need help (what type tortoise?)

[gaansie]

View attachment 34868Hi I'm from Cape Town and I found this tortoise in my yard eating grass and I don't know how he got there cos I've got high walls around yard and he was just there so I gave him the name Dynamo.

I just want to know what type of tort he is because want to take care of him and I never owned any pet before so help me please so that I can give him what he needs.

 

[Yvonne G]

RE: need help

Welcome to the forum, gaansie!

I'm not familiar with the SA tortoise species, but if he got in, he'll be able to get back out. There must be a little hole in the fence someplace. Do you have native plants growing in your yard? That's what he eats. I'm going to guess that your tortoise is an angulate tortoise - Chersina angulata.

 

[wellington]

RE: need help

Hello and Welcome if they are native to your area, you should leave him be. A wild tort should be left in the wild. Other then that I can't help with what species. Good luck though.

 

[gaansie]

RE: need help

I went to someone that own tortoise and they say his not a South African tortoise?

 

[Yvonne G]

RE: need help

Well, your picture is a bit blurry, however to me he does sort of look like a South African Angulate tortoise:

http://pinker.wjh.harvard.edu/photos/South_Africa/pages/Angulate Tortoise.htm

Also, he's cold. When they are in that position (in your last picture) they are trying to gain as much warmth as they can. Do you have him indoors? Is there a light for him to sit under. A light about 12" from the top of his shell?

 

[gaansie]

RE: need help

Hi i found out his a padloper(parrot beak)tortoise. I leave him outdoors during the day because its warm and sunny here but bring him indoors at night. I had no idea the little guy was getting cold so thanks allot for telling me.

He gets restless in the morning when he wants to go outside and eats immediately when i put him on the grass and he walks allot for his small size.

 

[luvpetz27]

RE: need help

Hi and welcome!
I have never heard of a parrot beak tort! wow!!

 

[Yvonne G]

RE: need help

These tortoises are listed as "threatened" in the wild, and there are probably laws regarding messing with them.

 

[Tom]

RE: need help

Just want to say hello and welcome. I spent a few months in the RSA and enjoyed it immensely. What part are you from?

If your garden has lot of plants and trees, a shallow water source, sunny areas throughout the day, and a dry shelter (sort of like a dog house or something), it is probably an ideal environment for him. You probably won't need to "do" anything for him. See where he retires every evening. They usually pick the same spot every day. Put a doghouse of some sort in that spot to protect him from rain and cold temps a bit. You might need to put him it a few times to get him used to it. He'll come ou on his own every morning, and they usually learn to go in and out on their own within a couple of weeks.

If you post pics of the tail, anal scutes and plastron, we might be able to help you sex it. Is the plastron(bottom shell) concave at all? Or is it totally flat. How big is the tail? Does it rest to one side and go halfway up the leg, or is it a short nub past the cloacal opening?

 

[gaansie]

RE: need help

Hi Tom

Thanks for your reply. I am from Cape Town, the best city in RSA! Hope you had a chance to visit here. I have most of the items you listed but need a bigger variety of plants. He goes to the same spot everyday to sleep, so I made him a little enclosure there. He is a very active guy and has a healthy appetite and seems quite happy. He is quite tiny andhas a big yard with a big lawn to walk and forage. He does not like to be handled that much though!

Not sure how he got into my backyard but I suspect a large bird dropped him, because they seem to fly around our area. My girlfriend and I have now fallen in love with him and have been trying our best to take care of him. I will send you some pictures soon, but we suspect he is a male because he has a triangular shaped hole near to his long tail!

Regards

 

[RedfootsRule]

RE: need help

Either parrot-beaked or angulated tortoise (though the picture is to blurry for me to tell if it is either), these are both extremely threatened tortoises...Please release it. These tortoises need to stay in the wild, to breed and produce and contribute to future populations...I understand its difficult, but if you want a pet tortoise, find a more common one such as a sulcata, russian, etc. These tortoises are endangered, and there are strict laws regarding even touching these tortoises...If it was found in your home, you would likely have a LOT of trouble.

 

[gaansie]

RE: need help

Hi

Thanks, just to be clear, I did not take the tortoise out of the wild, it was found on my property and I searched on google to see where they come from and it's a few hundred kilometres from where I stay. I understand what you are saying but people here don't have any knowledge of tortoises at all, so who must I go to regarding the tortoise? I want to be sure that he is safe because many of these tortoises are killed by cars when walking accross the road and other predators such as birds, which I suspect may have dropped him in my backyard...

Regards

 

[batchick]

RE: need help

Hi gaansie. We're also in Cape Town and have a angulate tortoise in our garden, also arrived from nowhere. Legally you need to get a permit for the little guy from Cape Nature. The process is easy enough, though you need to get a signed affidavit of how you came to be in possession of the tortoise etc. if he's been handled they don't recommend re-releasing into the wild because of what he might have picked up from us by way of parasites etc.
you need to make sure there is at least one water source for the tortoise. We ended up planting a lot more indigenous vegetation are we took on Ned, and so most of his diet is as it would be out in the wild. We've also found he goes bos for hibiscus flowers.
Good luck and enjoy.

---

Re. Shelter. You might find he picks different spots at different times of the year. We thought a pool pump cover would work, but our tortoise never took to it. He prefers to sleep under shrubs mainly, and sometimes in the wooden shelter we made of left over fire wood.

 

[tortadise]

Thats a parrot beaked. Homopus areolatus.

 

[TORTOISEMAN1]

Very cool. Welcome to the forum!

 

[gaansie]

Hi

Thank you very much for the advice, I was very surprised to see someone from capetown replied so thanks again.I was just wondering if anyone could tell me how old he is and how long they live?

 

[immayo]

Wow that is really cool! I wish tortoises like that would wander into my yard here! haha
I looked them up and some of those little guys have really beautiful shell coloring!

 

[Nixxy]

I know little about them, but I do know that they stay very small, so it may be hard to tell.

Beaked Cape Tortoises, along with all other Homopus (Commonly known more so as Cape Tortoises or Padlopers), to my knowledge are quite endangered.

I know you probably like the tortoise very much, and want whats best for him. Perhaps there is a rescue or animal control to contact? I know that handling and possessing (without permits) many endangered tortoises is a rather serious crime, in many places. I would hate for you to get in trouble.

 

[pam]

Welcome