Babies from Heaven?

[Dianne iin South Florida]

These babies are just coming to me. A second one came out of a hole in our yard 3 months after finding Shelby, where some fill was brought in almost 2 years ago! Identical, age and breed, gotta look for more
Meanwhile, since no one saw my other post as to where are these babies coming from I'll ask here, does anyone here have any idea why these tortoises keep showing up on my property? I know they are pure Salcata Tortoises as I am familiar with this breed of a tortoise. I cared for a 75 pounder for almost 3 years. I just built this habitat collecting parts for about a week. I hope it last for at least 2 years the next enclosure will be outdoors.

 

[JoesMum]

How long has this been your yard. Have they been positively IDed as Sulcata by the experts here? Some of your native species look mighty similar as hatchlings.

A good clear photo of the plastron (undershell) including the tail and a close up of the head and shell should confirm

 

[Redfool]

What a blessing. Baby Sulcatas and baby Gopher torts look almost the same. Sulcatas will have spikey front leg scales and Gophers will be fairly smooth. Sulcatas might have spikes by hind legs. As for color, both hatchlings are identical. They turn darker as they age. Easy to excavate earth is perfect for nesting torts. Need to ID by underside pix front and back.

 

[JoesMum]

What a blessing. Baby Sulcatas and baby Gopher torts look almost the same. Sulcatas will have spikey front leg scales and Gophers will be fairly smooth. Sulcatas might have spikes by hind legs. As for color, both hatchlings are identical. They turn darker as they age. Easy to excavate earth is perfect for nesting torts. Need to ID by underside pix front and back.

If these turn out to be Gopher torts, am I correct in thinking that you can’t legally take them from the wild in Florida?

 

[Dianne iin South Florida]

How long has this been your yard. Have they been positively IDed as Sulcata by the experts here? Some of your native species look mighty similar as hatchlings.

A good clear photo of the plastron (undershell) including the tail and a close up of the head and shell should confirm

Will get a photo now of underneath, but I know pretty much most of our local tortoises. I don't think they are going to like me holding them upside down the new one does not know me yet. Hold on......

 

[Lifeoftorto]

I’m not an expert or anything. In fact Im new in here but It doesnt look like sulcatas to me.. i have 2 and they dont look like that..

 

[teresaf]

Yes it's illegal to have them. Gopher tortoises look like sulcatas as babies.... Got to be careful
..

 

[Redfool]

If these turn out to be Gopher torts, am I correct in thinking that you can’t legally take them from the wild in Florida?

Gopher torts are a threatened species in FL. You can’t disturb or collect them. I’m ashamed to say that if you own a construction company you can buy a permit to bulldoze them. Money talks.

 

[Dianne iin South Florida]

How long has this been your yard. Have they been positively IDed as Sulcata by the experts here? Some of your native species look mighty similar as hatchlings.

A good clear photo of the plastron (undershell) including the tail and a close up of the head and shell should confirm

The first two are Shelby the next 2 are the new one. We have hundreds of Gopher Tortoises as they are endangered here and believe me these tortoises are not Gophers. And yes you can not take, relocate or disturb a Gopher tortoise its punishable with a fine or jail time or both.
Shelby is the first 2 photos on the left

 

[JoesMum]

@Yvonne G , @Tom can you ID these?

 

[Redfool]

@Yvonne G , @Tom can you ID these?

From the small size of the scales on the front legs, I would say gophers. Sulcatas are much more pronounced. Gophers don’t turn all brown until much bigger.

 

[Lifeoftorto]

From the small size of the scales on the front legs, I would say gophers. Sulcatas are much more pronounced. Gophers don’t turn all brown until much bigger.

I agree with you.. my sulcata’s legs dont look like that..

 

[JoesMum]

From the small size of the scales on the front legs, I would say gophers. Sulcatas are much more pronounced. Gophers don’t turn all brown until much bigger.

It sounds entirely likely, especially given their back story. I think Dianne is fortunate to have wild tortoises in her garden that need her protection

 

[Dianne iin South Florida]

the

Gopher torts are a threatened species in FL. You can’t disturb or collect them. I’m ashamed to say that if you own a construction company you can buy a permit to bulldoze them. Money talks.

To correct your statement about money talks, not all the time. In my city, a builder bought a huge amount of land to build upscale mansions in a golf gated community ever house will have 1 acre each. The builder flew in helicopters many times over the property in a 2 year period, lots were 1mil and up they sold several, found a bald eagle nest and Gopher turtles and NO WAY they could build anywhere near these places. They sold property 3 times since then without disclosing the fact that they were not going to get permits to build there and now its a pretty area with landscaping and a huge clubhouse, they built an exchange road for the turnpike for their residents, its a virtual billion dollars worth of improvements never to be allowed to build there because of the endangered wildlife. We even have issues removing native trees, huge fines and replacements are required and also building permits are held back till compliance. We have a Code department in our town to police us. This is true for South Florida I can not contest about the rest of the state.

Alligators were endangered till they started to count the ones in the Everglades now they have a permit for sale I think its like 1K to kill 3 alligators once a year.
I'll try again to upload those face and tail photos

 

[Tom]

I'm not familiar with FL gopher tortoises, but those are not sulcatas.

 

[Dianne iin South Florida]

This Is Shelby

This is the new one

Shelby now has pink nail polish dots down her back

 

[Toddrickfl1]

Look like gopher tort babies, and besides box turtles, I believe these are the only tortoises native to South fl. (I could be wrong but I grew up there and never seen otherwise) They are HIGHLY protected species in FL.

 

[Dianne iin South Florida]

We did let our foster tortoise 70-pound male breed with a smaller maybe 45 pound female for an entire weekend on our property but that was at least 2 years ago. She was one of the 4 left in our neighborhood our friend/ acquaintance took her but reported she never laid eggs, I do not believe him and he can't produce her to me to show me he still has her. Knowing how they are escape artists I can see him losing her too. That may be why they were left in a rental house.

 

[Dianne iin South Florida]

Look like gopher tort babies, and besides box turtles, I believe these are the only tortoises native to South fl. (I could be wrong but I grew up there and never seen otherwise) They are HIGHLY protected species in FL.

Yes they are very well protected. The hole in the dirt just appeared last fall during mowing it is only about 5 inches in diamitar. We have never seen a gopher on our property because we have fencing to keep our animals and others out even under the ground. I know my girlfriend has had the same Gopher lay eggs just about every year in the middle of her horse pasture, we see her around there all the time. We have water turtles, walking catfish, I even had an otter from the state park in my pond when I first bought my land. We have all sorts of venomous and non-venomous snakes here too. We are abundant with wildlife all around us, but in living her since 2009 I have never seen a Gopher Tortoise on my property and being we are outside a good portion of our day I have not seen any tortoise that even resembled a Gopher on my property. Maybe Sulcata Maybe not well see. I also believe they are the same as the one baby my friend across the street brought up, he is 3 years old now started out looked identical to these ??????????? Loving anyway

 

[Toddrickfl1]

Here's a picture of a baby gopher tort
Pretty sure that's what you got