Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I know of a person who own two gopher tortoises. They are kept outside with no heat source even if it is raining and their 18 month old son plays with them like toy cars. I am considering trying to buy them so I can place them where they belong. But who would I contact about them since they are endangered. I doubt that they could be returned to the wild, they have been pretty damaged. I would even take care of them myself but I want to do it legally. The state DNR is uselaess here.

Are these in their home range (Florida, Georgia, ect?)? Outside of their home range, they are legal, as they are not on the Federal list. I was asked to take one in a couple of years ago in MD, it had been removed from FL ten years earlier by a stupid tourist, and tried to contact all the authorities. The Florida F&W and USFW both told me I could have the torts in MD without any sort of permits.

If you are in FL, e-mail me off-line and I'll put you in touch with a licensed Florida rehabber.

Katrina

If the gopher tortoises you mention are being maintained within the historic range for the species, and the soils they are in are somewhat sandy and well-drained , then keeping them outside year-round is the best thing for them. If that's not the case then they need to go to a permitted facility that can care for them. Probably the worst thing that could happen would be to try and re-introduce them into a nearby natural population. Captive tortoises put back into native populations can bring any number of pathogens, including the dreaded mycoplasma that causes upper respiratory disease (URD). URDs from released captive tortoises sent the Mojave population of the desert tortoise crashing, causing their emergency listing as Endangered. URDs has been documented in several gopher tortoise populations.

As stated by the other folks, staying outside is not a problem for them (yes, even if it's raining) as long as they are within their natural range and in a situation where they can burrow (or have an artificial burrow).

Gopher Tortoises are protected in every state where they occur naturally and thus are automatically protected by Federal Law under the Lacey Act. The Lacey Act will only apply, however, if they are transported across state lines illegally. If you are in a state that is within the natural range of Gopher Tortoises and these are not permitted animals, then you should leave them alone and let the Fish and Game folks handle it. You don't want to get caught in possession of Gopher Tortoises without a permit in Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Florida or South Carolina.

These tortoises are in Kentucky. A person broght them here from Florida when they were babies. I want to take them in and keep them properly. They are kept wither outside in a plastic tote and no bedding or loose in the person's house. The weather here will get cold and then they will have no access to UV light. The person keeping these is not purposely neglecting them, but does not fully understand their care. I have no problem with providing them with a proper home, I just want to do it legally.

Then I'd say get them, get them vetted, and start a paper trial. You might want to double check with a USFW authority in your state before hand, though, and get their name and address, just to be on the safe side and to prove that they were legal at the time you aquired them.

Katrina