What kind of Tortoise is this?

[Heather8389]

Hello, I am going to be given this tortoise in next week and the person said it is a yellow foot tortoise but she has the tank set up wrong and more desert tortoise style. It has been a class pet for 5 years and the teacher doesn't want it anymore so I am going to keep it and want to build it a habitat that suits it. I would appreciate any tips and suggestions

 

[Heather8389]

 

[jaizei]

it does look like a yellowfoot

 

[Ink]

@ZEROPILOT can help you out. I'm glad you are giving it a better home.

 

[ZEROPILOT]

It looks like a Yellowfoot and I don't even know where to begin.
A "classroom pet" is just a horrible scenario.
Has he ever had access to the sun or a uvb source? I don't like how he/she just looks to be laying there.
You'll need a closed chamber type enclosure. It will hold in warmth and humidity.
You'll need a T5 ho UVB 10.0 strip florescent tube light. Not one of those screw in bulbs.
Temperature needs to be between 80 and 88 and the humidity needs to be over 70% 24/7.
What do you currently have?
Please describe or photograph everything and don't buy anything until you've checked with the group. Pet store junk is expensive and most of it is useless.
It's possible that new photos will show this to be a Redfoot. But care for them is similar.
We will get you guys going in the correct direction. If he/she could speak, I'm sure he'd thank you.

 

[SinLA]

Thank you for taking him. Welcome to the world of Classroom Pet Rescue where every teacher swears on a stack of textbooks they know how to care for a reptile, and truly they only thing keeping them alive is the fact that they can take years if not decades to die.

Start here if you can, I know it s a LOT of info but it will get you started in the right direction:

Info For New People. Please Read This First.

Hello and welcome to tortoiseforum.org! We are all glad you are here! There is no other forum like this anywhere. We have tens of thousands of members from all over the world ranging from kids with their first tortoise to people who have been breeding and keeping high end tortoises since the...

tortoiseforum.org

big picture - it cannot live in a tank. A tortoise that size needs an enclosure many feet long and wide. You also need to give it both heat and humidity. Looks like you are near Long Beach (I'm up in the Valley). Its going to be too cold where you are to be just outside all year. You will need a lot of stuff to keep it properly.

I hope you do, if he's been 5 years in a tank then that's like being in a torture chamber for them, given the size of space they need.

 

[Heather8389]

When I first started working in this class I was fascinated by him/her not sure which. I started looking up about yellowfoot tortoise care and seeing all that she was doing wrong. The teacher who bought him is in her 60's didn't really think to look up about care. I felt so bad for it that it's lived 5 years in this box. I measured the tank it is 36in x 18in only the tortoise can barely turn around. She had the hide in the heat lamp and even the hide is too small it kept falling on the tortoise. There is a uvb light but it is a screw in bulb one. She had never soaked the tortoise either. Most the time it was borrowed in the corner. About 80% of its diet has been fruit she gave it. I have been starting to soak it for 30 mins a day and give it greens it has become more active and walking around more. The other teacher finally offered it to me since this school year ending.

 

[SinLA]

I’m looking forward to the good life you will give it.

What size enclosure can you offer?


@ZEROPILOT or @Maggie3fan can give setup suggestions but the link above is a good place to start

 

[Maggie3fan]

Hi there! You are about to have a great adventure. I keep a Redfoot, Layla. She is only 3 years old and is the easiest tortoise to care for. She is 7 inches scl, Layla's carapace is smooth and pretty. Layla lives in a greenhouse that stays 85 degrees with 90% humidity. During the day she is outside, weather permitting and at night she is in the tort table. You adult needs much more room. That tortoise is bumpy telling me she's not been kept correctly. Thanks for taking her, now you are gonna keep her properly. Here's a few photos
Layla loves to destroy anything in her home...lolRead those care sheets that Tom gave ya....welcome

 

[NELSUN737]

Hello, I am going to be given this tortoise in next week and the person said it is a yellow foot tortoise but she has the tank set up wrong and more desert tortoise style. It has been a class pet for 5 years and the teacher doesn't want it anymore so I am going to keep it and want to build it a habitat that suits it. I would appreciate any tips and suggestions

CONGRATULATIONS, THEY CAN BE QUITE A CARACTER, MOUST OF THE TIME STUBBORN, BUT THAT'S IN THEIR NATURE, MOST SPECIES HAVE RELATIVELY SIMILAR BEHAVIOR, DEPENDING ON SPECIES! I HAVE 2 SULIES! (AFRICAN SPURS SULCATA) AND A NORTH EASTERN DIAMON BACK TERAPIN TURTLE, A RECUE THAT IS GOING BACK TO DEAD HORSE BAY IN BROOKLYN NEW YORK.

HE IS QUITE THE CARACTER! HE ALMOUST DIED RURING THE HEAT WAVE IN SUMMER 2023, WAS MISTAKEN BY AN UPSIDE-DOWN TURTLE TOY ON TOP OF FLOATING SEAWEED!

THAT'S WHEN I REALIZE IT WAS IN FACT THE LIMP BODY OF DONNIE A DIAMON BACK TERRAPIN!

I CUT A SLIT IN MY COLD WATER BOTTLE AND PUT THE WHAT I TAUGHT TO BE A DEAD TURTLE, LITTLE DID I KNOW!

HE RESUSCITATE IT, LIKE AN HOUR LATER!

WELL DONATELLO IS NOW GOING TO BE A YEAR OLD IN SEPTEMBER, SUPER HEALTY, WELL FEED!


TAKE A PICTURE SO WE KNOW WHAT KIND IS IT!!!

 

[TammyJ]

Welcome to the best place you could have come to for help with your precious little tortoise! He sure is lucky you got him. Just follow the good advice and soak him every day! We look forward to seeing your progress with the bigger enclosure and right conditions!