New member and new tortoise owner- Hibernation question

[Joegarsha]

Hi there! My name is Joe and I live in Long Beach, CA.

A few weeks ago I was stopped on the street by a person driving by and made aware of the fact that there was a tortoise behind the tire of my husband's car. After knocking on our neighbor's doors and not finding anybody to claim this little guy (or girl) we found ourselves as the adoptive parents of the tortoise in the attached photo.

We've been asking around at the various pet stores and getting advice from a variety of sources. We have yet to find out the sex of our tortoise whose working name at the moment is Mr. T. Being that he will most likely outlive us, we are working on a more substantial name.

Being that the weather just started getting much cooler around here, I am guessing he has gone into hibernation mode. He has not eaten in several days and after an extensive search, I finally found where he has been hanging out. To back up for a second, he has full run of our back yard and we keep the side entrance to our garage propped open for him so he has access to some warmer nooks and crannies and food and water. It was recommended to us to put him in a box for hibernation and keep him safe in our garage or closet. Our neighbors have a beautiful tortoise named Petronius that is 90+ years old so they have been giving us some advice. Right now, he seems to be hibernating in a far corner of our year, deep in a bush/fern that is growing there. Before I bushwhack to get at him and move him, I wanted to reach out for some advice to see if I should leave him alone since that is the space he chose, or should I move him?

Also, by looking at the attached pic, can anyone tell me what kind of tortoise we have? We have been trying to find a local vet that handles tortoises but did not find one before our little guy went into hibernation.

Thanks for any advice you might give.

 

[dmmj]

Welcome to the forum, I hope you enjoy your visits here.
You appear to have a california desert tortoise, a native to CA.

 

[Joegarsha]

Thanks!

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi Joe, and welcome to the Forum!

We usually tell people not to allow a new-to-you tortoise to hibernate the first year with you. If possible, you should set up a fairly large indoor habitat with lights and heat and try to keep the tortoise awake this first winter. If you have enough room on the patio or in the garage, you can put down a sheet of plywood then stack cinder blocks up around the edge of the plywood. You only need to go three-high. Then put another sheet of plywood over the top. I line mine with cut to fit styrofoam insulation then plywood to protect the foam. Add lights and maybe a CHE (ceramic heat emitter) for night time, a hiding place and some substrate, and you're good to go.

You have a male Gopherus agassizii, or desert tortoise. It is against the law to buy, sell or take them from the wild. But you are able to keep them with permission from the Department of Fish and Game. Applying for a permit is free and fairly easy.

 

[ALDABRAMAN]

Welcome!

 

[ascott]

Welcome to the Forum and what a stunning young dude you have there...

 

[pam]

Welcome