Rescued four tortoises from the road...

Amybee

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I thought they were desert tortoises but a friend of mine told me they are sulcatas. I have been trying to research how to care for them but so much of the information contradicts each other.

I live in the Phoenix area so I'm assuming they will be fine as far as the temperature goes. I have them in an enclosed area outdoors where they have a spot for shade and also a shallow water dish that I keep clean and full.

My biggest issue right now is food. I read online that I should give them leafy greens, like a spring mix from the grocery store. Then I read to NEVER give them that and to only feed them grass and hay. I want to make sure they are being fed correctly! It seems like the only thing anyone can agree on is no fruit.

Help!

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Amybee

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Also, because they are hatchlings I'm not just letting them roam in the yard, but I'm wondering, if their diet should be primarily grass, should I let them roam a little each day in the grass and have that be their meal time?
 

Gillian M

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I thought they were desert tortoises but a friend of mine told me they are sulcatas. I have been trying to research how to care for them but so much of the information contradicts each other.

I live in the Phoenix area so I'm assuming they will be fine as far as the temperature goes. I have them in an enclosed area outdoors where they have a spot for shade and also a shallow water dish that I keep clean and full.

My biggest issue right now is food. I read online that I should give them leafy greens, like a spring mix from the grocery store. Then I read to NEVER give them that and to only feed them grass and hay. I want to make sure they are being fed correctly! It seems like the only thing anyone can agree on is no fruit.

Help!
A very warm welcome to the forum! Cute torts. GOD bless.

Sorry, cannot tell your their species- am not a tort expert.

Please read the "Beginners Mistakes" Thread. That should be of help.
 

SarahChelonoidis

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From that photo, they do look sulcata like to me. Can you post a close up of one of the babies?

Outside all day can be extremely desiccating for hatchlings - many experienced keepers actually advise that indoors in safer for babies that size.
 

Yvonne G

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Yes, they are sulcata babies. I wonder if this means Arizona has a wild sulcata population. Very interesting that you found four together. Means they had just climbed up out of their nest site.

We have some very good reading for you. I love your tort table and it looks like you can close it, right? Baby sulcatas hatch during the monsoon season, so keeping them moist and humid is very beneficial to them. Please read these:

http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/how-to-raise-a-healthy-sulcata-or-leopard-version-2-0.79895/
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/sulcata-diet-sheet.64290/

Incidentally - once your babies get to be about three or four years old, you can start feeding them grass and hay, but tiny babies like yours won't eat grass unless you chop it up in tiny pieces and mix it in with their dark, leafy greens.
 

Connie L

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Amybee - Have you checked around your neighborhood, asked people close by if they are missing any babies or know who might be? Are you in Glendale by any chance. I ask as I have a neighbor who has 15 in his back yard and he trys to get all the eggs but many times some do slip past him and he winds up with several babies. One of them got out under his gate and wandered into our yard on July 4th. At the time we had no idea where it came from but then found out (long story) that he has them. Wondering if you are close by here and if they may be some of his.
 

TerrapinStation

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That is pretty fascinating if they are wild and hatched together, then were traveling together. As suggested earlier, maybe you can check around your area for a breeder or keeper who had some escapees or lost eggs?

On the other hand, my theory of TINWO (Tortoise Illuminati New World Order) may be coming true after all...... I knew it was only a matter of time before they banded together & rose up to take over the world. They have had 120 million years to plan this out, so it better be good.
 

ZEROPILOT

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Curious, Amybee. Did you yourself find them in the road, or did you acquire them from someone who said that they did?
Finding 4 Sulcatas together and in the road has got to be some stroke of luck and maybe also means that others were close by....
 

Anyfoot

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I was thinking maybe because they are darker in color could they have naturally hatched out of the ground.
 

tortoise5643

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I'd say sulcata as well. I would go back to where you found them, they probably just came out of the ground so you may find more. The best way to raise them is hot and humid. I think Yvonne gave a link. But if not go to sulcata tortoise care. Tom has given detailed info on their care. Greens are good as a dessert food. But sulcatas are mainly grass eaters and love to forage. I would let them forage dusky under supervision.
 

Anyfoot

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They look like 100% sulcatas. Just have a bunch of dirt on them. Don't see what we are questioning lol
Nobody is questioning if they are sullies, Yvonne says they are sullies so they are sullies. Lol.
I was just trying to work out if someone let them go or they came out of the ground (maybe a local breeder mist a nest).
 

Amybee

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Sorry it took a while to get back to everyone! My sister found them in the road near her house, along with two others. She kept two of them for herself. One of her neighbors (in Gilbert) has tortoises so we know that's where they come from. I wouldn't call her neighbors breeders, but her animals do indeed mate and produce hatchlings quite often. Unfortunately they are left to fend for themselves and often times my sister finds them run over. Trying to "return" these to their "owner" would be of no use since she doesn't really make any efforts to hang on to them.

I appreciate everyone's feedback and ideas! It is monsoon season in AZ right now so they are getting some nice humid weather. Their habitat can close, but I keep it open. I have it on the porch where it is mostly in the shade but they do get some direct sunlight in the afternoon and that's when they tend to come out and walk around.
 

Amybee

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Here are some more pictures.
 

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Amybee

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Thank you! Yes, it can close. Should I keep it closed? I was worried about oxygen flow.
 

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