Found abandoned Tortoise. Plz help Identify & have Calcium concerns

[Prairie Mom]

Hi friends,
I'm so grateful forums like this exist! Yesterday, I'm pretty sure I arrived just in time to find someone abandoning this tortoise on a busy wintery street (yes, it's freezing & we had snow already). I've never cared for a reptile before, but am not new to rescuing animals. I've spent hours researching and am still a bit uncertain of what I have here. She seems to resemble a desert tortoise and even some pictures I found of a Sulcata. We've given her a small warm soak which she seemed to really appreciate and drank a bit. I've offered her some celery leaves I have on hand, but she's not going for those too much. We've made a temporary home in an extra large Tupperware tub. I have some garden seed starting lights that she can use until we get things set up better.

I have some basic questions/concerns...

- What kind of a tortoise do I have here?

-***I am very concerned that she may have some Calcium deficiency. I'm hoping (fingers crossed!) that we are catching it early enough to do some real good. There are just two spots on either side of her top shell that seem to be slightly less hard than the rest of her shell. I've rehabilitated a tree squirrel who also has very large calcium/D3 requirements and seems to eat a lot of the same veg. I was able to ensure the squirrel received enough VitD3 by putting liquid pet bird vitamin drops in its food and water. Can I do this for the Tortoise?? I'm so eager to make sure she's getting the calcium she needs back into her system.

-Does this tortoise hibernate? If so, I'm not comfortable allowing that right now. Any thoughts?

-And finally how often should a healthy tortoise eat? urinate? poop?

Thanks in advance for any advice you can give.
Thanks for taking the time to read my long thread,
Prairie Mom

 

[ascott]

Sure looks like a Sulcata to me....good looking one at that...

 

[wellington]

Looks like a sulcata to me too. S/he does not hibernate. It will need UVB lighting a basking spot if 95+ a cooler side of 80 and a humid hide warm box. If you can't get weeds and grasses to feed her/him, grocery greens like endive, escarole, spring mix, small amounts of romaine, mustard and collard greens can be fed. Other things if you can get them are rose of Sharon flowers and leaf, hibiscus flower and leaf, mulberry leaf, optunia cactus pads, try some hay like orchard and alfalfa and Mazuri tortoise diet. As wide a variety as possible. Also have water available 24/7

 

[Jabuticaba]

...

 

[ascott]

You will want to get a good uva/uvb bulb (likely a Mercury Vapor Bulb will be best for this tort), you will want to set up an enclosure that has deep substrate (peat moss is a good one, other folks use a variety of materials) hand packed down firmly....you can also offer a warm humid hide area that you keep warm and humid all times of the day....outside time is of course the best medicine for a healthy shell, however, if you are in a climate that does not always have that then, invest in really good artificial uva/uvb bulbs....calcium can be given in the form of food, and should be the primary source...however, if you have a tort that is larger like this one and there are some concerns with the shell strength then you can offer a calcium supplement, but some torts will not eat it readily.....

Yes, you can add the vitamin/calcium liquid supplement to the water, pay attention though that it does not cause the tort to not drink....lol...calcium has a nasty taste and so some don't readily take to it is all....

Great save by the way...

 

[wellington]

Btw, Hello and Welcome So glad you were there to take this nice looker in. S/he most likely would not have lived very long in your cold and snow. I can't believe some idiot did that.

 

[Jodie]

I agree looks like a Sulcata. Read the How to Raise A Healthy Sulcatas in the Sulcata section of this forum. I have never heard of using pet bird vitamins, but cuddle bones, calcium and D3 supplements are available. Lucky for that little one you came along. Sulcatas do not hibernate I do not think. I have Leopards though n they don't. They are very similar in care.

 

[Jabuticaba]

May, Aussies, & Hermannis
IG: @AUSSOMEAUSSIES

Sorry, I hit reply by accidentally. I'm so grateful that you were there! That poor think would have died a slow, terrible death. They don't hibernate/brumate like many other species of tortoises.

You may need to take her/him to a vet and see if s/he has health issues, but I'd wait for the experts here to help. And, yes, that's a Sulcata. They grow rather big. Someone here has one that's 120lbs, or so.

Whether you decide to keep him/her or not, I wish you the best.


May, Aussies, & Hermannis
IG: @AUSSOMEAUSSIES

 

[ascott]

Someone here has one that's 120lbs, or so.

They can reach over 200 pounds .....depends on the tortoise line entirely....lol

Also, I would hold off on the vet, there does not appear to be any reason to stress the animal further by that drama....just my opinion...less stress right now the better.....

 

[Jabuticaba]

They can reach over 200 pounds .....depends on the tortoise line entirely....lol

Also, I would hold off on the vet, there does not appear to be any reason to stress the animal further by that drama....just my opinion...less stress right now the better.....

One word: YIKES!



May, Aussies, & Hermannis
IG: @AUSSOMEAUSSIES

 

[Prairie Mom]

Looks like a sulcata to me too. S/he does not hibernate. It will need UVB lighting a basking spot if 95+ a cooler side of 80 and a humid hide warm box. If you can't get weeds and grasses to feed her/him, grocery greens like endive, escarole, spring mix, small amounts of romaine, mustard and collard greens can be fed. Other things if you can get them are rose of Sharon flowers and leaf, hibiscus flower and leaf, mulberry leaf, optunia cactus pads, try some hay like orchard and alfalfa and Mazuri tortoise diet. As wide a variety as possible. Also have water available 24/7

Thanks for the response! Thanks for helping me identify her. I'm relieved to know that she doesn't hibernate. That's at least one thing I don't need to worry about. Thanks for the advice on lighting and heating. I will definitely begin a search for UVB florescents shortly. I love to garden and have quite a bit growing inside that she can eat now. I'm super grateful for the advice on easy to come by greens at the grocery store.

 

[Prairie Mom]

You will want to get a good uva/uvb bulb (likely a Mercury Vapor Bulb will be best for this tort), you will want to set up an enclosure that has deep substrate (peat moss is a good one, other folks use a variety of materials) hand packed down firmly....you can also offer a warm humid hide area that you keep warm and humid all times of the day....outside time is of course the best medicine for a healthy shell, however, if you are in a climate that does not always have that then, invest in really good artificial uva/uvb bulbs....calcium can be given in the form of food, and should be the primary source...however, if you have a tort that is larger like this one and there are some concerns with the shell strength then you can offer a calcium supplement, but some torts will not eat it readily.....

Yes, you can add the vitamin/calcium liquid supplement to the water, pay attention though that it does not cause the tort to not drink....lol...calcium has a nasty taste and so some don't readily take to it is all....

Great save by the way...

Hi Thanks for your advice. I will try to track down a Mercury Vapor bulb. The Peat Moss is an awesome suggestion!!! I've read a lot about what NOT to put in their enclosure. The best I could think of was potting soil, but then I read something that said you need to find it without the pre-moisturizer---which I can never find. Peat Moss is a stroke of brilliance! When the weather is good, we'll look into builder her a "run" in our yard, but for now the poor thing will be stuck with us inside a bunch. I'm relieved to hear I can add a liquid supplement. Thanks for the warning about her not wanting to drink it. I'll have to pay close attention! Thanks again!

 

[Prairie Mom]

I agree looks like a Sulcata. Read the How to Raise A Healthy Sulcatas in the Sulcata section of this forum. I have never heard of using pet bird vitamins, but cuddle bones, calcium and D3 supplements are available. Lucky for that little one you came along. Sulcatas do not hibernate I do not think. I have Leopards though n they don't. They are very similar in care.

Thanks! Good to know. I used cuttle bones on the squirrel we rescued, so I know those are easy to come by. The only D3 I've found has been in the liquid form. I may test it out. I'll also check out the Sulcata care section on the forum--thanks for pointing that out.

 

[Prairie Mom]

ascott and Jabuticaba---120lbs...200lbs! "Yikes" is right!!! I showed your notes to my husband and he just laughed and looked kind of excited. We're in! We have a 150lb St. Bernard/Grate Dane mix in heaven waiting for us to join him, so I've had a little practice herding large beasts! Finding a pet sitter could get interesting though. I think I will wait a bit on finding the vet right now. I can tell she needs to rest and feel safe for a while. Other than the worries about calcium deficiency she appears in decent shape, so we'll let her recuperate a bit. Just for fun, I'm attaching a photo of our old St. Bernard Ajax... (and some of my other favorite beasties. ha ha!)

 

[Gillian M]

Hi and welcome to the forum! Glad to have heard you were there...to the rescue. It is a very cute tort so take good care of it especially with....warmth (which I personally have come to the conclusion after research) is a necessity for tortoises, alone sunshine. Good luck.

 

[Prairie Mom]

Btw, Hello and Welcome So glad you were there to take this nice looker in. S/he most likely would not have lived very long in your cold and snow. I can't believe some idiot did that.

I have to tell you guys how we got her!!! It's true...people can be so cruel. But I have to tell you the circumstances of us finding her...My children will never be the same! First off, our house is full of rescued animals who live long and happy lives. Every one of our animals has been a rescue and our kids are very invested in their well being. Well, my tiny little people LOVE LOVE LOVE the movie Dolphin Tale. They live for that stuff! Well, for the love of my kids, I marked my calendar when Dolphin Tale 2 comes out in theaters. It came out last night. We wrangled the kids into the minivan after school and took them right away. A big part of the story line is the rescue and release of a Sea Turtle named "Mavis." When the credits roll, you can see real footage of the actual rescue and release of the "real Mavis." My children laughed, wept tears of joy, and cheered out loud! I got hugs of gratitude! My kids were adorable

It was on the way home from the MOVIE THEATER SHOWING A TURTLE RESCUE that we found this TORTOISE that needed to be rescued after just being left on the side of the road!!!! I still can't believe we actually rescued a turtle after watching a movie about a turtle being rescued!!!

We've named this tortoise "Mavis" after the turtle in the movie we saw just minutes before finding her on the snowy street.

Meanwhile, I hope our "Mavis" will be patient as we fix things up for her and continue to research what is best for her. 20 or 200lbs (gulp!) we're keeping her!

(I'm attaching photos we took last night when we came in from the car)

 

[Prairie Mom]

I think I'll feel more comfortable knowing that she is eating and using the bathroom as she should. How often should I expect this tortoise to eat, poop, and urinate?

 

[4jean]

You have a beautiful family! Good luck with Mavis, she will be lots of fun to care for.

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi, Prairie Mom:

I love the picture of your family. You have some beautiful kidlets. And the rescue story is tops!

Sulcata tortoises do best outside, and your new tortoise is plenty big enough now to live outside. Of course, in the cold season, you will have to find creative ways to keep this tortoise warm. For now, while it's smallish, you can create an indoor habitat. One way is to buy a couple of the largest size plastic tubs you can afford, cut out opposing ends and stick them together. Another way is to have your husband build a large wooden box. You want the sides to be taller than the tortoise when he stands on his back legs and reaches for the sky. Be sure to include the substrate in the measurement.

We have some very nice enclosure ideas in our "enclosure" section.

 

[Yvonne G]

I forgot to mention: Once Mavis is used to living with you and your family, and is all settled into her new enclosure (don't let her wander around the house), she will eat every day and poop a couple times a day. Be sure to provide water, and for the first couple weeks soak her in warm water in a tub she can't climb out of.