What kind of tortoise is this?

[SilverM]

My friend has a bunch of adult tortoises. One is a sulcata but she is unsure about the rest. Most of them are 8-10 inches and there are two that are a bit bigger. They don't all look alike as far as the shell goes but one kind of the tortoises breed. I told her I would help her figure out what kind of hatchling she has! I will include a picture of it.

 

[wellington]

Hello and Welcome. How in the world does your friend not know what kind of tortoise she has? If she doesn't know, then she can't be taking care of them properly and that's animal neglect and poor animal care. Please tell her to join the forum so she can educate herself on proper care.
Where does your friend live, which state?

 

[tortoise5643]

Yeah, you should have your friend join the forum, there are very educated members here who can help her. As for identification of that one, beats me. I know it's not any of the species I keep but that doesn't eliminate much. More people will chime in.

 

[SilverM]

Wellington
Arizona. It was a family members who died. She can't exactly ask...
Tortoise5643
What kind do you keep?

 

[Yvonne G]

Well, it looks like a little sulcata, however we'll need you (or your friend) to clean the baby up, wet it for us then take a couple more pictures showing the head and front legs. The shells between sulcata babies and desert tortoise babies are quite similar.

Welcome to the Forum!

 

[SilverM]

Yvonne G
I'll ask her to take some when she gets home from school tomorrow! Thanks!

 

[ZEROPILOT]

Welcome, SilverM

 

[SarahChelonoidis]

My money is on desert tortoise hatchling with that one (unless I'm mis-seeing that big nuchal scute).

 

[Tidgy's Dad]

Hi ho, Silver and a very warm welcome to Tortoise Forum.
What a pretty but mucky looking tortoise!
He's been having fun.
I, too, will go with desert tortoise, but I'm rubbish at this.

 

[SilverM]

She got me pictures way sooner than I thought! Hope this helps!

 

[Yvonne G]

It's a little desert tortoise. She should soak it in warm water daily for about 15 minutes each time. You can follow the care sheet for baby sulcatas or baby russians (same care for baby tortoises). We don't have a desert tortoise care sheet on the Forum.

 

[Yvonne G]

My money is on desert tortoise hatchling with that one (unless I'm mis-seeing that big nuchal scute).

That was a good observation, Sarah. I didn't even notice that. I guess I was blinded by the extra scute. I'm a sucker for abherrent scutes!

 

[Gillian M]

She got me pictures way sooner than I thought! Hope this helps!

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A very cute tort! GOD bless.

 

[Gillian M]

A very warm welcome to the forum to you as well as your friend.

 

[hollandop]

Desert tort hatchling They need some special care and attention.