Desert Tortoise

July 2, 2022

Question: I was at a public event where an organization was giving out a desert tortoise care sheet with instructions on how to care for one as a pet. Isn’t the desert tortoise a protected species?

Answer: Yes, the desert tortoise is listed as a threatened species under the federal and California Endangered Species Acts, and is currently under consideration for uplisting to endangered in California. It is illegal to remove desert tortoises from the wild, but some people had pet desert tortoises before the law was enacted. Possession of a desert tortoise requires a permit and a permit sticker from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW)—which is how wildlife officers would determine whether a desert tortoise is legally possessed.

Once in captivity as a pet, desert tortoises can never be released back into the wild because they frequently contract a respiratory disease that can decimate the already dwindling wild populations. For this reason, pet tortoises that were abandoned can sometimes be legally re-homed. More information can be found on the California Turtle and Tortoise Club website(opens in new tab).

just realized all your post are in a question and then answer format!

I love the Desert Tortoise.  I'd have one if I could find a legal one.  my friend had two, and they were so cool.  I love how they dont get giant like a spur-thighed.  I had one of those and it ended up in a zoo. 

really cool animal.  I have never seen one in the wild, and I've tried.

Desert tortoises are great, though in lots of trouble unfortunately. Roads, illegal collecting, people who shoot them (!), expansion of raven ranges into the desert (thanks to human garbage), URTD, etc.

They spend lots of time in brumation (too cold) and aestivation (too hot) and out of sight. Best time to see them is in the spring when there are lots of flowers out.