Need help re: desert tortoise

[SinLA]

A desert tortoise walked into a neighbor's yard, I'm going to take him/her in for a bit until we can either find owner or find rescue or whatever. I'll be notifying the shelter of course, but could use the wisdom of the group here re: CDTs (@Yvonne G @EppsDynasty @Tom @JoJosMom ) since I've never had one.

I am getting him later today but please take a look at these photos and confirm a

1) is this indeed a desert tortoise
2) I will soak him in either bathtub or kiddie pool, if the temps need to be warm, seems like bathtub is a better idea? not sure how to get a kiddie pool warm and it seems like others just soak larger torts outside in regualr water (my Russian gets ~95 degrees).
3) any other health observations? Eyes look puffy to me, but I am not too sure if its normal variation. Shell looks smooth, maybe old?
4) I plan on putting him in the 8 x 12 section of Fezzik's enclosure (w/o Fezzik of course, he'll be in his smaller locked section, they likely will smell each other tho) so at least he can move and have 100% tort safe plants. I don't have a hide big enough for him but I do have a sun shade i can put over part of the enclosure that will keep a section of it out of the sun. Obviously not big enough to "live in" but should be OK for short term
5) I know its not ideal to put him in fezzik's enclosure for fear of contamination, but it is what it is. Is there anything I should particularly be on the lookout for?

 

[SinLA]

I added a large terracotta saucer, but still not sure about best practice for soaking...

 

[wellington]

Do the normal, call around to see if someone lost it. Call vets, pet stores and rescues.
Is there a reason it couldn't be a wild one that wandered in?
If it's not someone's lost pet, and you are in an area that it could be wild, it should probably be let go.

 

[SinLA]

Do the normal, call around to see if someone lost it. Call vets, pet stores and rescues.
Is there a reason it couldn't be a wild one that wandered in?
If it's not someone's lost pet, and you are in an area that it could be wild, it should probably be let go.

Yes definitely will do all that. He's already been posted on Nextdoor and FB.

I live in a very developed area, there's no way a wild one could have wandered into someone's yard where I am, and i don't think we have wild ones in our area anyway, though Tom could probably confirm, but I'd be shocked if we did.

Also those nails look really short, i wonder if someone trimmed them.

Definitely cannot let it go anywhere here, it would get eaten by a racoon in a heartbeat.

I'll connect with the local shelter and also with the CTTC club to report it. If no one claims it, I'll deal with it then. Even tho my local shelter is actaully really good, it will be less stressful for him in my enclosure than a cage at the shelter.

 

[Yvonne G]

It's male (the gular and the swollen chin glands). The eyes don't look swollen, but they DO look a bit droopy. If plastron is not concave then he's probably on the youngish side.

 

[SinLA]

Huh I thought he looks old. Let me attach pics and videos. His nails are very short and the shell over his tail really is curved down, i don't want to turn him over. He's about 12" long when measured from above

 

[SinLA]

More pics…

 

[TammyJ]

You're falling for him, aren't you? I sure would.

 

[SinLA]

@Yvonne G - do you bring them in at night?

 

[SinLA]

You're falling for him, aren't you? I sure would.

I'm more worried about keeping him safe, but he seems very happy and chill. Ate a lot, now zonked out with his legs splayed so he can't be too concerned. let me scritch his head. Fezzik really doesn't like human contact so its definitely a change.

That said, I don't think I have a setup for him. He's inside Fezzik's enclosure because my yard not only has non-tort safe plants (turf lily, peruvnian lily, bottle brush) but walls and walls of creeping fig. I don't think I could ever make my yard tortoise safe with all that creeping fig. You just can't get rid of it successfully...

 

[SinLA]

@Yvonne G - do you bring them in at night?

Disregard. I brought Fezzik into his indoor enclosure and put the new guy in Fezzik's predator proof outdoor one

 

[EppsDynasty]

@SinLA .... Could the nails being short be from wandering the concrete jungle? From what you are describing it sounds like a pet. At this time of year it should have no issues being outside always, less stress too. If you can not find the owner and decide not to be a new DT parent we of course can help. Bath tubs get cold to fast for us, the ground and surrounding cement suck the heat out fast. Clear plastic totes work well with a small 16-20 watt "Under Tank Heater" under it (only when there is water in it). This just helps out with giving a little heat to the water so it doesn't get cold so fast. This procedure is one that takes lots of checking temps and monitoring to prevent burns.

 

[Tom]

Definitely a male DT.

I would have told you not to put him in Fezzik's enclosure. Russian pathogens can kill them and vice versa, but those dice have already been rolled...

He needs a shelter at night, just like Fezzik. Care is similar for both species. I just add grass to the diet for DTs and not for Russians. During this June gloom, he still needs to be able to warm up. There is no June Gloom in the native area for this species. Look up the weather in 29 Palms or Yucca Valley. Sunny and 80 degrees by 9 am this time of year. They can't function in this marine layer and after enough days of it, they are likely to get sick. That is why they don't do well near the coast. Too cold and clammy too much of the time.

For soaking, you either bring the warm water to the tortoise, or bring the tortoise to the warm water. I use 5 gallon buckets of hot water mixed with the normal cold water in the right proportion.

I agree the nails are likely due to walking on concrete wherever it lived, and that is not good.

 

[EppsDynasty]

Definitely a male DT.

I would have told you not to put him in Fezzik's enclosure. Russian pathogens can kill them and vice versa, but those dice have already been rolled...

He needs a shelter at night, just like Fezzik. Care is similar for both species. I just add grass to the diet for DTs and not for Russians. During this June gloom, he still needs to be able to warm up. There is no June Gloom in the native area for this species. Look up the weather in 29 Palms or Yucca Valley. Sunny and 80 degrees by 9 am this time of year. They can't function in this marine layer and after enough days of it, they are likely to get sick. That is why they don't do well near the coast. Too cold and clammy too much of the time.

For soaking, you either bring the warm water to the tortoise, or bring the tortoise to the warm water. I use 5 gallon buckets of hot water mixed with the normal cold water in the right proportion.

I agree the nails are likely due to walking on concrete wherever it lived, and that is not good.

GREAT ADVICE.... I wasn't aware you were in a "Coastal" temperature area.... that's a hard environment to keep them from getting sick. I once read @Tom talk about humidity and temp and how they interact well and bad with a tort. Cold (Below 75 degrees) with humidity is only going to cause issues, there has to be supplemental heat.

 

[Tom]

GREAT ADVICE.... I wasn't aware you were in a "Coastal" temperature area.... that's a hard environment to keep them from getting sick. I once read @Tom talk about humidity and temp and how they interact well and bad with a tort. Cold (Below 75 degrees) with humidity is only going to cause issues, there has to be supplemental heat.

She's inland far enough, down in the valley. I was just pointing out the problems with the marine layer that drifts so far inland this time of year. For people closer to the coast, its an even bigger problem for even more of the year. The marine layer usually doesn't make it up past the mountains between Sylmar and SCV, but even we get some of it in May and June. When we do, it usually burns off by 8 or 9 up here. Frequently, it will be sunny and 80 degrees up here and as I drive south down to work, I hit the gloom right at the 5/14 split.

 

[EppsDynasty]

She's inland far enough, down in the valley. I was just pointing out the problems with the marine layer that drifts so far inland this time of year. For people closer to the coast, its an even bigger problem for even more of the year. The marine layer usually doesn't make it up past the mountains between Sylmar and SCV, but even we get some of it in May and June. When we do, it usually burns off by 8 or 9 up here. Frequently, it will be sunny and 80 degrees up here and as I drive south down to work, I hit the gloom right at the 5/14 split.

Yuk ... I do love my dry air and all the benefits of not having to worry about humidity or constant humidity.

 

[SinLA]

Thanks guys. Tom, I know the risk of keeping them in the same enclosure but in an emergency situation I felt it was the best solution. in reporting him to the local shelter and CTTC in case anyone claims him the CTTC has requested that I turn him over to them, if the owner comes claim him and doesn’t have a license, they will work with them.

I will bring him to them probably later today, but at least I know he’s eaten well and rested well in a safe space.

 

[Tom]

Yuk ... I do love my dry air and all the benefits of not having to worry about humidity or constant humidity.

Its not the humidity that is the problem, its the cold with no way to warm up. The humidity is great!

 

[SinLA]

June Gloom is very erratic this year. Some days its grey until 2pm, others it burns off around 10. Fortunately its getting between 75-85 and sunny in the enclosure after that. This is from around 2pm yesterday...

I was never as aware of May Grey/June Gloom patterns until I got a tortoise!

 

[Yvonne G]

@Yvonne G - do you bring them in at night?

My desert tortoises automatically go into the shelter on their own. Every evening I go around and make sure they're all put away and I block the doors so they can't come out and vermin can't get in.