Tortoise identification!

[petlover]

Hi everyone! I'm new to this site and i havent done an intro yet (thats next ) but i really need help with this! Two days ago I got two baby sulcata tortoises (5 months and 8 months). Since i want these guys/girls to live a long healthy life, i did a TON of research on how to build a tortoise table (they are TEMPORARILY in a glass aquarium which i know is not ideal), diet, etc. I also found lots of pictures of sulcatas and started to doubt that one of my new tortoises is really a sulcata. i noticed the difference from the other sulcata when we got them but when i asked she said they were in fact both sulcatas, just shelled differently. i also noticed that it has little to no spurs on its legs. can you guys help me figue out if it is truly a sulcata and if not what type of tortoise it is?! I know shes young but any thoughts about gender would be amazing! will it get along with my sulcata when fully grown or will it have to be kept separate?

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi petlover:

Welcome to the Tortoise forum!!

What would you like us to call you?

and may we know appx. where in the world you are?

I'm surprised a brand new tortoise person would be more alert to what tortoises look like than the person who gave you the tortoise. Yes, you do NOT have sulcatas. That looks like a desert tortoise to me. Gopherus agassizii. You need a permit to keep them (but its easy to get), and depending upon which state you live in, you may not be able to keep more than one per household.

---

The pictured tortoise is way too young to sex. But it does show a bit of chronic dehydration. Be sure to soak daily for a month or so, then you can go to twice a week.

 

[petlover]

Hi petlover:

Welcome to the Tortoise forum!!

What would you like us to call you?

and may we know appx. where in the world you are?

I'm surprised a brand new tortoise person would be more alert to what tortoises look like than the person who gave you the tortoise. Yes, you do NOT have sulcatas. That looks like a desert tortoise to me. Gopherus agassizii. You need a permit to keep them (but its easy to get), and depending upon which state you live in, you may not be able to keep more than one per household.

---

The pictured tortoise is way too young to sex. But it does show a bit of chronic dehydration. Be sure to soak daily for a month or so, then you can go to twice a week.

---

Hi my name is Anya and I live in Southern california in the Los Angeles area! thanks for the info and the other one im POSITIVE is a sulcata, it matched the pics exactly. do you know if i need a permit in california for the desert torotoise?? ill be sure to soak it more now, i was told every other day by the breeder but now i know better!

 

[dmarcus]

Hello and welcome to the forum...

 

[ascott]

Yup...the photos are exactly as Yvonne says.....beautiful and where did the lady get it from?

 

[petlover]

Yup...the photos are exactly as Yvonne says.....beautiful and where did the lady get it from?

thanks! frankly, i dont know where she got it from!!! i know she had a single desert tortoise that was in hibernation, some star tortoises, and the rest were sulcatas!!! now im wondering...

 

[Yvonne G]

Yes, you need a permit in California to keep desert tortoises. You can get by without one for a little while, say 6 months, just to be sure the tortoise is going to stay alive. Then, if you'll PM me your address, I'll send you the application form.

 

[MORTYtheTORTY]

I hope she didn't sell them to you as sulcata's

 

[Yvonne G]

I hope she didn't sell them to you as sulcata's

I hadn't even thought about that. It is strictly illegal to buy or sell or capture from the wild, desert tortoises. Very high fine if caught.

 

[petlover]

I hope she didn't sell them to you as sulcata's

I hadn't even thought about that. It is strictly illegal to buy or sell or capture from the wild, desert tortoises. Very high fine if caught.

uh oh! hope thats not the case!

 

[yarok]

welcome

 

[ascott]

Did you pay her for the little CDT? Likely so if she thought it was a sulcata??? Well...if she really did not know then she did not know, you know? Are you going to keep the little CDT? They are an awesome species

You say she had a single CDT in brumation...perhaps this little guy hatched out on its own and found its way in with the others....you are not housing to CDT with the other one are you? I know it has already been exposed to the sulcata but I would set them up in their own enclosures.....

 

[Jacqui]

Welcome! I wish I could get somebody to sell me one of those "sulcata". Glad you have found us. Welcome to the world of tortoises.

 

[petlover]

Did you pay her for the little CDT? Likely so if she thought it was a sulcata??? Well...if she really did not know then she did not know, you know? Are you going to keep the little CDT? They are an awesome species

You say she had a single CDT in brumation...perhaps this little guy hatched out on its own and found its way in with the others....you are not housing to CDT with the other one are you? I know it has already been exposed to the sulcata but I would set them up in their own enclosures.....

yep we did pay her and i'll have to ask my sister if she wants to keep it or not because we co-bought them and that desert tortoise is technically hers. im new to tortoise owning so help me out here... what does brumation mean? what do you means by hatched out on its own if there was only one male? yes as of now i am housing it with the sulcata and they seem to get along fine. im kind of reluctant to put them in separate enclosures unless they will harm each other...

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi Anya:

I would just leave well enough alone and not contact her anymore. Just leave it that you bought the sulcata and were given the desert tortoise. If you make waves she might want the tortoise back and who knows what will happen then. You can let her know that you have since found out the the one tortoise is a desert tortoise and is illegal to buy or sell, and see what she says about it. She is probably not well-versed in tortoises and didn't know any different. If she offers you back what you paid for the desert tortoise, fine, but let her bring it up.

Brumation is what cold blooded reptiles do during the winter (hibernation).

Since they've been living together all this time, if there were going to be any cross-species illness ramifications, you should have seen it by now. Just be aware of this fact if one or the other becomes sick. Its something to keep in the back of your mind.

 

[ascott]

Well....I only asked about if you paid her well because for no other reason than I am nosey that way...lol

I would personally keep the little one (however I am totally and completely bias) but that will have to be your choice.

What I meant by hatched out on its own is either the CDT she has is a female (and she may just not know--afterall she thought this baby was a sulcata, right) and may have laid eggs in the yard and this little one has hatched out and somehow ended up with the sulcata babies....or she weirdly had a baby appear in her yard..? I am guessing the CDT she has is a female but of course no way for me to know that...

Brumation is the winter sleep that the CDT does naturally--folks will use the word hibernation in meaning of brumation....

I would not house a CDT with any other tortoise species, ever. Different species of torts have their own diseases and such that they have evolved to handle but that disease may be one that causes great illness and death in another species....also you have an endangered and federally protected species of tortoise there that you are responsible for, you know? So although I would never mix species I especially would not mix these with any other...

 

[ALDABRAMAN]

Welcome!

 

[petlover]

Hi Anya:

I would just leave well enough alone and not contact her anymore. Just leave it that you bought the sulcata and were given the desert tortoise. If you make waves she might want the tortoise back and who knows what will happen then. You can let her know that you have since found out the the one tortoise is a desert tortoise and is illegal to buy or sell, and see what she says about it. She is probably not well-versed in tortoises and didn't know any different. If she offers you back what you paid for the desert tortoise, fine, but let her bring it up.

Brumation is what cold blooded reptiles do during the winter (hibernation).

Since they've been living together all this time, if there were going to be any cross-species illness ramifications, you should have seen it by now. Just be aware of this fact if one or the other becomes sick. Its something to keep in the back of your mind.

as you said it is illegal to buy and sell CDTs so does that means i/the person we got them from could get in trouble for having one?

 

[Yvonne G]

Technically, yes, the buyer and the seller could both get into trouble. That's why I said to leave well enough alone. When you fill out the application form for a permit, in the space where it says where you got the tortoise, you can just put that you adopted it from a neighbor or friend, or whoever she is.

 

[petlover]

Technically, yes, the buyer and the seller could both get into trouble. That's why I said to leave well enough alone. When you fill out the application form for a permit, in the space where it says where you got the tortoise, you can just put that you adopted it from a neighbor or friend, or whoever she is.

ok then thanks!