New member from Southern California!

Drew Chappell

New Member
Joined
Nov 11, 2016
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2
Location (City and/or State)
Fullerton, CA
Hello! My name is Drew and my family (wife Sharon and 10 year old daughter Gillian) have two juvenile desert tortoises, pictured below. Their names are Spot and Brownie.

Our story: Gillian is highly allergic to animals with fur, so we explore both birds and reptiles. We almost went with a bearded dragon, but decided on a desert tortoise as it seemed less skittish and easier for a kid to interact with. We adopted an adult desert tortoise named Raven in the summer of 2015. Gillian enjoyed her very much and she mostly lived outside- climate here is pretty mild.

Raven did very well during the summer and the fall, and went into hibernation around October or November. I checked on her every day during hibernation and one morning just before the holidays something was clearly wrong with her. She was pale and her eyes were sunken. We took her inside, called the vet, and tried to revive her, but unfortunately she didn't make it. The vet told us this happens sometimes with hibernating tortoises- they have an underlying condition that their bodies can't fight off.

With Gillian distraught, the vet asked if we would like to try a new adoption of two baby desert tortoises. We thought carefully and decided we were ready to try again. So last Christmas Eve we brought Spot and Brownie home. We were told not to hibernate them and not to let them outside during the night due to opossums and other predators until they grew. So that's where we are now. They seem happy and healthy and they have a nice garden to roam around in.

We are wondering whether when they reach sexual maturity if they turn out to be a male/female sibling pair if breeding is OK. We're still a ways away from that, but it would be nice to plan. Also, any general advice is always welcome! Our vet is Dr. Greek in Anaheim Hills if anyone is close by.IMG_9658.JPGIMG_9655.JPG
 

wellington

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Hello and Welcome. Sorry for the loss of your first tort. The ones pictured looks great.
 

Carol S

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Alta Loma, CA
Welcome to the Forum. Dr. Greek is also our vet. He is a fantastic vet.
 

Yvonne G

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Dr. Greek is one of the best. You're lucky to live near enough that you can use him.

Welcome to the Forum!

I've lost a few during hibernation too. The tortoise and his body slow down and brumate, but if he has a bug, the bug doesn't slow down and he's able to overtake the tortoise's health during this time. Just bear in mind for the future, its always a good idea to keep a new-to-you tortoise up the first winter he lives with you so that you can become familiar with his ways and understand if he's really healthy or not.
 
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