Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Its carapace is 7-8 inches. I live in the junction between Los angeles county and Orange County in Southern California.
It looks to me an African Spur (Sulcata) tortoise to me.
But.... It could be the desert tortoise native to the desert ???

It seemed to like cucumber and flower pedals so far.. I havent notice him grazing on the grass on my lawn.... wierd.

here are some photo i took today.

here's another pic showing the pair of shell spiking out under the turtle's head.

Not a sulcata. My first thought was desert tortoise.

tks for input ~

Is there any way to tell if it is abandoned captive or wild desert tortoise?

Didnt seem right to keep it if its wild.. but then i lived in a pretty developed suburban area and there isnt really a desert environment around where i live...

Since you live in its natural range, I think it would be a stretch to say that it is a captive animal that escaped. I can see that someone may have illegally taken it and it escaped them. Or it very well may have wandered into your neighborhood on its own. Tortoises can really move sometimes.

Either way, it is really illegal to have it. If you are unsure where to release it, others here may be able to help. I would consider calling fish, game and wildlife, or what ever California calls it. Where I live, Dept of Environmental Control (DEC) would not bust you for something like this. Instead, they would take the animal and know where a proper place to release it would be. However, I'd hate to say this and see you get fined or something. Talk to others in California and see what the norm is.

Dave

It seems just like a sulcata. If it is, it might fit these descriptions I found:

* Aggressively spiny, large front legs
* "Elephantine" back legs -- the legs resemble minature elephant feet, rather than being webbed flippers.
* Top shell (the carapace) is yellow or straw-colored in the center of each scute. Each individual scute is surrounded by a growth ring of brown colored shell. The bottom shell (the plastron) is buff to yellow in color with no markings on it.
* Dark, relatively small eyes (in comparison to its overall size).
* Head has a square, "Dick Tracy" profile.

Yours might be that. But I am not sure, this is an educated guess...

imo, even baby sulcata have spurs on their front legs, imo.

Look at the second pic provided. It clearly has no spurs on the front legs. Now, check out this pic linked to chelonia.org of a baby sulcata:

If direct linking is a no no here, some mod delete what I did above and everyone else just go here:

www.chelonia.org/GsulcataJG2.jpg

It's a desert tortoise

It is confirmed a desert tortoise escaped from my neighber's house.Its funny how it escaped from my backyard just to end up in its real owner's yard. LOL. Anyway, my little 3-day journey of keeping a tortoise has ended *.*

I really appreciate all of ur replies, thank you all.

rhyn

I am pretty positive that is is Gopherus agassizii

http://chelonia.org/Articles/Gagassiziicare.htm

It's a desert tort do not release him out to the wild, he can carry something the wild populations can't handle, there is some virus or something that captive Desert torts get the wild ones can't handle and die.
If you wanted to keep him, you can apply for a permit and tell them he wandered into your yard. Where in ORCo/LACo didja find him?