeding pair and this baby was either carried off by a bird, or escaped through a hole in their fence. There are probably 20 or 30 more of them where he came from.

If you plan to keep him please be sure to read our care sheets for baby sulcata tortoises. You can find many informative threads pinned at the top of our sulcata section.

(Macy: You can tell the difference between the CDT and sulcata from this picture because of the nuchal scute. CDT has a nuchal scute, while the sulcata does not)

 

[Grandpa Turtle 144]

I think you found someone’s pet Sulcata that left home . You should post some posters up for a lost tort .

 

[TechnoCheese]

(Macy: You can tell the difference between the CDT and sulcata from this picture because of the nuchal scute. CDT has a nuchal scute, while the sulcata does not)

Ah, I’ll be sure to remember that. Thanks!

 

[TechnoCheese]

If you do plan on keeping the Sulcata, be sure to give these a read-
How To Raise A Healthy Sulcata Or Leopard, Version 2.0 https://tortoiseforum.org/index.php...ealthy-Sulcata-Or-Leopard,-Version-2.0.79895/

For Those Who Have a Young Sulcata... https://tortoiseforum.org/index.php?threads/For-Those-Who-Have-a-Young-Sulcata....76744/

Beginner Mistakes https://tortoiseforum.org/index.php?threads/Beginner-Mistakes.45180/

 

[Ray--Opo]

Welcome! Great find

 

[Cheryl Hills]

Cute tort! Welcome to the forum.