Found a baby turtle and need help!

[Nevvy]

Hi everyone! I'm brand new here and hoping for some help. My uncle found a baby turtle walking the street of Anaheim California and took it in. He kept in in a kitchen in a large box and tried to take care of it but when I found out I immediately went and picked it up to give it a good home. Not sure at all what kind of turtlenhw is, been going nuts over the internet. I bought it a tank and everything and all the right lights. It's shell is soft from it assuming my uncle not giving it much sunlight. So I have had it for a few hours now in its new habitat and need help. What kind of turtle is it and also it has stayed in the water for hours even sleeping in it with head under the water. Is this normal??? I feel like it is going to drown. Just want the best for it and looking for advice. I am posting pictures with this. Thanks so much!!! A

 

[wellington]

Can't tell really good by your pictures, but my guess is that it's a California Desert tortoise that is native to your state and illegal to take from the wild. It needs to be taken back where it was found an put back in a safe place, but in the same area. Get it out of the water. If I'm correct, it's a tortoise not a turtle.

 

[wellington]

@Yvonne G @Tom @Markw84

 

[Amanda_D]

I am a new tortoise owner, but doesn't look like a turtle so you should probably get it out of the water. Tortoises only need a soaking for about 20 minutes. It probably won't eat right now, but offer him some lettuce (not spinach).
I found a tortoise in Tustin just a few weeks ago. Don't know why they are wandering around OC. This is a great site to get info.

 

[Nevvy]

@Yvonne G @Tom @Markw84

Thank you thank you! It was wondering on a side walk in a neighborhood.

 

[Nevvy]

I am a new tortoise owner, but doesn't look like a turtle so you should probably get it out of the water. Tortoises only need a soaking for about 20 minutes. It probably won't eat right now, but offer him some lettuce (not spinach).
I found a tortoise in Tustin just a few weeks ago. Don't know why they are wandering around OC. This is a great site to get info.

How can I find out what it is or where can I take it??? Just want the best for this thing!!!

 

[RosemaryDW]

@wellington we don't have native desert tortoises in this area of California. If that's what it is, it is a lost pet at this point. It can't be returned to the wild.

 

[Markw84]

Yes. It is A California desert tortoise.

 

[RosemaryDW]

How can I find out what it is or where can I take it??? Just want the best for this thing!!!

Just stay put and someone will help identify it.

 

[MrMarg&me]

San Diego Turtle and Tortoise Society will be able to help you. Just google them.

 

[tortdad]

I would check Facebook, Craig's list and neighborhood signs to see if someone is looking for a lost pet. If it was found in a neighborhood then don't put it back where it was. Get us some better pics of the tort itself so we can be fore sure that it is a Desert tort. If it is we can get you a number to a wildlife place and you'll have to decide if you want to keep it and turn it over to them. If you want to keep it you'll need to get a permit which isn't hard to do.

 

[tortdad]

If you decide to start posting in those places yourself a "found tortoise" add then I'd recommend that you don't show any pics or list the type. Make them tell you what kind it is and the size of it. There's lots of people who would respond saying it was there's just so they could get a free tort and try to sell it for a profit.

 

[Nevvy]

Thank you everyone!!! I will post more pics asap in the morning. This is a great site!!!

 

[Amanda_D]

How can I find out what it is or where can I take it??? Just want the best for this thing!!!

Contact the Orange County Turtle & Tortoise Club. They operate out of Orange. They can help you. Www. Tortoise.com/orangecounty.

 

[Tom]

My first thought was a desert tortoise too, but I'm reluctant to commit without some better pics.

Nevvy, this ramped water bowls are great for lizards and snakes, but they are death traps for tortoises. I would remove it ASAP and replace it with a terra cotta plant saucer sunk into the substrate.

I type this up for russian tortoises, but care for desert tortoises is the same:
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/russian-tortoise-care-sheet.80698/

Some useful info here too:
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/

 

[Tidgy's Dad]

Hello, Nevvy, and a very warm welcome to Tortoise Forum.
Thanks for helping out with this tortoise.

 

[Yvonne G]

We'll really need to see better pictures - bottom side, top side, etc. It's either a desert tortoise or a pond turtle, and both of those are protected species. You can't have a pond turtle at all, but you are able to have a desert tortoise with a permit. From his eyes, I'm seeing a pretty sick little baby. You're doing a good job trying to get him well. When these tiny things dig up out of the nest after hatching, birds pick them up and fly away with them. They sometimes drop them by accident, but more often than not, they drop them on a hard surface in order to break them open and eat them easier. Sunshine (or a GOOD UVB light), calcium-rich foods are what he needs, but if he's a pond turtle, they can only eat when submerged under the water. So we really need to see those pictures.

 

[Nevvy]

Ok here are more pictures! And got some more information from my uncle. He actually has had the turtle for a year and found him on the lawn when he was tiny.

 

[Yvonne G]

It's a little desert tortoise, and he's very dry. You should set him up in a humid environment and make sure he gets calcium-rich foods and plenty of UVB either from the sun or from a GOOD UVB light.

 

[Nevvy]

I have a uvb light. Is the water good for him??? He seems content in the water but with everyone's posts I took him out of the water? So forsure it is a tortoise and not a box turtle?