Marking your sulcata...

[SULCATACRAZY]

How do you all mark/id your sulcatas that have free range of the yard?
Right now, I just use a marks-a-lot marker and write our phone # on the backside of his shell, in an area that he doesnt seem to rub against things too often.
Has anyone microchipped theirs?

 

[Josh]

when my desert torts get bigger i'm supposed to put their ID stickers on their carapaces. i've only ever seen one person who has done that though. it seems like more trouble than its worth.

 

[SULCATACRAZY]

I've tried using the lable machine and sticking that to her carapaces, but he ends up rubbing them off, so i gave up on that!

 

[DrNewland]

How do you all mark/id your sulcatas that have free range of the yard?
Right now, I just use a marks-a-lot marker and write our phone # on the backside of his shell, in an area that he doesnt seem to rub against things too often.
Has anyone microchipped theirs?

I think microchip is a greta idea, would love to hear if if anyone has actually done it.

 

[Yvonne G]

Marking your sulcata with either your phone number or address is a great idea, because as most of you know, these are the ultimate escape artists. What I have done in the past is to find an area in the center of a scute that doesn't get scrubbed and rubbed too often. Wash it and dry it real good. Then peel off my address label and place it in the center of the scute. Apply a coat of clear fingernail polish over the address label, overlapping onto the shell very slightly. You need to reapply the polish about once a week. And every so often you have to place a new label.

In California, the Department of Fish and Game require all keepers of Gopherus agassizii (desert tortoise) to have a permit. Along with the permit we are issued a sticker and we're supposed to place the sticker on the tortoise. The instructions they give you are to place the sticker on the very bottom marginal scute right above the tail. However, this spot gets rubbed quite a bit and the sticker doesn't last long in this area. I like to place it above a back leg. But...operating a rescue as I do, I can attest to the fact that quite a few of lost desert tortoises are returned to their owners because they had the stickers on them. So MARK THAT SULCATA!! However you do it, it only helps!

Yvonne

 

[janiedough]

I have heard some bad things about the microchips effects in dogs and cats. My animals will NOT be getting them.

 

[Yvonne G]

I have heard some bad things about the microchips effects in dogs and cats. My animals will NOT be getting them.

I was at a pet adoption "show" once and they were micro-chipping dogs. The needle was HUGE!!! I have no first hand experience, but because of that big needle I don't want anything to do with it!

Yvonne

 

[SULCATACRAZY]

I have heard some bad things about the microchips effects in dogs and cats. My animals will NOT be getting them.

really? do you have more info? Glad I asked EEKK!

 

[Jentortmom]

I had my dog microchipped and have had no problems with it. I have heard of people microchipping aladbras. You would have to talk to your tort vet.

 

[janiedough]

There is new research - sorry I don't have the links because I heard this a few months ago - google it.

 

[Crazy1]

I have one of my dogs chipped, actually chipped twice. Once with a chip they no longer use, and then with the new one. I watched the last procedure. It is a big needle and the vet said it does sting. The chip is about the size a grain of rice so the needle is slightly bigger around than that. I figured it was worth the initial cost and (sorry to say) pain my Pomeranian endured, to have him permanently identifiable if my little Pom gets lost (he will chase cats if he gets the chance). And every time he goes to the vet they check to make sure it is working. I have had no experience with torts being chipped.

 

[maxy555]

I put rocktops name and phone number on a regular dog tag that you can engrave at the pet store, and epoxied it to the shell near his tail. works great

 

[aka2tal]

I use a label maker, putting the Tort's name and phone number. I use clear finger nail polish over it and it holds up pretty well. Recoat it about every 6-8 weeks with more polish.

 

[floridajake]

I have my siberian husky microchipped, but although he frequently escapes and has been picked up by animal control more than once, the microchip has never been the reason I got him back. Most shelters and vets don't scan. There are different types of chips that require different scanners, and universal scanners have not been effective. If a tortoise escaped, the person that found him would either keep it, try to sell it, or give it to a friend who is a reptile enthusiast. The chances of it ending up somewhere where they scan are slim. A tort with a visual mark would probably cause a person with a twinge of conscience to return it.

 

[SULCATACRAZY]

Wowzers! Cancer (mental note: no dog chips or tort chips!)

I dont think i'd want to epozy, wouldnt it mess up the growth of the shell?

for now, i'm sticking with a marks-a-lot permanent marker LOL

 

[jasso2]

thats funny. i need to do that too.

 

[janiedough]

I have retraced my name and phone number so many times on Percy in the past month that you can't read anything.

The grooves in his shell or deep - he is rigid on the bottom - so it's not like you could read it the first time.

I am really at a loss as to how to mark him. I am scared he will escape one day and some coonass will put him in a bucket with water thinking he is a turtle and drown him. Infact I am pretty sure that is why we don't have tortoise rescues down here - people let them go by the river or kill them.