The California
Desert Tortoise is the state reptile
of California.
Desert Tortoises may be legally possessed in
Califorrnia only under
the authority of a permit issued by the California Department of Fish and Game.
The department may issue a permit for the possession of a desert tortoise
provided the tortoise was legally acquired and possessed prior to March 7,
1973.
To request a DESERT TORTOISE
PERMIT APPLICATION form, contact the Society or you may email, call or write to the California
Department of Fish and Game as follows:
Please note, San Diego Turtle & Tortoise
Society has a collection of these permit applications available at our monthly
meetings and at our annual July show.
Tagging
Fish and Game will send you a
numbered tag to affix to your tortoise. The tag can be placed at the
rear end of the animal on the carapace or plastron, or on the inside of
the shell behind one of the back legs. Unfortunately the tags can
wear out within a few years. Because there is less wear and tear,
placing the tag on the inside of the shell seems to work best.
However, this site may not be accessible in small tortoises. SDTTS
Care Coordinators can help you with your tagging decisions.
The law requires that the tag be
attached to the tortoise that it was issued for at all times. Some
owners wait until the animals are 2-3 years old before registering them.
Owners must use their judgment as to best time and place to put the tag.
Remember, a healthy juvenile tortoise will put on significant growth each
year. Because growth occurs at the edges of the scutes, a tag that
overlaps the edge of a scute may loosen and fall off. If a tag
becomes lost or wears out, contact SDTTS
and fill out a permit application form if needed. Be sure to state on the form
that this is a request for a replacement tag and provide the number of the old
tag.
We recommend obtaining more than
one permit per tortoise, as they can get damaged or lost as the tortoise goes
about his adventures. This way you have on file a record of the tortoises
by number range. Also, if you adopt additional desert tortoises, you can
give them a tag in the same number range.
------------------------------- IMPORTANT INFORMATION
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Breeding of captive tortoises is not
authorized. If the gender of the tortoise is unknown and you have more
than one, you should keep them separated to prevent breeding.
It is illegal to take tortoises from
the wild. The penalty for doing so can be up to $5,000 and one year in jail.
No tortoise that has been in
possession shall be released into the wild.
Reasons for obtaining a
permit:
There are several good reasons for
obtaining a permit and tagging your tortoise. First, it is against the
law to keep a desert tortoise without having a permit, and the permit tag must
be fixed to the tortoise. On several occasions California Department of
Fish and Game Officers have confiscated tortoises that have been kept without
permits or lacking tags. Second, the permit offers a simple way to
establish legal proof of ownership should the animal wander away from its home
and get turned into an Animal Control or Humane Society facility. Animal
Control and Humane Societies may not turn over desert tortoises without proof
of ownership, and there have been several instances of tortoise owners being
unable to reclaim their pets. Additionally, a found tortoises owner can
be traced from the tag number.
Click here for detailed California Desert Tortoise
care instructions.
