Need advice! Brand new tortoise owner.

Sarainiguez

New Member
Joined
Sep 14, 2018
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1
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California
71426386-4579-4F3F-AE56-8578299AED49.jpeg 954794D5-B9DE-4D01-A364-40FA1B6159DA.jpeg Hello,

My in laws just gave me two baby desert tortoises. They keep theirs in an outdoor area but where I live I’m a little worried that isn’t such a good idea yet due to the amount of predators we have. I had a few questions I was hoping y’all would be kind enough to answer .

1. What is the best bedding for them?

2. How do I tell what type of desert tortoise they are?

3. What is the best things to feed them? (Currently I’ve been giving them mixed greens, strawberries, cucumbers, spinach, apples and carrots) they don’t seem to eat much.

4. What do you think is the best heat lamp?

Thanks everyone! I’m super excited about the little guys and just want to make sure I am
Giving them everything they need.
 

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TechnoCheese

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Welcome to the forum!
Your care needs a lot of change.

Your torts need to be kept in a warm, damp(50-70% humidity) enclosure, with peat moss, coco coir, orchid bark, or cypress mulch as the substrate.

None of the things you are feeding should be fed often, if at all. And only as treats once a month or less. Your tortoises need to be eating broadleaf weeds.

Russian Care is similar to desert, so please give these a read-
Russian Tortoise Care Sheet https://tortoiseforum.org/index.php?threads/Russian-Tortoise-Care-Sheet.80698/

Beginner Mistakes https://tortoiseforum.org/index.php?threads/Beginner-Mistakes.45180/

These are all I can answer, but I believe that @Yvonne G can help.
 

Carol S

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Welcome to the Forum.

Your baby tortoises look very dry. They should be soaked in warm, shallow water once a day to help prevent dehydration. I also agree with keeping them in a warm, damp enclosure with one the above mentioned substrates.
 

Yvonne G

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Indoors with a good UVB light, and an enclosure that you can keep warm (80-85F all over the whole enclosure) and humid. If your inlaws are in SoCal, then more than likely the babies are Gopherus Agassizii. I'll bet they don't realize it's against the law to allow their tortoises to breed, and if they artificially incubate the eggs, I'll bet they don't realize that's also against the law.

Welcome!
 

Tom

The Dog Trainer
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View attachment 251517 View attachment 251518 Hello,

My in laws just gave me two baby desert tortoises. They keep theirs in an outdoor area but where I live I’m a little worried that isn’t such a good idea yet due to the amount of predators we have. I had a few questions I was hoping y’all would be kind enough to answer .

1. What is the best bedding for them?

2. How do I tell what type of desert tortoise they are?

3. What is the best things to feed them? (Currently I’ve been giving them mixed greens, strawberries, cucumbers, spinach, apples and carrots) they don’t seem to eat much.

4. What do you think is the best heat lamp?

Thanks everyone! I’m super excited about the little guys and just want to make sure I am
Giving them everything they need.

Hello and welcome!

Almost no one starts these babies correctly. Most of them die from cold temps and dehydration. So sad. I rescue as many as I can, but fighting the old persistent wrong info is no easy task.

Outside all day is BAD for them. Exposed to the above ground elements in a CA backyard is not good for them. They need warm, stable, moderately humid indoor conditions to survive and thrive. They also need DAILY soaks. The arguments against this are sometimes bizarre, but man do some people like to argue about it. I show them the results of a well hydrated baby DT, and they still just can't seem to wrap their heads around it… Please. Just soak the babies daily.

Please read those threads from TechnoCheese about the russian tortoises. If you set them up just like that and follow that advice, they will survive and thrive, if too much damage hasn't already been done. Alternatively, if this is too much for you, I will take the whole lot of them and get them started right and adopted out to good homes.

Hope this helps!
 

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