Is this tortoise I found in my yard in Arizona a Sulcata or desert tortoise? Please help!

[nicole swanson]

 

[cmacusa3]

Sulcata

 

[KrissyLeigh]

Poor little guy! I wonder where he came from... he's so tiny!

 

[ZEROPILOT]

Does someone have any adult Sulcatas nearby?
Check out our Sulcata care and food section,
In the meantime, give him a soak in 3/8" of warm water.

 

[Tom]

You've got a little sulcata. He's probably been camping out nearby all winter. Lucky he survived. Give him a warm water soak every day. He's probably dehydrated.

Here is the care and feeding info:
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/how-to-raise-a-healthy-sulcata-or-leopard-version-2-0.79895/
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/for-those-who-have-a-young-sulcata.76744/

 

[TammyJ]

He's adorable! Take the expert advice on this site! Thanks for saving him.

 

[Souptugo]

Cute! Do you have other tortoises? These sulcatas grow very big so if you are up to raising it properly that would be great!

Sometimes it can be quite costly and overwhelming to raise such a thing. If so, please don't feel bad to give it up for adoption.

Wishing you all the best. A lot of experts on here that can help for sure.

 

[Grandpa Turtle 144]

Hi Nicole

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi, and welcome to the Forum!

If someone, not necessarily in your neighborhood, has baby tortoises they've set outside to take the sun, and that someone didn't put a screen over the habitat, then more than likely a bird has grabbed one of them and flown off with it. Birds will fly up high (especially ravens/crows) then drop the tortoise, hoping it will crack open when it hits the ground then they can eat the insides.

Quite a few Arizonans keep sulcata tortoises, and I'm sure there are quite a few untended and unnoticed tortoise nests that hatch out babies.

 

[Patty P]

View attachment 202676

Are you going to keep this tortoise?

 

[nicole swanson]

Are you going to keep this tortoise?

I haven't decided if I'm going to keep it yet. Before I knew the species I went out and bought it everything it needs, an enclosure, heat lamp, UV lamp, a hideout, food/water bowls. But I have never owned a tortoise and know nothing about them and literally would have never expected that it would one day weigh 100 pounds!! I live in a house with a relatively small backyard so I'm trying to decide if it's feasible. Does anyone know how fast they grow?

 

[Tom]

I haven't decided if I'm going to keep it yet. Before I knew the species I went out and bought it everything it needs, an enclosure, heat lamp, UV lamp, a hideout, food/water bowls. But I have never owned a tortoise and know nothing about them and literally would have never expected that it would one day weigh 100 pounds!! I live in a house with a relatively small backyard so I'm trying to decide if it's feasible. Does anyone know how fast they grow?

Most of the stuff sold for tortoises at pet shops is useless, over priced and sometimes dangerous. Most pet stores also give terrible advice on care for tortoises, so please read those links. The pet store will sell you the wrong bulbs, the wrong water bowl, the wrong substrate, etc… It happens that way most of the time. Exceptions are rare.

Growth varies wildly and for a wide variety of reasons. They can easily reach 10 pounds in 2 years, but some of them barely reach 100 grams in the same time frame. 50 pounds at 5 years old is not unusual for a well started baby.

Yours has had a rough go of it and will likely be a slow grower, but that is just a guess.