[split] New from Arizona

[LouieLouie]

Hello, Don't mean to hijack your thread but I saw the Arizona title and thought I would keep it going.

My wife and recently adopted an Arizona Desert Tortoise. We named him Larry! We got him from the Phoenix Herpetological Society but of course they didn't know much about his past. He is a big guy at about 15-20lbs and about 12-15 inches long.

We have built him a nice burrow and we have a nice backyard for the Phoenix area with plenty of bermuda grass. I am worried that my grass might be a hybrid bermuda because he hasn't eaten much that I have seen.

We have only had since Saturday so we don't quite know his habits yet. He has been sleeping in the burrow a lot but he came out to "party" yesterday afternoon. That's when we fed him a plate of kale and chopped carrots.

Anyway, I just wanted to say hello and introduce Larry. I look forward to having a long relationship with him and everyone on here!

 

[wellington]

Hello and Welcome

 

[Arizona Sulcata]

Welcome!! I'm in Mesa.

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[TigsMom]

Hello & Welcome to the forum. Nice looking Desert Tortoise. Love the little Welcome Mat in front of his burrow (not sure that's what it is, but it looks like it to me.

 

[Grandpa Turtle 144]

Hello and welcome to the TFO from
Phx AZ

 

[parrotlady]

Hello, and welcome.

Tucson

 

[sibi]

Hi, your tort is really nice looking. The burrow you built is really cool. Did you test to see if it's safe? Sometimes if the tort gets restless, he may try to dig his own path. The big stones may get in the way and cave in. Just check for that. But, it really looks great!

 

[thatrebecca]

Hello and welcome. Larry is a great looking DT. Looks like you've got a terrific burrow for him too. My DTs don't show much interest in the grass in our lawn, which is a fescue/Bermuda hybrid. (I'm in California). They're most into it right after it gets cut, but even then, they'd rather chow down on weeds or hibiscus or something else.

 

[nate.mann]

welcome, good-looking guy there. heres a link to a thread of AZ keepers: http://www.tortoiseforum.org/thread-79492.html. he probably wont eat much the first week or so due to the stress of being moved, but dont worry, he'll warm up to you guys soon enough.

 

[Yvonne G]

Welcome to the Forum!

I have a bit of hybrid Bermuda in my Aldabran pen. They don't eat it. I don't know why.

 

[GotTort]

Welcome!
I'm in Phoenix



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[LouieLouie]

Hey gang! Thanks for the welcome! I'm learning so much already!

The stones around the burrow are just for looks. They are just kind of plopped into the dirt. They are wedged pretty good but We will make certain they won't fall down onto Larry. Thanks for the help!

Yeah we haven't quite had him a week yet but he seems to be getting more friendly and adventurous everyday. I think this weekend we will spend a lot of time with him and try to learn more about his habits. Right now he seems to take long walks in the late afternoon and then doesn't quite make it back to his burrow. The first few nights we felt bad and picked him up and put him on the "door step", then he would crawl in. Tonight we think we might just let him be and see what happens. He certainly gets out on his own so we figure he should get back on his own!

Nate.mann your link to the AZ thread didn't work for me. I'll look around but can you double check the link? I would like to see what others have going on.

Larry seems finicky about the grass so far. My grass must be a hybrid because he doesn't seem to like it. We have been feeding him some kale to make sure he is at least eating something. He seems to really like the kale. We have also been giving him some chopped up carrots, some petunia flowers, and some honeysuckle leaves. So we'll have to learn more about his eating habits.

Well thanks again for saying hello! I'll see you around the forums!

 

[Carol S]

Welcome. Your tortoise is very nice looking. I love desert tortoises. I find that they are very personable.

 

[mainey34]

Hello and welcome.....
Larry is a handsome fellow...