Trying to identify

Audjpodj

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Joined
Nov 30, 2020
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4
Location (City and/or State)
CERRITOS, CA
Hello,
I am trying to help my friend identify what kind of tortoise she has so that we can care for it properly. Does anyone know what kind of tortoise this might be?
 

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TammyJ

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A Desert Tortoise, which needs to immediately be removed from that dry, sandy enclosure and given a long soak in lukewarm water up to where the top and bottom shells meet, just to get him or her started back on the long road to recovery from being wrongly kept which has caused some health problems. Thanks for coming here with your questions! An expert or two who know more than I do will be along soon to really help you!
 

PollyAda

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Oct 2, 2022
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Hi there and welcome. Good to hear you and your friend are taking tortoise keeping seriously and want to improve conditions. How long has your friend had the tortoise?

Another member will need to help you out with identification, but I wanted to check that the tortoise has access to a shallow water dish to drink from? It looks very dry in there with all of the sand, so I would recommend giving the tortoise daily soaks for 20 minutes or so in warm water to help with hydration. The bumps on the shell is referred to as 'pyramiding', indicating the tortoise has been kept in conditions that are too dry, with inadequate humidity. Unfortunately, many people are given misleading and inaccurate advice on how to care for tortoises, meaning many are kept incorrectly, particularly when they are young.

The glass tank it is currently in is too small for a tortoise of this size, so your friend should look to purchase/make a more suitable enclosure as soon as possible - the bigger the better, as tortoises need a lot of room to roam about safely. You've come to a good place on behalf of your friend - the forum will help you and your friend make improvements.
 

Yvonne G

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It's a terribly dry desert tortoise. Yes, they come from the desert but you can walk miles through the desert an never see a tortoise. Reason being, they don't live above ground like what you see in that terrarium. They mainly live in deep burrows where they poop and pee which brings up the humidity so it's not dry like that enclosure. Also, the desert isn't sand like what's in that enclosure, but hard packed earth.
 

Audjpodj

New Member
Joined
Nov 30, 2020
Messages
4
Location (City and/or State)
CERRITOS, CA
Hi there and welcome. Good to hear you and your friend are taking tortoise keeping seriously and want to improve conditions. How long has your friend had the tortoise?

Another member will need to help you out with identification, but I wanted to check that the tortoise has access to a shallow water dish to drink from? It looks very dry in there with all of the sand, so I would recommend giving the tortoise daily soaks for 20 minutes or so in warm water to help with hydration. The bumps on the shell is referred to as 'pyramiding', indicating the tortoise has been kept in conditions that are too dry, with inadequate humidity. Unfortunately, many people are given misleading and inaccurate advice on how to care for tortoises, meaning many are kept incorrectly, particularly when they are young.

The glass tank it is currently in is too small for a tortoise of this size, so your friend should look to purchase/make a more suitable enclosure as soon as possible - the bigger the better, as tortoises need a lot of room to roam about safely. You've come to a good place on behalf of your friend - the forum will help you and your friend make improvements.
Hello,
Yes, I soaked him right away. I built an inclosure for my late sulcata (respiratory infection 😢) wich will serve her well for some time. Thanks for your help everyone!
 

Audjpodj

New Member
Joined
Nov 30, 2020
Messages
4
Location (City and/or State)
CERRITOS, CA
Hi there and welcome. Good to hear you and your friend are taking tortoise keeping seriously and want to improve conditions. How long has your friend had the tortoise?

Another member will need to help you out with identification, but I wanted to check that the tortoise has access to a shallow water dish to drink from? It looks very dry in there with all of the sand, so I would recommend giving the tortoise daily soaks for 20 minutes or so in warm water to help with hydration. The bumps on the shell is referred to as 'pyramiding', indicating the tortoise has been kept in conditions that are too dry, with inadequate humidity. Unfortunately, many people are given misleading and inaccurate advice on how to care for tortoises, meaning many are kept incorrectly, particularly when they are young.

The glass tank it is currently in is too small for a tortoise of this size, so your friend should look to purchase/make a more suitable enclosure as soon as possible - the bigger the better, as tortoises need a lot of room to roam about safely. You've come to a good place on behalf of your friend - the forum will help you and your friend make improvements.
Hello and thanks for the help. She has had him for a few years now. She just recently reached out about it since she knows I have cared for torts since I was young and felt his home was getting too small. It is exactly as you said, she was given incorrect information and was not aware she was doing anything to harm the little guy. Once I saw the tank I knew we needed to make a change and get her hydrated. I gave my friend some of my Mazuri tort food to slowly incorporate, but I am trying to determine what her appropriate diet, heat, light and humidity should be.
 

KarenSoCal

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A great place to start is with this care sheet. Get him/her out of that tank and off of that sand, and start implementing some changes according to the care sheet.

Please come back with questions...we don't want anyone to spend unnecessary money. We can help with the better buys on equipment that may be needed.

 
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