Please help identify this tortoise

[Julianne]

hi there, it’s my first time posting here and I’m new to taking care of a tortoise. We found this little guy in our yard in Tempe,AZ today. I am trying to figure out if it’s a sulcata or desert tortoise so I can care for him properly. Thanks for your help!!

 

[Bambam1989]

I can tell you it is not a sulcata. Can you take a frontal pic please?

 

[teresaf]

Definitely not a sulcata.

 

[Baoh]

It is a DT. Cute little thing.

 

[Chizbad]

Gopher tort?

 

[Carl_Deschain]

Looks like a Desert Tortoise to me [emoji4]

 

[Yvonne G]

It is a desert tortoise. I'm not good with geography, but I THINK Mesa is in the Gopherus morafkai range, or a Sonora desert tortoise.

 

[Julianne]

Thanks for all of the help!! Here is a front pic. I want to set up an outdoor enclosure for him. Any tips now that the temps are cooler?

 

[Gillian M]

A warm welcome to the forum, @Julianne .

I think it's a desert tort.

Any pics of your tort's enclosure?

 

[Julianne]

We don’t have an outside enclosure for him yet. I want to set one up soon but I’m unsure exactly what he needs. When we found him yesterday we went and bought just a basic reptile terrarium recommended by an employee at petco. We’ve placed it inside for now while i do more research.

 

[crimson_lotus]

I don't think it's legal to take a desert tortoise from its native habitat in AZ to keep as a pet. Sorry to be a downer - I am sure there are a lot of other tortoises in need of adoption!

 

[Chizbad]

I don't think it's legal to take a desert tortoise from its native habitat in AZ to keep as a pet. Sorry to be a downer - I am sure there are a lot of other tortoises in need of adoption!

I’m almost sure this is right! Be very careful. It could be a pain taking it to the vet in the future if you ever had to

 

[Julianne]

Thanks for the info! I've left a message for AZ game and fish. Hopefully they get back to me soon since their website doesn't have much info on what to do if you find a tortoise in your yard.

 

[Ciri]

Thanks for the info! I've left a message for AZ game and fish. Hopefully they get back to me soon since their website doesn't have much info on what to do if you find a tortoise in your yard.

here's a picture of my hatchling desert tortoise from Tucson. He was found walking around the middle of town. My veterinarian said that sometimes people who are keeping a female desert tortoise have hatchlings which escape the yard. (When a female desert tortoise is adopted the people may not know whether she has eggs to lay. If she lays them when no one is around they may simply be unaware.) Anyhow, if the area around your house does not have plenty of desert, s/he probably came from somebody else's yard. It's important not to release it into areas where there are residential streets as opposed to large areas of desert. If you're in a residential area, then you should be in good shape for adopting it. They don't want them released into the wild unless it is the area they came from. Let us know if you need any further help.