Upsetting...Venting...

[Laura]

I was at a shelter today.. a person was bringing in thier deceased pet tortoise. She said it was very large, 6 years old and didnt come out of hibernation.. I asked her what kind it was.. African Spurr thigh.. Sulcata? " "yes' oh, they dont hibernate.. YES THEY DO WE HAVE A BOOK, she said. we know what we were doing. it had a dog house and heat and ...bla bla .. ?? I let it go since it had died and I didnt want to get in trouble or upset her more.. so i went in back and checked what she dropped off. It was a nice size 12-16 inch? Male sulcata.. NO HEAD, not much left.. baby 'flies' had been busy... i dontknow if the head fell off or it was missing? Bit off? No idea why it died.. I can only guess it froze, Upper resp, dog bit the head off? It made it 6 years, shell wasnt in bad shape.. but I so want to know what book she had read.. or what she thought it was.. Does the other Spur Thigh Hibernate?
Of course a few years ago.. i didnt know better either.. so cant really blame her.. I thought the majority or torts hibernated and found out they dont!...but had to Vent...

 

[Isa]

OMG Laura,
It must have been terrible for you to see the poor guy like that what a sad story.

 

[Yvonne G]

Well, I THINK that sulcatas are a little more cold hardy than what we've been giving them credit for. No, they don't hibernate. And the fact that she mentioned some sort of heat in the dog house is probably what pulled the tortoise through the past winters. From the condition of the body, it sounds to me as if he died very early on in the winter, before the flies had gone...they laid eggs in the dead body and the maggots ate off the parts you could see. And the two different species with the same name?? That's a very good reason to always correct people who refer to sulcatas as "African Spur Thighed" There IS a Mediterranean Spur Thighed tortoise. We should never refer to the Sulcata as a "spur thigh" because the care between the two tortoises is not the same and its so easy to confuse the two when you can't see the tortoise being referred to. Its good you didn't add to the woman's worries by letting her know that she killed the tortoise. Let's hope if she ever decides to get another one she does some better research.

Yvonne

 

[Oogie]

that is REALLY sad! what an aweful experience!

if i were you, i would actually try to do something about it to make sure they are educated...you could save tortoise lives!

i can't even find anything online about the other spur...what is the full name again? when i google spur tortoise, everything comes up sulcata. i know the other one is a similar name...african spur something or other. but considering they are from africa, too, i can't imagine them hibernating...but i could be totally wrong.

 

[Crazy1]

Laura, I am sure it was upsetting to see the results of that trip to the shelter today. I am sorry, and I am glad you are comfortable enough to feel this is a good place to vent. Sometimes people say things just to put people off so they don't have to answer questions, especially at a time like that, and some just don't know. Not too many years ago people thought it was OK to drill holes in the shells of torts and tether them, or paint their shells. Some cultures eat them and feel no guilt or reason not too. Some simply harass or slaughter them for sport. Oogie, we try to educate and touch people when we can but must also remember they must be receptive of our willingness to share information, or they may block it forever.

Melissa, one is commonly referred to as an "African Spur Thigh" and the other a Mediterranean Spur Thigh tortoise. As Yvonne had stated.
The Geochelone sulcata is also called a Sulcata or African spur thigh. It is native to the Sahara Desert and the Sahel, a transitional ecoregion of semi-arid grasslands, savannas, and thorn shrublands found in the countries of Chad, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Mali, Mauritania, Nigeria, Senegal and Sudan[1].

The Testudo graeca is also called the Mediterranean Spur thigh or Greek. They are found in southern Spain, Eastern Europe, Northern Africa, and parts of Asia especially the Middle East. They are found in a variety of environments from seashore dunes to rocky mountain steppes. There are currently at least twenty published subspecies, some of which hibernate others do not.

The division of Greek Tortoises into subspecies is difficult and confusing. Given the huge range over three continents, the various terrains, climates, and biotopes have produced a huge number of varieties, with new subspecies constantly being discovered. There are currently at least twenty published subspecies.
• T. graeca graeca, North Africa, southern Spain, Sardinia, the Baleares "Greek Tortoise" or "Spur-thighed Tortoise"
• T. graeca ibera, Turkey, Greece, Macedonia, Bulgaria, Romania, "Eurasian Tortoise"
• T. graeca anamurensis, Turkey, "Anamur Tortoise"
• T. graeca terrestris, southern Israel, "Levantine Tortoise"
• T. graeca armenica, Armenia, "Armenian Tortoise"
• T. graeca nikolskii, Caucasus, "Caucasian Tortoise"
• T. graeca buxtoni, Caspian Sea area, "Caspian Tortoise"
• T. graeca pallasi, Dagestan, "Dagestanian Tortoise"
• T. graeca marokkensis, Marocco, "Maroccan Tortoise"
• T. graeca lamberti, Marocco
• T. graeca soussensis, Marocco
• T. graeca nabeulensis, Tunisia, "Tunisian Tortoise"
• T. graeca floweri
• T. graeca antakyensis
• T. graeca flavominimaralis, Libya, "Libyan Tortoise"

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Subspecies", under the G.N U Free Documentation License

 

[Oogie]

thanks robyn...i knew there was something similar in the name. don't think i will forget it now =) interesting thing...a guy from Cali Fish & Game mentioned last week there was 2 types of African spur thighs (sulacate and a small tort)...now i get to correct him haha!

 

[jlyoncc1]

Sorry you had to see that. I stinks when things like that happen, but sadly every day animals die from lack of knowledge or neglect. Just makes you care more about your own.

 

[Yvonne G]

I'm trying to understand why they took the dead body to the shelter. Its like, "Oh well, my tortoise died...I guess I'll take it to the shelter" HUH?

Yvonne

 

[Crazy1]

Yvonne, a lot of people take their dead animals to shelters or have the shelters pick them up (my city has a curb side pick up)for disposal. They are not charged for the cremation this way. Sad but true.

 

[Laura]

They were charged $10 for disposal....not sure why they bothered at that point.. but i guess it was better then throwing him in the trash. I can only hope she heard what i said.. and someday looks it up and realizes...BEFORE they get another..
she kept saying when its cold he doesnt come out.. Mine dont either.. but thats not hibernation.. so maybe some confusion since she did say they had a heated house and all.. due to its 'condition', it may have had heat.. and with our nice weather lately.. ~~~~~~><><~~***~~~ those are the shivers I get still thinking about it.. blah!