Desert Tortoise Team responds: There are two books that we use regularly here at the DTCC:

1. Reptile Medicine and Surgery by Mader
2. Infectious Diseases and Pathology of Reptiles by Jacobson

We were hiking a week ago and found a baby tortoise turned on her back and very lethargic. We brought her home and rehydrated her really well but we noticed a hole on her under shell (about 3/4 of the way down from her head). There seems to be some gooey matter coming from this hole? Not sure if she was injured?

It has also been 1 week and she is not eating the natural plants I have been trying to feed her. She moves around quite a bit an then suddenly stops, closes her eyes and sleeps for some time. She has also pooped a few times. We would like to release her but not sure if she is sick or injured.

Paula responds: Being a tortoise hugger myself, I completely understand your desire to save a helpless animal, especially when it’s a baby. However, as you likely already know, it is unlawful to remove a desert tortoise from the wild for any reason without permission from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. In instances like this where you find an injured tortoise, you should call FWS immediately for their recommendation and direction. The possible injury you describe sounds like the yolk scar may not have closed up yet – that’s where the hatchling absorbed the yolk it still had when it hatched. If it is oozing, that may be a sign of infection, and it should be checked by an experienced tortoise veterinarian right away. Since tortoises should be hibernating during this time of year, it is not surprising that the hatchling is lethargic and not eating – right now she should be in a burrow hibernating until spring. Since you found her on the surface and not in a burrow, she may be sick or perhaps was too weak to return to her burrow after sunning, or she may have been dropped by a raven or other predator that was carrying her away.

Regardless of what may be wrong with her or how you found her, you cannot put her back in the desert without permission from FWS, and putting her back in the desert during the winter is almost surely a death sentence due to the shocking temperature change she will have to endure. I strongly recommend that you contact your local FWS office as soon as possible to ask them how to handle this situation before the hatchling’s condition worsens, or if you live in the state of Nevada, you should call the desert tortoise hotline pickup service (702-593-9027) to have the hatchling picked up and brought here to our facility today so our veterinary technician can evaluate her as soon as possible.

Paula responds: It is very important that your tortoise be allowed to hibernate naturally in the winter if he is healthy – his body needs the down time and it may ultimately help him to be a healthier adult as he gets older. A tortoise should not go into hibernation with food in its belly because he will not be able to digest it – they need sunlight and heat for that. You should feed your tortoise less when we move from summer to fall and stop feeding him in late Sept or early Oct. However, we always recommend a good soak in water for 20 minutes every other week from April to October. This allows the tortoise to void (pee or poop), which eliminates toxins and allows them to hydrate. When temperatures fall below 45 degrees Fahrenheit, it’s best to provide your tortoise with a burrow that goes into the ground. Some people in the warmer parts of Arizona use above-ground dog kennels as burrows for their tortoises, but we always recommend a genuine burrow with a dirt floor – check out the Web site tortoisegroup.org and print out their adoption booklet because, although this group is not affiliated with the Zoo, they describe a burrow construction that we highly recommend. This type of burrow will provide perfect protection from cold winters and scorching summers. Hope your tortoise enjoys a peaceful winter in a great burrow!

Paula responds:
As you obviously know, disturbing a desert tortoise during its hibernation can be physiologically very stressful for them. When you say you put the tortoise back in its “hibernating spot,” I am hoping you meant back in its burrow – that’s the only safe place for a hibernating tortoise, unless you have her overwintering in a box in your garage. In any case, if the tortoise didn’t void (pee or poop), and the disturbance was minimal, then you did just the right thing by putting the tortoise back in its burrow or box. You should continue to monitor her for signs of trouble, such as voiding. Once you are sure she is hibernating again, she should be fine for the winter as long as she is not disturbed again. If she doesn’t go back to sleep, you may need to give her a good long soak in room-temperature water to ensure she’s hydrated and then ease her back into hibernation by putting her in a room where you can lower the temperature just a bit every day until she’s naturally hibernating again. Of course, to be safe, if you have any concerns at all, you should bring her to a local reptile veterinarian or call your local turtle and tortoise group for advice.

Paula responds: Without seeing your tortoise, it’s hard to say what’s wrong with her, but it sounds like your tortoise has developed metabolic bone disease. This happens when a tortoise does not receive the correct type and amount of heat, light, and/or nutrition. If your tortoise always lives outside with a burrow and free access to sunlight, then your tortoise may be suffering from a nutritional deficiency. She needs to be eating a well-rounded complete tortoise diet that includes natural desert forage as well as supermarket produce. If you don’t have natural desert forage for your tortoise, you may want to consider using a prepared tortoise chow to supplement her diet. While kale, broccoli, and carrots are acceptable food options for tortoises, apples and other sweet fruits should never be fed to tortoises, so you should start by eliminating apples from her diet.

Other things to consider are heat and light. If your tortoise does not live outside, you need to build her a burrow and move her out there in the spring (it’s too cold to move her now). If you are keeping her inside with a UVB light and heat lamp, that’s not enough – it can’t replace the natural heat and light from the sun, and it does not allow her to thermoregulate as her body needs. If tortoises don’t get the exact type and amount of heat and light they need to maintain their metabolism and body functions, then they are not able to digest their food and their body begins to suck the calcium right out of their shell and bones, making them soft, while their food just sits in their stomach. It can take a long time for a tortoise to become soft from insufficient heat and light, so if you can actually feel that she has gotten soft, it is urgent for you to get her the proper heat and light right away. It can take months for her to recover from this type of situation, and in more advanced cases, tortoises cannot recover at all so I urge you to stop feeding her apples and put her under the correct heat and light as soon as possible. Please let us know what changes you make and keep us posted on her progress!

Paula responds: There are so many types of ivy that I would need to know the species of the plant, or at least the genus so I can narrow it down. When in doubt, don’t do it!

common name proper name

red spiderling beerhaavia coccenia

common purslane portulaca oleracea

dallisgrass paspalum dilatatum

wild lettuce/prickly lettuce lactuca serrida

butterfly bush (not a weed) buddleja marrubifolia

also, what other types of “mallow” are good for tortoises besides globe mallow? Thank you all so much. You all do such great work. Can people come and visit the Las Vegas sight? Any possible volunteer type work? Thanks again!
Liz