If limited in growing foods, supplement this diet with occasional foods such as endive, escarole, squash such as zucchini, chopped carrots, small amounts of kale, romaine and other dark-green leafy vegetables. Healthy tortoises have enormous appetites! Growing native grasses, wildflowers, grass, weeds, dandelions, alfalfa (in moderation), nopales ( Opuntia cactus), mulberry tree leaves, grape leaves, common cheese mallow and other mallows, chickweed, nut grass, and (for treats) rose petals, nasturtium and hibiscus flowers are excellent food sources. Consult with CTTC on proper enclosures, fencing and security instead. It is cruel and inhumane to tether a tortoise by the legs or by holes drilled in the shell. Note that the list is geared towards mammals as there no accepted list for tortoises thus many keepers prefer to err on the side of caution and provide plants for them that we KNOW are SAFE. Toxicity scale for poisonous plant list is at bottom of the list. Eliminate any poisonous plants (), and do not use chemical pesticides or fertilizers in the area. Make sure that the yard is escape-proof and that pools are fenced off. If possible, give them the run of your entire yard. They need plenty of room to exercise and browse. They should be provided with shelter from the sun and cold, and a place to retire at night. In order to thrive, adult desert tortoises must be kept outdoors in a large area. It is impossible to determine the exact age of an adult tortoise. Because growth varies with food availability and other conditions, tortoises grow faster in captivity than in the wild. Housing | Feeding | Sexing | Health | HibernationДesert tortoises are known to live as long as 60-80 years, and may live even longer. Most chapters of CTTC have numerous desert tortoises needing new homes, so please do not take them from the desert. Contact the California Turtle and Tortoise Club if you need to find a new home for a tortoise. Released captives have a low survival rate and may pass diseases into the wild population with devastating consequences. California Turtle and Tortoise Club Adoption Chairs now tag all tortoises that are placed through the CTTC adoption programs.ДЇor good reason, it is against the law to release captive desert tortoises back into the wild. Possession of a permit/tag does not authorize breeding. The California Department of Fish and Game provides a tag to attach to the tortoise, and this is a useful way of identifying your tortoise if it should stray. Contact the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, or the California Turtle and Tortoise Club for a permit application. In California, a permit () is required to possess captive desert tortoises. It is illegal to buy or sell desert tortoises, or to take them from the desert. The desert tortoise ( Gopherus agassizii) is endangered in the wild and is protected under Federal and State laws. Your location and environment may require modifications of suggestions. This care-sheet provides information on caring for adult desert tortoises and their hatchlings. It is highly recommended that you join an online discussion group where fellow keepers can assist with questions/issues not covered in the following care sheet. Important: No one care sheet can possibly cover all the variables in different localities that influence the care of our desert tortoises, as well as the ongoing discovery of new information.

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