Two surrendered tortoises

[MsLostRider]

My friends had these dropped off at the door(ran an animal rescue previously so it's not unusual). I have a love and bond with them. I'm in the process of getting a better job but can't take them to the vet right this moment. They both have visible damage. Any help for now would be great. Male(spike) has damage on both sides of shell. Female(shelly) has skin flaking and top shell damage. Make has deformities under shell.

 

[Gillian M]

My friends had these dropped off at the door(ran an animal rescue previously so it's not unusual). I have a love and bond with them. I'm in the process of getting a better job but can't take them to the vet right this moment. They both have visible damage. Any help for now would be great. Male(spike) has damage on both sides of shell. Female(shelly) has skin flaking and top shell damage. Make has deformities under shell.

A very warm welcome to the forum!

Please read the "Beginners Mistakes" Thread. I'd also suggest taking your torts to a vet.

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi, and welcome to the Forum!

In that first picture, losing those scales is just like you falling down and getting a skinned knee. Superficial. I don't see anything to be worried about other than the fact that these are a protected species of tortoise. The Gopher tortoise can't be taken from the wild. I don't know where you live, but it is pretty important for you to check with your State's laws regarding the Gopher tortoise.

 

[MsLostRider]

They were dropped off to us by a kid in a truck. Until you said that I thought they were sulcatas to be honest. Thats what I had been told previously. We have a bond so it is what it is. I call their names and they come. They eat from my hand and nuzzle for kisses.

 

[Gillian M]

They were dropped off to us by a kid in a truck. Until you said that I thought they were sulcatas to be honest. Thats what I had been told previously. We have a bond so it is what it is. I call their names and they come. They eat from my hand and nuzzle for kisses.

That's a great start.

 

[Grandpa Turtle 144]

Hello

 

[MsLostRider]

They have spiked theighs.... Gophers don't as far as I have seen

 

[orv]

Where are you located? To enable us to be of assistance we need to know where you are. If you don't wish to expose your location on the forum, send a PM to myself, or for that matter, any one of us to enable assistance. We're here to help. As always, Orvil

 

[ZEROPILOT]

In Florida, simply touching a Gopher Tortoise carries a hefty fine.
Also, as in most tortoises, two can't be easily housed together. Assuming you are not from Florida.

 

[MsLostRider]

They aren't together as ones male and ones female. They both go indoors and out. Still not sure what they are as they have horned legs in the back and was originally told sulcata. I've had the one for almost 2 months. She doesn't want to leave and even tries to come in backdoor when weather's not prefered... At any rate I'd delete post if I could. Just wanted to make sure they were ok

 

[MsLostRider]

spur thigh tortoise

 

[wellington]

Can you post better pics of their heads and front legs from straight on. They don't really look like sulcatas. However a few more pics that I asked for might help.
If they are against the law to have, I don't think they could be returned to the wild anyway by the way you describe them, their personality. Sounds like they have probably been in captivity too long to be returned. Let's first see if we can get them ID'ed with 100% certainty.

 

[MsLostRider]

I'll get some later today. I knew nothing of tortoises when I started caring for them, other than my daughter had seen huge tortoises in NC and we loved them. So upset at the thought that they not be what was said. And me and Shelly are bonded. If they aren't what I was told. What do I do? I'm not going to put them out. I love them. It went to storm the other day, Shelly came up to back door asking to come in. Clearly not wild. And she has harness indents on her shell. Joking around one day(thinking she's going to grow to a giant) I was talking about getting her to walk on a leash with me. Grabbed a harness, put it over shell and noticed straps fit her indents perfectly. She was someone's pet previously before surrendered and it shows. I'm lost now.

 

[MsLostRider]

I did not actually put the harness on, especially when I saw it matched. Want that to be clear

 

[SarahChelonoidis]

Post more photos - people here will be able to help. The carapaces in those above photos look like wild caught tortoises to me (the first one especially), but they may have been in captivity for a long time. I am not sure what the laws are in your state - there may be exceptions for registered wildlife rehabbers allowing you to keep them. Releasing them back into the wild after they've been in captivity and exposed to each other, and potentially other animals, is unwise as you could be spreading disease into the wild population. What to do here will depend on what your state requires - there may be a facility you can surrender them to if you are not able to keep them. Most important thing first: correctly id the species and move on from there. They are not sulcata.

 

[MsLostRider]

That's fine, I get that now. They were delivered in a truck, and most likely were pets previously as one has harness indents in shell. I don't care what they are, I care for them fine and we have a bond. Unless anyone has care tops, no further help needed. We have a friend who is licenced for them so we will go see him to verify. As an fyi, Shelly comes to the door trying to come in if it starts to look like rain. She runs in my house with dogs, kid etc. Snuggles and gets kisses happily. There's not much wild there. They are staying no matter the type.

 

[wellington]

Please don't get offended by anyone's post. We are all here to help you properly ID them so you can properly care for them. We also want you to know what they are incase it is illegal to have them, so you can take the precautions needed to keep them with no legal problems. No one here would turn you in, so don't worry about that. We are more concerned about the tortoises then any legalities. I would think most if not all of us would want you to keep them as they do not sound wild active enough to be returned to the wild anyway. We just want you to know what you have more then anything so you not only know, but then can get the right care for them.

 

[Yvonne G]

Well, it's only a toss up between Greek tortoises and Gopher tortoises. They most definitely ARE NOT sulcatas. Let's send a shout-out to @HermanniChris. He'll be able to tell you with 100% certainty what species you have.

 

[HermanniChris]

They are Gopher tortoises without any single doubt and absolutely not Greek tortoises.

 

[JoesMum]

They are Gopher tortoises without any single doubt and absolutely not Greek tortoises.

And with that news, which state are you in? Do you know the laws concerning this species in your state?