Want to adopt a desert tortoise?

[smoochaz]

Tortoises are cute but different - I brought 2 baby tortoises from a friend who had 45 hatch in a cluster... long story short - they were too small to be in the yard alone - birds were ready to ponder on them, and my dog was ready to pick one up - so had to keep them in a pen together indoors with a light on them for warmth
#1 they are very solitary - I brought 2 together thinking they can keep each other company but they couldn't care less.
#2 they are cold to the touch and they don't want to play like a cat or dog - and all they do is eat and poop all day long so if you have kiddos don't think they'll consider them a pet and you will be the one caring for them
#3 if you don't name them you won't bond with them -

I'm assuming because they are in the sanctuary they are already neutered but as you saw my 1st sentence 45+ eggs can be hatched at a time!

[BIG CATS]

Originally Posted by locolife

I wish it worked that way with dogs as well, so many terrible owners out there.

Absolutely. And Im not making excuses for bad ownership, but dogs are a dime a dozen. Desert tortoises on the other hand? Not so much. Caretaking of such animals should best be left to the well-qualified and/or professionals only, IMO.

[johnp292]

We have one that came with the house and we agreed to keep him. Almost 5 years now. He's awesome. He's just starting to be active again after his hibernation period. If he's not out already when we are in the yard, he comes out of his burrow when he hears us and follows us around the yard. If we leave the door open he'll walk right into the house. The prior owners had a dog, so he's accustomed to them and we have no problems there, although I have read that can be a bad combination, usually for the tortoise. Our guy chases our two dogs, and our kids dogs if they visit, around 'his' yard. You'd be surprised how fast a tortoise can move when it wants to. None of the dogs do anything more than sniff him. Well, they will also eat his poop if we don't stop them, but hey, they are dogs.

My understanding is that at all times they remain the property of the state and adopted tortoises are really only being fostered. The prior folks told us he came from The Phoenix Herpatological Society. He eats grass, so I don't allow any chemicals on our lawn, and also flower petals from our orchid tree and rose petals. We supplement with various veggies from the approved list, and he gets an occasional slice of tomato as a treat, which he will take from your fingers. I put in a clay water dish for soaking in the summer, but he seems to prefer drinking when it rains or when the sprinklers run. Sometimes I can tell when a monsoon is heading our way, because he seems to be able to sense them and he'll come out and wait for the rain ( during monsoon season when it's hot he usually spends the hotter parts of the day either in his burrow or under a bush). All in all, he's a pretty cool dude.

[ScottsdaleMark]

Originally Posted by johnp292

We have one that came with the house and we agreed to keep him. Almost 5 years now. He's awesome. He's just starting to be active again after his hibernation period. If he's not out already when we are in the yard, he comes out of his burrow when he hears us and follows us around the yard. If we leave the door open he'll walk right into the house. The prior owners had a dog, so he's accustomed to them and we have no problems there, although I have read that can be a bad combination, usually for the tortoise. Our guy chases our two dogs, and our kids dogs if they visit, around 'his' yard. You'd be surprised how fast a tortoise can move when it wants to. None of the dogs do anything more than sniff him. Well, they will also eat his poop if we don't stop them, but hey, they are dogs.

My understanding is that at all times they remain the property of the state and adopted tortoises are really only being fostered. The prior folks told us he came from The Phoenix Herpatological Society. He eats grass, so I don't allow any chemicals on our lawn, and also flower petals from our orchid tree and rose petals. We supplement with various veggies from the approved list, and he gets an occasional slice of tomato as a treat, which he will take from your fingers. I put in a clay water dish for soaking in the summer, but he seems to prefer drinking when it rains or when the sprinklers run. Sometimes I can tell when a monsoon is heading our way, because he seems to be able to sense them and he'll come out and wait for the rain ( during monsoon season when it's hot he usually spends the hotter parts of the day either in his burrow or under a bush). All in all, he's a pretty cool dude.

Awesome post, that's so cool. Good for you for taking care of a great and friendly desert creature. I have friends with desert tortoises but I had no idea they could be so friendly!