Anyone else have one of these tortoises?

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Richie_ELP

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Aug 4, 2010
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El Paso, Texas, United States
Considering they are protected probably not.
I got her through adoption from the El Paso Zoo when I used to volunteer there, she's a Gopherus flavomarginatus, seven years old, I believe. I had two, but the first year I lose her sister to hail.
She's getting a bath because she doesn't stop walking through her poo. Just wanted to share.

Photo0327.jpg
 
i wish. i luv gopher tortises. i want.

i have a gopher tortise crossing sign in my fish room. lol
 
Wow, DUDE your increadbly lucky :D Its both a extremelly rare and delicate tortoise. I know a few zoos have them but you maybe one of the very few privates to have them (Im shure there are more but yea VERY few people, at least legally). Her shell looks very sligthly pyramidized which however its normal considering that even the finest turt foods we have are diferent then their wild diet. Please sher with us how is your keeping protocol, your enclosure, food, how she behaves,etc. By the way why didnt the zoo want her? Was her bloodline already well /too much represented?
 
I couldn't figure out for the life of me how she was pyramiding, her diet consists solely of bermuda grass, hibiscus flowers, dandelions, nasturtiums, rose hips and petals. I do not use any commercialized foods for her for that reason. I even stopped following the zoo's established feeding regimen, because all of the tortoises exhibited slight pyramiding. On occasion I would offer cleaned cactus pads. Then I figured out how her shell was getting out of hand, I saw her eating a bunch of worms when the sprinklers came on or when it rained. At this time of the year, she was also foraging parts of pomegranate fruit that had broken in our tree from bird predation.
I bring her in whenever it rains or when our sprinkler system comes on, the desert box turtles take care of the worms now; and I make a real effort to clean up after out fruit trees. The pyramiding stopped progressing after that first year. She is given basically the entire plot of land in the yard. I had tried fencing off part of the yard, but when our neighbors fence collapsed, the only favorable piece of land wasn't usable, as the other end was at the time occupied by a forest hinge back.
None of my box turtles nor she have tested positive for any diseases they can contract from one another. Before I decided to allow them to mix I consulted the faculty, who said they have several desert and ornate boxes in with the bolsons, and that there had been no incidence of disease or even injuries. She hibernates naturally every year in her ugly hole under the tree.

She's just like any other gopher, outstanding personality, and she loves to vocalize when she gets flowers. She seems to really favor red and yellows. The zoo is and was way overstocked with bolsons, they do their best to keep the sexes separate and they even destroy nests. Someone from the Alamogordo zoo was even allowed to take a truck bed full of them for their collection.
The two I had gotten were a couple years old I believe. I wish I had not lost her sister, but I am more than grateful to have this one in my care.
 
Richie_ELP;4609901; said:
I couldn't figure out for the life of me how she was pyramiding, her diet consists solely of bermuda grass, hibiscus flowers, dandelions, nasturtiums, rose hips and petals. I do not use any commercialized foods for her for that reason. I even stopped following the zoo's established feeding regimen, because all of the tortoises exhibited slight pyramiding. On occasion I would offer cleaned cactus pads. Then I figured out how her shell was getting out of hand, I saw her eating a bunch of worms when the sprinklers came on or when it rained. At this time of the year, she was also foraging parts of pomegranate fruit that had broken in our tree from bird predation.
I bring her in whenever it rains or when our sprinkler system comes on, the desert box turtles take care of the worms now; and I make a real effort to clean up after out fruit trees. The pyramiding stopped progressing after that first year. She is given basically the entire plot of land in the yard. I had tried fencing off part of the yard, but when our neighbors fence collapsed, the only favorable piece of land wasn't usable, as the other end was at the time occupied by a forest hinge back.
None of my box turtles nor she have tested positive for any diseases they can contract from one another. Before I decided to allow them to mix I consulted the faculty, who said they have several desert and ornate boxes in with the bolsons, and that there had been no incidence of disease or even injuries. She hibernates naturally every year in her ugly hole under the tree.

She's just like any other gopher, outstanding personality, and she loves to vocalize when she gets flowers. She seems to really favor red and yellows. The zoo is and was way overstocked with bolsons, they do their best to keep the sexes separate and they even destroy nests. Someone from the Alamogordo zoo was even allowed to take a truck bed full of them for their collection.
The two I had gotten were a couple years old I believe. I wish I had not lost her sister, but I am more than grateful to have this one in my care.
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Wow, amazing history :) So your saying that US zoos are over populated with bolsons?! Wouldnt it make more sence like microship and put paper work into them and sell them into the private sector in the US and overseas? Many people would be willing to pay huge amounts for cb ones, japan alone...
 
I know Arizona adopts out captive desert tortoises in state only. The bolson however, is not native to the US. That could be a reason why they do not allow many people to get a hold of them, that is just an assumption though.
Our zoo has way too many, not sure about anyone else. Having the destroy a nest was the worst point of me working there. I hated it. You have to shake the egg, then throw it.
 
A friend of ours breeds Bolson tortoises out in Kerrville TX. Neat tortoise, but they all look somewhat similar (Texas,Bolsons,Gopher) Heck even Chaco tortoises look like Texas tortoises. Congrats on a great tort
 
I used to care for a few of them back at the museum I worked for. They are fantastic little turtles and are so much better suited for captivity than sulcatas and leopard torts. I think if they let a few into the market they would take off. I know that they are actually pretty easy to breed and we ended up having to freeze eggs on 3 occasions because we were only permitted for so many and were not allowed to hatch them out.

Awesome torts though. Congrats on being able to keep them. I know a few other people that keep gophers but you are the first I know to keep Bolsens privately.
 
snakeguy101;4614399; said:
I used to care for a few of them back at the museum I worked for. They are fantastic little turtles and are so much better suited for captivity than sulcatas and leopard torts. I think if they let a few into the market they would take off. I know that they are actually pretty easy to breed and we ended up having to freeze eggs on 3 occasions because we were only permitted for so many and were not allowed to hatch them out.

Awesome torts though. Congrats on being able to keep them. I know a few other people that keep gophers but you are the first I know to keep Bolsens privately.
Click to expand...
I know people here in europe that keep comon gophers and deserts, prices sky rocket. These should be allowed privatly:(
 
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