Can you ID this tortoise?

Can you ID this tortoise? A student of mine brought this little guy to my class on Wednesday. He was found in their backyard. (Phoenix, Az) I have an adult Desert Tortoise (Gopherus) and have seen hatchlings. The shell doesn't look quite right to be a DT. However, the head looks like one. Any help would be appreciated so I can research proper care. He is about 4 inches front to back. Thanks, John

Looks like a 3-toed box turtle to me. What does the plastron look like?

Kelly Wood

I agree with Kelly, it's a box turtle.

I think it's illegal to remove desert tortoises from the wild. So why would someone bring it in if they think it's a DT?

Why not simply leave this turtle where it was found? Was there something wrong with it that it was in need of help?

for the help. I also put up the pics on the AZ Herp forum and got another opinion that it's a box turtle. The plastron is hinged. From the little bit of research I've had time to do, they don't seem to do best under vivarium conditions so I'm reluctant to keep him as a classroom pet. I'll talk to the parents of the child that brought him in, and will search for qualified box turtle caregivers in this area. Thanks again, John

John,

The little box turtle looks as if it is captive bred and has been well taken care of. Is there a chance that it was someones pet and it just happened to escape?

You might want to ask the young fella who brought it to you if they could help find the original owners of the boxie.

Just a thought.

If you need any help finding care info and all just email me at kelly.wood@frontiernet.net. I have kept man 3-toed boxies and can assist if need be.

Good luck!

Kelly Wood

Desert Box turtle (terrapene ornata luteola). Subspecies of the Ornate box turtle.

Unless you have reason to believe she was captive raised as a pet, your best bet (and hers), is to release her where she was found.

I'm not sure about Arizona, but wild box turtles are protected throughout much of their range.

again for the comments. I contacted the parents of the young man who brought it to my class and they came to school and picked it up. They're going to put some flyers up in the neighborhood to see if anyone has lost a pet. Some who responded thought it looked pretty healthy and could be someone's pet. I just knew I couldn't adequately care for it in my classroom. John