Page 6 - Summer2011 magazine

“How you can tell the tortoises apart?” by Susan & Roger Kolar

It's summer and the tortoises are active and eagerly eating the flowers and cacti in their
habitat. Visitors at the habitat are often surprised to see a cactus with a big bite mark out of
it. Despite the needles, the tortoises manage to eat a lot of cactus.

Because we can't grow enough food in the habitat to feed all nine tortoises, the Tortoise
Habitat Monitors feed the tortoises specially formulated desert tortoise chow every
Wednesday and Saturday morning. Friends of Red Rock Canyon, supplies the chow for the
tortoises and coordinates the volunteers for the Tortoise Habitat. Volunteers identify each
tortoise, count out the proper number of kibbles based on the weight of each tortoise and
moisten the chow with water.

A frequent question asked by our visitors is, “How can you tell the tortoises apart?” Every tortoise has a name and is
assigned an identification number. Each tortoise's shell (carapace) has a tiny red dot with a five digit ID number. The
tiny dot that is glued on to their shell doesn’t interfere with their growth. If you see volunteers with a magnifying
glass in the sunlight, they're not trying to start a fire; they're trying to read that little number.

We've also noted that every tortoise looks a little different. For example, each tortoise’s shell is unique. Lucie and
several other tortoises had poor nutrition before they came to Red Rock and their shells are indented. Even with
proper care, their shells won't improve much. Libby has a nice, rounded shell. Also, some of the tortoises are very
different in size. Maxine is the largest tortoise weighing in at 14 pounds and Lucie is the smallest at just over 5
pounds. It is easy to tell those two apart if they are standing next to each other. We have photo ID's of each tortoise to
help volunteers with the identification.

If you spend time in the habitat, you will also notice that each tortoise has
different personality traits. Max likes the hot weather but when weather gets a
little chilly, he won't come out of his burrow. Maxine eats all of her food and as
much of the others' food as she can. That's how she got to be the biggest. Mae
likes the volunteers and will stand on their shoes.

It is always an education and an enjoyable adventure working with the tortoises.

We're always looking for Tortoise Habitat Monitors. If you are interested in
volunteering, contact Jim Sudduth at 702-515-5366 for more information.

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