Help! What kind is it?

[ardieterle]

This little guy (or girl- it's too little to tell which!) was rescued by my 8 year old from the middle of our busy road around 4 PM yesterday. It's brother (or sister) was hit by a car and smooshed flat. We know it is a tortoise but are trying to determine what kind. Rumor has it we have a neighbor who owns tortoises that laid eggs but we're new to the neighborhood & don't know who it is (door to door last night wasn't successful). It's a newly built neighborhood on the edge of Tucson, AZ so it could also be a native Sonoran Desert Tortoise, which are protected and require a license to own. We're between the desert & a dried up wash and with the weather changing it could have been moving from a summer home to a winter home.

Little about the tortoise- it's about 2.5 inches long. It's light brown and greenish/dark grey. I know it's a little dirty in the picture. I'll try to clean it up & take more pictures tonight. Any ideas would be appreciated! If it's a smaller tortoise breed (under 12 inches) we'd gladly keep it, but if it's a larger breed we just don't have the resources to care for it.

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi and welcome to the Forum!!

Sorry to burst your bubble, but you have a water turtle. It's probably a red ear slider (Trachemys scripta elegans), but I really can't tell until I see more of the turtle. Water turtles can't swallow food unless they are under water. He needs enough water to be able to swim, but he also needs an area where he can climb out and sit in the sun.

I might be wrong in my identification, as the back feet DO resemble little elephant feet, which tortoises have. So more pictures are in order, please.

 

[dannel]

More pics please! Sorry emysemys, but i think it could be a tort. :shy:

 

[shellysmom]

Looks like a baby desert tortoise to me, but more pictures would be helpful.

 

[StudentoftheReptile]

Yeah...it looks more tortoise-ish to me as well.

 

[bmt123]

I don't see any picture what am I doing wrong

 

[Yvonne G]

Do you have WORD on your computer? The picture is in a WORD document and you have to click on the WORD link.

 

[Baoh]

Looks like a baby desert tortoise to me, but more pictures would be helpful.

Correct.

 

[kanalomele]

I would say baby dt.

 

[bmt123]

O it's on the iPad

 

[mattgrizzlybear]

Thats hard to tell. Maybe more pics wuold help.

 

[EricIvins]

That would be a Desert Tortoise......