Minnie, Nala and Buttons

Minnie and Nala came to us  from the Arizona Desert Tortoise Adoption program in April 2020.
Both are Sonoran Desert Tortoises (Gopherus morafkai)

Minnie

Minnie is a 10 to 20 yr old female. She was given to the adoption program by someone who could no longer care for her and her nine sisters.

She was housed with a male tortoise so it is possible she may lay eggs in the future. Did you know tortoises can lay viable eggs from mating years earlier?!

Minnie is a little shy. She comes out every couple days for food and to visit. She did supervise some planting in her enclosure one day tho.

Nala

Nala is a 20-30 yr old female. She was also given to the adoption program by someone who could no longer care for her.

It was discovered she had a very large bladder stone that required surgery to remove. She made it through the surgery just fine and is doing very well.

She is the more social one. She comes out everyday for feeding time and will follow her caretaker around the enclosure until he feeds her. She enjoys getting a cool down sprinkler during hot weather and is very curious.

 

Buttons

Buttons is a young male. He was abandoned at another RV park and we gladly took him in as we were already setup to care for tortoises. Buttons is an African Spurred Tortoise also known as a Sulcata. Notice the spurs on his legs?

Sulcatas can grow to 75 – 100 lbs! On his first vet check-up though, the vet said he may not become a heavy weight due to poor nutrition by his prior owner. We will keep him well fed and happy regardless of  his size!

We thought he would not bromate, but he does require more warming than the girls so he sticks close to his heat lamp all winter and doesn’t come out.

A couple tortoise facts:

• Healthy tortoises can live upwards of 80-100 years.
• Each year the Arizona Game and Fish Department adopts out captive desert tortoises that cannot be released back into the wild because captive tortoises can transmit diseases that can decimate our wild population.
• Captive tortoises need to be on a strict diet. As tempting as it may be, please do not feed or leave any food in the tortoises enclosures. Only approved  and specifically trained park employees will ensure their dietary health and well-being.
• Desert tortoises hibernate during winter when the nightly temperatures drop below 50 degrees.
• Unfortunately, tortoises can carry some pathogens. Although most tortoise pathogens are not transmissible to humans, some, such as salmonella, can be transmitted. Again, only trained park employees will handle the tortoises. Handling of tortoises by strangers can be stressful to them as well.

Everyone is welcome to stop by, say hello to the tortoises and watch them during feeding and enclosure cleaning time. Usually between 4 and 5 pm during the summer.