Please help me Id this little guy that i found.

[rachigirl]

Hi All,
Yesterday i came across this little guy walking across the road. I live in Abu Dhabi so the tortoise is obvously not a local. Have been advised that he is probably a Greek or Egyptian?
Would really like to know so i can ensure he is cared for properly until we hopefully locate his owner.

 

[Stazz]

Hi there Rachigirl. That is a Jordanian Greek tortoise, exactly the same as I have. And I live in Dubai. They are not native to UAE and have all been shipped in from Jordan.They're sold in excess at pet stores around here, so it may definitely be someones pet. We'd need to see a tail shot to tell if its male or female....looks female to me, and looks about 6 or 7 years old, just a tiny bit bigger than my tortoise.

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Here is a link to the thread of what this type tortoise should be eating, and what is ok to feed it.
http://tortoiseforum.org/thread-5823.html

If you go to the grocery store, like Spinneys (do they have Spinneys in Abu Dhabi, Im not too sure) Spinneys sells a great Spring mix of lettuce. You can also buy the lettuce in the plastic containers....just make sure its not iceberg lettuce....can be Italian mix lettuce with the likes of lollo rosso, raddichio in it. You should feed the tortoise a bunch of lettuce, make sure you wash the leaves properly before fed. Must be a handful as big as his/her shell. What are you keeping her in for the moment?

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Oh just make sure you don't feed spinach either, but that list is great for you to see whats good and whats not. You should also soak her for about 15min a time (3 times a week to keep hydrated) in luke warm water, more warm than cold, and the water must go only an inch or two, so that sh doesnt float, she must touch the bottom of the dish or bath, and not have to hold her head up. Put up some flyers around vets etc etc saying "Lost tortoise" - Don't by any means put a pic of her on the flyer or describe what she looks like, the person who will call you can easily fake it if you do....you want to find the real owner, and you must ask them to describe her in detail so you know you have the right one. She looks well cared for

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I hope this helps a bit !!

 

[egyptiandan]

I agree with Stace Jordanian greek, though it looks like a male to me.

Danny

 

[Stazz]

LOL then its male !!! Hahaha I was so close gosh darn it! But Danny is the resident sexing pro for tortoises on here!!!!! And turtles haha

 

[Crazy1]

rachigirl welcome to the forum and good luck finding your little Greeks previous owners.

 

[rachigirl]

Thank you so much for all the info, I am not so paniced now. We live in a compound so i am assuming his owner is living in here somewhere.
I currently have him in a ikea type plastic storage box without the lid of course , probably not the best option but it is the largest container i have here, I have some old cloth nappies in with him but was considering putting in some red dessert sand, would this be a good option? he is in a room with the temp kept at 30c. How long will he be ok in the box for before I look at other options like adopting him and building him a proper home? Any advice on a temp home would be appreciated too.
So far the door knocks and a trip to the vet have not located his owner. Could he have travelled very far from home or would the heat over here killed him before he got too far out (days are around 39 - 42c), they seem to like the heat and there are plenty of shrubs around so he may have been out for a while if the heat is not too much of an issue. Just trying to work out how far he may have travelled. I found him at around 10am yesterday morning before it got too hot.

 

[Stazz]

That ikea box is okay for the tortoise for the moment, he needs alot of space, but no point in you going mad and buying things and then you locate his owners. I know exactly which one you're talking about though Best thing for him would be to find some organic soil at one of the garden centres around....must have no fertilizer or chemicals, hence organic. UAE is hard to find anything else for us to use for substrate for them. Sand is not good as they can eat it which in turn causes impaction. You should keep a large water bowl in there, one that he can get in and out of easily....I use the bottom of what you would put under a pot plant (can't for the life of me think of what its called now lol) I'm sure he'll be okay in the box for a while, but try and work furiously to find his owners, otherwise you can take him on as your new pet if you hear nothing. I'm not sure how far he could have travelled, my thinking is that he must surely be from somewhere inside your compound. The heat at the moment outside would be too much for him I'm sure, so he couldn't have been out for long. You can look at the enclosure section on the forum to find ideas when the time comes. 30C should be just fine I think. We'll see what anyone else says.

 

[tortoisenerd]

Welcome! Do you have any places to put up fliers that say "Found Tortoise" with your contact information? Typically we don't recommend putting any specific information as someone may not have the best interests at heart and want a free tortoise. Great advice already. Also, are there any local vets or animal shelters to contact to ask if they're heard someone lost their pet? Best wishes.

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And 30 C is 86 F so that should be ok for the moment. Should be warm enough to digest food (they need in the 80s F at least). Ideally you want a UVB light and heat, but for a few days or whatever I think that's ok. Hopefully you find the owner soon!

 

[rachigirl]

Thanks again for all of the advice.
Still no word on his owner. Have left my number at the vets but no one has called and so far nobody in the compound seems to know anything about him.
Stazz can I ask are they very expensive to buy over here? Only asking as I am wondering with all the animals available in our pet shops if someone has bought him and then decided to dump the poor little guy. If they are expensive then you would think that somebody responsible would have bought him and therefore be out looking for him........
He seems to be a fussy eater, I have tried a few things on the list (parsley, alfalfa, bouganvilla, aloe, carrot) but he is only really interested in the lettuce leaves (non iceberg as directed).
I also forgot to mention when i found him he had a patch of dried skin on the top of his head (this has since gone) and when you look down into his shell around the base of his neck there is some flaky dried skin there too, best way to describe it would be like a snake shedding his skin. Is this normal or should i be concerned? Thought maybe he hadn't been bathed in a while?? I gave him a bath today in luke warm water, i did not keep him in for the advised 15 minutes as he seemed liked he really wanted to get out and he did a poop in the water, i was worried that it was stressing him so i pulled him out after only about 3 minutes. His bath was in one of those chinese takeaway containers so i though i would try again tomorrow with something bigger so he has more room to walk around.
Thanks again for all the advice, it has made my life easier and I am sure his life more comfortable.

 

[Stazz]

They are actually so cheap here....I bought my Tallula at her age 5 (I've had her for 8 months) for AED 150 !!! Super cheap at pet stores. You never know, someone could have dumped it not knowing how to care for it properly, you just never know these days !!! The pet stores are terrible, none of them know how to care for tortoises properly at all, they tell you to do all the wrong things and sell them anyway! I bath Tallula in my actual bath at home, I fill it up with warm water, not too hot, but warm, and she loves it. You'll prob find he's never been bathed before !!! Poor little guy. Thank the Lord you found him!!! As long as he's eating the spring mix lettuce, he'll be okay for now...you should feed him once a day. Most people torts poop in the bath, as the warm water gets their juices flowing Lol. Tallula has only pooped in the bath once, ever. A tortoise does slough off its skin if its stressed out, ,dehydrated, too dry, not enough humidity, wrong diet etc etc... so the best is to be making sure he's not cold where you are keeping him, and try soaking him again. I hope this helps !!! We are here for you anytime !! Keep us updated how he goes. How does his poop look, like is it solid, or runny? It should look pretty solid. And don't worry if he wee's out white creamy stuff, thats called urates,and thats normal If its hard and gritty, then that a problem. Hope this all helps and makes sense!

 

[rachigirl]

Looks like I have found the owner, feeling a bit happy and sad at the same time.
I have not been in touch yet to confirm but I have found out through a friend that someone has posted a lost message on local forum.

 

[Stazz]

Oh really !!!! Well remember not to give ANY details as to what the tort looks like, don't say anything...they must describe it in detail !!!
Let us know how it goes !!! I can imagine, happy and sad!

 

[rachigirl]

It was the owner and the tort had not really ventured that far from home and had only been out for about 3 hours before i found her. The lady said that "she" (you may have been right stazz with the sex) has free rain over the house and had just wondered off. Not sure how the poor thing goes roaming around an airconditioned house. The lady said she has had torts for years back home in the UK..........She had purchased this little one from the Mena in Abu Dhabi and guess how much it was?? Only 20 dirhams!!!! Makes me wonder how many get sent over here and how many people buy them without researching and knowing how to care for them.
After our little experience with the tort we are now considering adopting one into our family, i just want to do a bit more research first before we take the plunge.
I have a feeling you are going to see us back here soon with our own little guy/girl.
Thank again for all the help.

 

[katesgoey]

I'm glad you found the owner even though it sounds like the tort could have better conditions with her. I'm excited for you that you're going to do more research and decide whether or not you will adopt your tort! Please keep in touch and let us know what you decide....and if you do get your own tort remember we like photos

 

[tortoisenerd]

It's kinda bittersweet she gets to go home because I'm also not sure I like that she gets to roam the house. I don't think there is any good way to do that heat and safety wise.