Two little CDTs

[pinkspore]

While visiting the Arroyo Grande Turtle and Tortoise Sanctuary yesterday, a man brought these guys back. He adopted them a month ago and decided that he had too many tortoises. Then he asked for a large sulcata. Apparently this is not the first time he has done this, last time he brought back a box turtle and got the little deserts.

This tiny guy has a soft plastron and is now soaking up some sun while munching the grass. He/she looks pretty dry and enjoyed a good soak yesterday when we got home.


This one is a bit bigger, and is missing one foot after a run-in with a raccoon or something prior to being adopted out the first time. I'm particularly drawn to animals with mobility issues and other things that make them less than perfect, so he/she should be a good fit.


This morning I was somewhat abruptly given a ~10" leopard tortoise, and while everyone is being quarantined and assigned separate living quarters it would be lovely to hear anything helpful about keeping both species. Which is the more delicate species? Are there pathogens normally carried by one that are particularly dangerous to the other? (Would love to know if handwashing+shoe disinfecting is enough, or if I need to worry about sharing airspace as well.) What are the major differences in their care requirements?

 

[thatrebecca]

I have no advice on your quarantine question but just wanted to say good for you for taking in those cuties and giving them a healthy home. Knowing how stressful moving to a new home was for the two juvenile CDTs we adopted in April, it irks me to read about the man you described, adopting and then unadopting torts willy nilly.

 

[pinkspore]

Thanks! I'm told he won't be allowed to adopt anyone else now, and I'm honored to be allowed to take them home and fill them up on sunshine and calcium. They've been pretty lethargic so far, but after a good long sunbath they both started grazing.

 

[dcwolfe]

I have owned both species before and i had never been informed prior to the forum about the risk of housing the two together, that being said, before i had housed a leopard and a dt together for four years and they were best friends and never got sick. I also know many people who have dts and sulcutas together for over 8 years with no problems. Though i do not advise housing them together just because of the chance of the little guys getting sick i would not worry at all about getting one sick because of handling the other prior. Of course if one is sick or sluggish take caution, but in terms of just handling the two species dont loose any sleep over it.

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[kanalomele]

In my experience the CDT is going to be the more delicate of them. They tend to have a very hard road IF they do get sick, with the chances of being prone to reoccuring illness being even higher. Prevention is going to be key for these guys if they are already in rough shape. Most of us here in the Central Valley wont keep our CDTs anywhere near another species (not even adjoining pens) because of the chances for recurring health issues.

 

[ascott]

They are both hardy tenacious species...that is, when not housed together ...they each have their own "cooties" an unto their own, all will be aok---but crossing them over one another can create a bad situation for both species....

 

[pinkspore]

Thank you everyone, I'm definitely not planning to house them together. The size difference alone would make that a poor choice, even if I didn't know about the cooties.

The deserts seem a bit sleepy so far, compared to the leopard and my boxies. The tiny one is especially slow, but temperatures have been pretty cool around here the last couple of days. Are CDTs generally very relaxed, or should I chalk it up to stress/husbandry/60-degree weather? Today they are inside with some Mazuri under a pile of timothy hay.

 

[ascott]

He adopted them a month ago and decided that he had too many tortoises.

Hopefully he did not put them in right off with his other tortoise....lack of quarantine is a terrible thing....

They should be a little reserved --after all, they were brought to a new place for a short period of time...then returned and now to another strange place....so likely their stress level is high....I would make sure that you keep their temps spot on---and even a little warmer to help them thwart the stress....I would also make sure to offer a couple places that they can hide under/in--like a plant canopy and such.....calm.

 

[Laura]

my desert and Sulcatas and completely separate.... I know people house things together and don't have issues.. but there are also a lot of stories about weird deaths with no reason...

 

[pinkspore]

I'm definitely keeping them toasty for now, I'm sure all the moving around has been very stressful. I have plastic flowerpots cut in half for them to hide under while they graze. Morla, the bigger one, prefers to push his around from beneath so he can browse under cover. He is The stealthiest tortoise.