Ditto with Yvonne....that was kinda why I asked where you lived
It is a hard choice to make wether to keep it/take it back and release it????? It will entirely be up to you , if you keep it then the little one will likely do best housed outside as much as possible. If you opt to release it back to its wild area (only if you have not exposed him in ANY WAY to any other tortoise), maybe you can take a little walk about in the area that you picked it up from, kinda get a feel for the area? Like walk slowly towards the direction the little thing was going and really observe where he may have been headed or walk in the direction he was coming from to see if you can see any signs that you may have picked him up from a general pathway for his daily life? Also, you may be able to contact Florida Fish and Game and ask them what should someone do if they find one...do they do a relocate back into a safe/wild area or do they simply hand him off to a rescue? If they can relocate him back into the wild great, if they are going to turn over to a rescue...then why not be the rescue crew for him ?
I always believe that wild is the "ideal" choice and should always be the first option taken...HOWEVER, if you can not find signs that he has been there before (or she?) then it will be your judgement call
I agree. I don't remember there being any provisions in FL law that allow residents to keep gophers in captivity in the same way that desert torts can be kept in CA.