Found tortoise in my backyard. Advice

[Jeanskirt]

Hi. I'm new here. My name is Tiana. I found this small tortoise in my backyard. We live in Bakersfield, California. I did a Google image search and the closest thing I found is a Russian tortoise. I'm not sure if this little guy (or girl) is an adult or a baby. I actually captured it once, and had it in a an 8'x4' enclosure in my garden, but it got out and I thought it just ran away. Then today, there it was right by my front porch just sitting there. Lol. We have a HUGE piece of property, with a lot of open acreage in the backyard (where it first was enclosed), so for it to make it all the way to the front door was quite a feat, in my opinion.
If anyone can tell me for certain what kind of tortoise it is, I'd be very grateful. I just want to give it the best care possible. Thanks in advance for your help.

 

[Maggie3fan]

Looks Russian to me

 

[Yvonne G]

Have you tried to find his owner? They are great escape artists and can travel long distances.

 

[KarenSoCal]

Yes, it looks Russoan to me too. And a beautiful Russian at that! I love the design on the carapace. If you'll get a picture of the underside, the plastron, we can maybe tell you the gender. Make sure the tail area is in focus.

Here is the care sheet for Russians. It's full of info re' care, housing, feeding, etc.

Oh yeah, Welcome to the forum!

The Best Way To Raise Any Temperate Species Of Tortoise

I chose the title of this care sheet very carefully. Are there other ways to raise babies and care for adults? Yes. Yes there are, but those ways are not as good. What follows is the BEST way, according to 30 years of research and experimentation with hundreds of babies of many species. What is...

www.tortoiseforum.org

 

[Jeanskirt]

Have you tried to find his owner? They are great escape artists and can travel long distances. Thought

Though I doubt that this tortoise had an owner, unless they intentionally abandoned it, I did post an alert on my Nextdoor app and no one responded. Our house is situated on two acres of property, and we don't have any neighbors. Behind our property is a drainage ditch, the lot to our left is an abandoned open area, and to the right is a Walgreens with a huge parking lot. Our closest neighbors are an apartment complex across a VERY busy street/intersection, so I doubt this little guy could have gotten across without being hit by a car. I was seriously considering just letting it go, but there are so many (big) feral dogs in this area, I'm afraid he will get killed.

 

[Jeanskirt]

Yes, it looks Russoan to me too. And a beautiful Russian at that! I love the design on the carapace. If you'll get a picture of the underside, the plastron, we can maybe tell you the gender. Make sure the tail area is in focus.

Here is the care sheet for Russians. It's full of info re' care, housing, feeding, etc.

Oh yeah, Welcome to the forum!

The Best Way To Raise Any Temperate Species Of Tortoise

I chose the title of this care sheet very carefully. Are there other ways to raise babies and care for adults? Yes. Yes there are, but those ways are not as good. What follows is the BEST way, according to 30 years of research and experimentation with hundreds of babies of many species. What is...

www.tortoiseforum.org

Thank you so much! I really appreciate it!

 

[wellington]

It is a Russian adult and likely escaped even though you think not possible it sure is.
Do not just let it go, it's not native and that's the wrong thing to do.
Contact local vets, look on craigslist and even any local animal rescues to see if anyone has lost one.
If not one claims it after an effort to find the owner then either keep it and house and care for it properly or rehome him but do not just let him go.

 

[TaylorTortoise]

Hi. I'm new here. My name is Tiana. I found this small tortoise in my backyard. We live in Bakersfield, California. I did a Google image search and the closest thing I found is a Russian tortoise. I'm not sure if this little guy (or girl) is an adult or a baby. I actually captured it once, and had it in a an 8'x4' enclosure in my garden, but it got out and I thought it just ran away. Then today, there it was right by my front porch just sitting there. Lol. We have a HUGE piece of property, with a lot of open acreage in the backyard (where it first was enclosed), so for it to make it all the way to the front door was quite a feat, in my opinion.
If anyone can tell me for certain what kind of tortoise it is, I'd be very grateful. I just want to give it the best care possible. Thanks in advance for your help.

That’s a really cool looking russian tortoise. Looks like flames on his/her back. Perfect circle he /she is too lol

 

[Tom]

Hi. I'm new here. My name is Tiana. I found this small tortoise in my backyard. We live in Bakersfield, California. I did a Google image search and the closest thing I found is a Russian tortoise. I'm not sure if this little guy (or girl) is an adult or a baby. I actually captured it once, and had it in a an 8'x4' enclosure in my garden, but it got out and I thought it just ran away. Then today, there it was right by my front porch just sitting there. Lol. We have a HUGE piece of property, with a lot of open acreage in the backyard (where it first was enclosed), so for it to make it all the way to the front door was quite a feat, in my opinion.
If anyone can tell me for certain what kind of tortoise it is, I'd be very grateful. I just want to give it the best care possible. Thanks in advance for your help.

They are escape artists and they can travel miles. Keep him securely contained for his own safety.

That care sheet that Karen linked for you should have all the care info you need, but feel free to ask questions.

 

[Dcatalano]

Welcome to the forum! I wish tortoises would just show up at my house like that! 😂
An outdoor enclosure is a great start but make sure he can’t climb over or dig out. As mentioned, they are escape artists and can travel far.

 

[Sarah2020]

Russian tortoise are known as escape artists. This has managed to escape from a neighbour who is probably searching high and low. Please can you contact neighbours and maybe use Facebook and advise local vet to see if you can reunite.

 

[Jeanskirt]

I posted a notice on Facebook and also on the Nextdoor app. I'll give it about 2 weeks, and if no one responds after that, I'll go ahead and keep it. For now, I have it in a temporary enclosure on my porch. I know this space isn't big enough for a permanent home, but it's going to cost a couple hundred dollars for the materials to build a proper home for it, so I don't want to invest that right now just in case someone claims it. We'll see how it goes!

 

[TaylorTortoise]

I posted a notice on Facebook and also on the Nextdoor app. I'll give it about 2 weeks, and if no one responds after that, I'll go ahead and keep it. For now, I have it in a temporary enclosure on my porch. I know this space isn't big enough for a permanent home, but it's going to cost a couple hundred dollars for the materials to build a proper home for it, so I don't want to invest that right now just in case someone claims it. We'll see how it goes! View attachment 344472

What are the orange like discs you are feeding him/her?

 

[Jeanskirt]

Sliced Carrots. Should I not be doing that?
I read from someone in here that I shouldn't feed it grocery store food, So since I have a garden, I've just been giving it food that I grow. Carrots, Lettuce, grape leaves, basil leaves, and some Cilantro

I have also placed a little tray for "watering" itself. Should I have not Sliced it? It seems like it is not interested in it at all, but it ate all the grape leaves and lettuces that I provided

 

[Dcatalano]

Greens and leaves, weeds like dandelion (as long as they’re safe from chemicals) will be ok. Other things, in moderation. I downloaded an app called tortoise table to see which plants in my yard are safe. Currently the lilac leaves are in the mix for my tort.