Found a sulcata tortoise in my driveway! Please help... (LONG)

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DaveInLA

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I took a trip to a very large reptile store in Southern CA a couple weeks ago to look at snakes and monitor lizards, but some of the tortoises caught my eye. The massive sulcatas near the store entrance intrigued me, and I was reminded of a friend who kept a ~80 lb sulcatta in his backyard. I went home thinking about getting a tortoise and have spent a lot of time reading about them on the web. Sulcatas are cool, but I concluded that they grow to be too large for what I'm looking for. I figured that a redfoot or leopard tortoise would be perfect for me, but even then, I thought that I would need a couple months of planning and setup before buying an animal. I have experience with snakes, and don't like making impulse buys for this type of thing.

All that said, yesterday morning, we found a small tortoise on our front driveway. It's definitely a sulcata, 4-5" in length (edit, not 5-6"). I live in a suburb of Los Angeles in the San Gabriel Valley, on a hill with lots of weed-filled landscape in everybody's backyards. But the tortoise was actually on the front of the house, right where the garden hose faucet drips water. Maybe it was thirsty. I have NO IDEA how it got there or how long it's been free or how it can even survive a week out here. This neighborhood has cats roaming free, possums apparently raccoons coming out at night. I saw a coyote in the backyard a year ago. But yet here's this tortoise. Given my recent interest in tortoises, this has to be the most amazing coincidence I've ever been a part of.

Time for business. I was not prepared for this animal and am not sure what to do. I heard that someone in the neighborhood had a tortoise in the past, but that was "long ago". I want to find this animal its rightful owner so it can be cared for, but realistically, whoever owned it must have set it loose because he/she didn't want it anymore. I almost feel this is some sort of sign for me to keep it, but I don't know what to do. I don't have an enclosure, and so far have been keeping it in a box about 2 x 2 ft. I put garden dirt in there and some leaf lettuce and a small shallow pan of water. I want to keep it outside to get some sun, but 1) it's kind of cool in SoCal right now (high of 69 degrees during the daytime, and 50s at night) and 2) those predators I mentioned. I have it in the garage right now.

Assuming I choose to keep it, what's the next step? I can get a tortoise table, which I guess will house it for several years, but my concerns are more about right now. An incandescent lightbut makes sense to generate heat, but do I really need a UVB bulb if I take it outside sometimes? Someone did a write-up on how to raise baby sulcatas and said that all they need is 30-60 min of sunlight several times/week, and I think I can provide that. There are lots of grasses and weeds I can feed it. With the sunlight, does it still need the calcium supplementation? Also, I've read conflicting information about water and humidity. Tom, in his writeup, greatly advocates humidity, but I've also seen other care sheets saying that water should only be placed in the enclosure a few times a week to limit humidity. Any final word on this? Thanks a lot, I'm sure I'll have more questions coming and I'll see if I can dig up my camera to post pics.
 

dmarcus

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Hello and welcome to the forum. I would suggest before you get attach to the tortoise that you make an attempt to find it's possible owner. I am sure that if it escaped from it's outdoor enclosure that the owner will be searching for it. I would be heart broken if my Sulcata escaped and someone decide to keep him without trying to return him. Not saying that's what you are planning. But try to get him/her back home first.
 

Yvonne G

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Hi DaveInLA:

Welcome to the forum!! Is your name Dave?

I've received many calls from folks who found a...snapping turtle...baby desert tortoise...or whatever. And I can truthfully say that 80% of the time what they actually found was NOT what they thought. So we need to see a picture of your baby. Not that we don't trust you, but baby sulcatas look quite a bit like baby desert tortoises or baby Greeks...

Next, please make a few signs and put them up around the neighborhood. If this is a very small baby tortoise, he might have been dropped in your front yard by a cat or bird after being plucked out of his habitat in a loving owner's yard.

Good luck with your baby. Once we find out for sure what you have, we can give you better info on how to care for it.
 

CtTortoiseMom

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Hi Dave & welcome! Did you try asking your neighbors if they are missing a tortoise? I was thinking about it and my next door neighbor does not even know we have a tortoise. I think that would be a good place to start.
 

Tom

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Hello and welcome DaveinLA.

I agree with all of the above.

I just wanted to address your question about the humidity. I've been using the techniques outlined in the care sheet for about three years now on over 50 babies of several species with 100% success. And I might add, even greater success than I even imagined. Countless other people have been using it too and have reported the same excellent results. I wanted to explain that I did not "invent" or discover the humidity thing and it has been around and in practice for 10 years or more. Other people like Carl May, the Fife brothers and other long term top tortoise people in the country have know about it and been doing it a long time. Terry K, here on the forum, explained a lot of it to me early on too. I am simply a guy trying to get the word out in an effort to combat and abolish those old outdated care sheets and websites that you and everyone else always find. The dry routine leads to pyramiding, slow growth and a tortoise who is merely surviving less than optimal conditions, IN MY OPINION.

Here is a great big thread dealing with exactly your question. I started this thread to CLEARLY DEMONSTRATE the validity of what I am saying.
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/Thread-The-End-Of-Pyramiding#axzz1JymtEPSG

Of course there are other opinions, but here you can read it all and decide for your self what you think will be best for your tortoise. Keep in mind that you and I live in very similar climates.
 

DeanS

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Welcome Dave! Let's start with a picture or two:) Second, they need to be outside at least 4-6 hours a day when they're young. If you can provide it that much sunlight, then a UV bulb is not mandatory! If you choose to keep it inside (please don't), then you'll need (at least) one Mercury Vapor Bulb. Check out Tom's care sheet. It's very thorough and will answer all your questions!
 

DaveInLA

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CtTortoiseMom said:
Hi Dave & welcome! Did you try asking your neighbors if they are missing a tortoise? I was thinking about it and my next door neighbor does not even know we have a tortoise. I think that would be a good place to start.

Thanks for the welcome guys.

I have been making the effort to see who might the owner be. That's how I even found out about the neighbor who had a tortoise in the past. But I'll try harder because, as I mentioned in my first post, I don't think I'm ready for this. Not right now, at least. Here are some pics.

img3388h.jpg


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(in case the above images don't work)
http://img861.imageshack.us/i/img3388h.jpg

http://img215.imageshack.us/i/img3390m.jpg
 

Yvonne G

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Its a sulcata alrighty. Its probably a year or two old. They can really motate when in the mood, so no telling how far he's walked to get to your house.

I think its kismet. You need to get some cinder blocks and make a make-shift pen in the back yard and keep him (unless his owner shows up). At his size, you only need one-block high. And 4'x8' might be a good size for now. And while he's growing and living in that pen, you can be thinking about how to tortoise-ize your back yard so he can some day have the whole space.

It was meant to be! :p
 

dmarcus

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Definitley looks like a Sulcata, and a very nice looking one. Hopefully everything will work it's self out, especially since you don't think you ready to take care of one right now. I also agree with Yvonne G. I may have been meant to be.
Good luck either way..
 

DaveInLA

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emysemys said:
Its a sulcata alrighty. Its probably a year or two old. They can really motate when in the mood, so no telling how far he's walked to get to your house.

I think its kismet. You need to get some cinder blocks and make a make-shift pen in the back yard and keep him (unless his owner shows up). At his size, you only need one-block high. And 4'x8' might be a good size for now. And while he's growing and living in that pen, you can be thinking about how to tortoise-ize your back yard so he can some day have the whole space.

It was meant to be! :p

Kismet, eh... or serendipity. ;)

If this were a redfoot, then I'd say it's outright fate. But assuming nobody claims it, I don't think I can keep it more than a couple years due to size. I'm extremely terrified of leaving it outside due to the potential predators I mentioned. I think it's too large for a cat to grasp in its jaws and dropped off on our driveway, but I suppose a dog could've done it. No obvious damage, though.

Anyway, this guy is extremely shy. I do wonder if it's been traumatized in all this. I've seen lots of sulcatas in pet stores, and they're pretty much immune to the fact that they're being gawked at by humans. This little guy will walk around the box and eat the greens, but once it sees me, it ducks its head into the shell. Is it common for sulcatas to be this shy when introduced into a new environment? If so, how long before they literally come out of their shell?
 

Yvonne G

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No, its not common, but maybe he hasn't been fooled with much. They come around pretty quickly with kind handling.

On second thought, after reading that you can't keep him when he grows big, its probably better to find a new home for him now before he gets settled in.

Can we see pictures of his underside...clear pictures showing the tail area?
 

Jacob

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I sent you a private message,
if nothing happens i would love to take it off your hands!
I Also have a young sulcata, i would love to get a new sulcata for my birthday today haha
well let me know how things go :)
 

Tom

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I'm really glad you found him Dave and I'm really glad you found us. If you decide to keep him, we'll all be happy to help you through it. If you decide to find a new home for him we'll help you with that too. He looks pretty well cared for. I'll bet somebody within a 1/4 mile or so of you is pretty bummed about losing their baby.

If you haven't done it yet, he could probably really benefit from a nice warm water soak. I use a dish pan, but you can use anything, like a bathtub. Keep it shallow, about an inch and a half or so. 10-20 minutes should do the trick.

It is certainly possible to keep a redfoot in your area, but it takes great effort and expense to do it properly once they start getting bigger, due to the dryness of our climate here. You'll have to decide what you like, but if sulcatas are too big and destructive for you, then I really like leopards. They do great outdoors here with a heated house for cold winter days and nights. Hermans, russians and CDTs tend to do great here too. Anyhow, just throwing out some suggestions for you...
 

AdamR

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Wow that is truly amazing! Why can't things like this happen to me lol. Have there been any reports of sulcatas in the wild around there? I know I've read articles about them in AZ and I think one in Vegas but not sure. I doubt this is the case but something to think about. I would just put up signs in the neighborhood or in the paper, but don't list all the details so that the "unscrupulous" characters that may come knocking for a free tortoise will have to describe certain features and size to you before you hand it over!
 

DaveInLA

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I think I'm going to keep it. Just too much of a coincidence for me to give it up right now. Yesterday, I went to a couple herp stores and hardware stores to pick up some things. This is the enclosure I put together for now. It's a large plastic tub (close to 2 x 3 ft) with a clamp lamp, currently using a 90W halogen flood light. However, I think I'm going to order a MVB, as I don't think I can meet the required sun exposure right now. A ceramic heater will help at night. I'm going to find small tupperware for a humid hide box. Should this be placed on the warm side or the cool side?

Grass covers a little more than half of the substrate. I figured that I'd allow the tort to graze inbetween feedings with other veggies. However, it's eating the leaf lettuce I have in there but not the grass. Do they typically start grazing on grass only when older/larger?

We also have some aloe plants in the garden; can I feed the tort that? I've heard rose petals are also nice treats; how often can I feed it this?

Here are some pics. I'll get a shot of its underside after it's settled in a bit.

img3392k.jpg


img3395b.jpg
 
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