new member intro and recent unexpected Sulcata keeper

[thebeebe5]

Just a quick intro from Surprise AZ. Found the site (as many surely do) searching for info on a tortoise I found this past week wandering the streets of our neighborhood. Not having much knowledge on them I wondered if it was a Desert Tortoise or if it was a (what we called in the mid 90's at the pet store I worked) an African spur thigh.... Looks like it's more correctly I.D'd as a Sulcata subspecies of the African Spurred tortoise. I have been attempting to find an owner while driving through the neighborhood and neighborhood watch communications, but in the meantime am considering keeping it if feasible.

This is how I found him on my way to work recently....

I'll be looking through the forum for information on yard setup among other things. What section would be best to post yard pictures and info and current plant species etc for compatibility with this tortoise? I can certainly post here, but don't want to break an "introduction only here" rule my first post!!

 

[Tom]

Hello and welcome.

There are no subspecies of sulcata. Just one big happy species.

I hope you find the owner. Somebody has got to be bummed about losing their young tortoise.

Here are some threads to help you out with the care:
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/for-those-who-have-a-young-sulcata.76744/
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/enclosure-expansion.38788/
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/sulcata-burrows.50846/
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/my-best-night-box-design-yet.66867/
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/another-night-box-thread.88966/

 

[Careym13]

Welcome to TFO!! That certainly looks like a lost/escaped pet, but in the event you can't find the owner I think its great that you are willing to give it a good home. There is Sulcata sub-forum, you can post all Sulcata related questions there. While in the Sulcata section, be sure to read the care sheets...those will give you tons of good info!

 

[Jodie]

Welcome to the forum. It is great that you are taking care of this guy. Hopefully you will find his owner, assuming they miss him. I would be freaking out, if I lost one of my tortoises.
There are several areas for different info. Don't be afraid to post in the wrong place. Our mods are great and will help you out. Posting in the right section will get you the best answers. There is an enclosure section, as well as the Sulcata section.

 

[thebeebe5]

Update:

Found the owner!!

I found this fellow Friday am and we've been housing him in a bathtub at night and taking him on walks in the park during the day to graze on bermuda grass etc. We had posted to the neighborhood watch coordinator Friday morning assuming he would pass the info along, but looking back an hour ago we realized he had not passed our "found" notice to the group and had simply assumed he knew who owned it and would take care of it on his end.... Coulda had him back before they knew he was lost if the cooordinator was worth a damn, but years of experience with him have proved otherwise (if I could buy him for what I think of him, and sell him for what he thinks of himself I'd be a rich man).... Turns out the family's daughter left the gate open Thursday night and he must have awakened and went for an early morning walk on Friday!

We've had him inside rather than the back yard because we have a pool and I worried it'd fall in.... But the current owner has two of these, same size/age AND has a pool, and he was told when he got it that a pool wasn't an issue.... Was I silly to worry about that? Seems if they fall in they're done for.... So I was planning out a fence to keep him away from the pool today and was going to inquire if the creeping fig vine and the huge patch of mint would be a problem for him. Point is moot now, and we are glad he's been returned to the family. Daughter has felt terrible since discovering the excape and their little boy clearly loves the animal too.

 

[Tom]

Glad you found the owner.

Now it sounds like they could use some help.

Yes they will drown if they fall in the pool and yes there needs to be some sort of opaque barrier to prevent this.

 

[thebeebe5]

Now it sounds like they could use some help.

I did email a link to diet info thread. Think their animals get fresh corn and tomatoes along with zuchini in the diet. Not so much grasses, and I think they'd have a healthier pair with more grass in the diet. But this fellow didn't seem unhealthy so..... One thing I'd wondered about was its urine. Seems there is a lot of what looks like white sand in it. I figured urea salts or the like but hadnt seen any quite this consistency.... Very much like a pile of sand with each void.... And when it dries its consistency is like coarse ground egg shells....

 

[Tom]

I think you know the diet is not correct.

The urates are a product of the wrong diet and possibly dehydration too. Does the tortoise have a clean and usable water source? Does it actually drink from the water source? Do they soak the tortoise periodically?

Also, tortoises should not be housed in pairs. Its not good for them.

Sad, but many people don't take the time to learn about the animals in their care, and even the ones who do sometimes find the wrong source, like a typical pet shop for example...

I don't know how much you are able to help in a situation like this, but its worth a try.

 

[thebeebe5]

I think you know the diet is not correct.

The urates are a product of the wrong diet and possibly dehydration too. Does the tortoise have a clean and usable water source? Does it actually drink from the water source? Do they soak the tortoise periodically?

Also, tortoises should not be housed in pairs. Its not good for them.

Sad, but many people don't take the time to learn about the animals in their care, and even the ones who do sometimes find the wrong source, like a typical pet shop for example...

I don't know how much you are able to help in a situation like this, but its worth a try.

Tom, thanks for the validation.... Some things I remember from the shop I used to work in (owner had a zoology degree and extensive reptile and amphibian background so I was fairly well taught) and while I couldnt recall the name urates I didn't think it looked right either. Hoping the link I emailed them to the diet thread leads to more investigation of this site, but I think there's a fine line between actually being helpful and being a know-it-all prick pointing out everything that isn't by the book. I'm usually cautious of offering unsolicited advice to avoid the latter.... If opportunity presents I'll look for openings. And again, physically there wasn't anything stand-out, but it's waste tells a different story. I'll update this thread if anything materializes.

 

[Tom]

Hoping the link I emailed them to the diet thread leads to more investigation of this site, but I think there's a fine line between actually being helpful and being a know-it-all prick pointing out everything that isn't by the book. I'm usually cautious of offering unsolicited advice to avoid the latter....

I grapple with this regularly. My problem is that if I don't push that line and risk upsetting someone, the tortoise will continue suffering. If you push too far, they shut you down and tune you out... and the tortoise continues to suffer.

Every situation is different.

I think you've done a lot in your situation and I commend you for trying.

 

[leigti]

So have you been bitten by the tortoise bug? There are many tortoises out there that need a good home.

 

[Grandpa Turtle 144]

Hello

 

[thebeebe5]

So have you been bitten by the tortoise bug?

Not completely. Again.... I had a triplet of box turtles growing up in FL. One was a common Florida box turtle, terrapene carolina bauri, and two were Eastern box turtles, terrapene carolina carolina. I had the Florida the longest (20+ years), and he died while my wife and I lived in Tx. Had him since middle school and we've been without a tortoise for 10 years.... The sulcata seems a good choice for AZ though, given the climate, and I liked the size of this specimen. Would have been relatively easy to construct a blockade between the habitat of the general backyard area and the pool. My only concerns would really be would it have been able to actually dig itself out of the back yard ( I had to use a pickaxe to install sprinklers when we moved in...), and how much cleanup would be involved. In addition, what plants in the back yard would have to go due to being toxic to the tortoise.... I'd only ever had the small boxies and they were relatively easy to take care of.

Maybe some day.

 

[Tidgy's Dad]

Hello, there and a very warm welcome to Tortoise Forum.
Firstly, thank you so much for rescuing the poor tort and taking him in.
Secondly, good job on finding the owner.
And thirdly thanks and good luck in trying to make those tortoises lives a little better.

 

[Yvonne G]

Welcome!

 

[Speedy-1]

Welcome, great job finding the owner !

 

[pam]

Welcome