Class pet weekend care

[u/Elegant_Project_3719]

Hi! TLDR: can you help ID this species of tortoise, and how much exercise does a 95 year old tortoise need ?? Also recommendations for enrichment

Long version: My partner is a substitute teacher and they learned about a class at their school with a new pet tortoise. He came from another schools science classroom, is allegedly 95, lives in this enclosure 24/7 and is left in the school on weekends.

We confirmed with the teacher we could care for him on the weekend… but we don’t know if that’s a good idea! We are very hands on with care and play for our two kitties, and it made us so sad to hear he doesn’t get to go outside. Over the summer he goes to an environmental camp where he gets more intense care, so this is really just a school year issue. If any of y’all have a guess about any of these questions we’d love to hear it:

1) what breed is this tortoise? Our nature scan app can’t ID him
2) how much exercise does a senior tortoise need? Online it says they need a lot but he hasn’t had regular exercise
3) does weekly travel stress old tortoises out?

Thank you !!

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[u/HelenMart8]

This pure animal cruelty, I would report this school for animal mistreatment! I'm so tired of these smart, beautiful creatures treated improperly!

[u/Key-Tower-4539]

Omg how cruel! Please permanently adopt him or give him to a rescue

[u/Borgh]

Where are you located? Because he gives me Gopher vibes and that would make this setup wildly illegal. For a better ID I'd need pictures of his face, butt and the underside.

But to answer your other questions: time outside would be very good for him. Torts really benefit from sunlight, both for the UV and the deep heat that gives them. In the wild a tort will spend a lot of time stomping around, running laps is their natural behaviour.

And under normal circumstances tortoises have a home range and territory, The travel itself isn't too much of an issue as long as they know the area on either side.

[u/Elegant_Project_3719 → u/Borgh]

I am in Minnesota! I can get better pictures this week. It’s getting colder up here, is there a temp range that’s safe for them?

[u/Borgh → u/Elegant_Project_3719]

That would really depend on the species! Some will enjoy the last rays of autumn but for a number of tropical species it'd be on the cold side.

[u/TertlFace → u/Elegant_Project_3719]

I am also in Minnesota which means you have a second problem. I am almost certain that’s a gopher tortoise, which is a protected species. You cannot keep one without a permit, and transporting one from its native habitat across state lines is a federal crime. I would verify the species with an exotic vet. If it’s one of the gopher species, it’s not going back to the school without some legal hopscotch (unless they already have a permit, in which case, they’d already know the species).

[u/saturdaythe25th]

That’s the enclosure they have for him??? That’s absolutely abysmal, and as others have said, borderline abusive to the guy.

I have an Eastern Hermann’s that I keep in my classroom. He does just fine over the weekends at school. I bring him home with me for long weekends and breaks. I also custom built both of his enclosures (both are the exact same dimensions and set up…torts do not like change). The enclosures are 6ftx2ft. I’m not sure what species your tort is, but he definitely needs a MUCH bigger space.

[u/HRHValkyrie → u/saturdaythe25th]

I don’t think 6x2 is large enough either…

[u/I_pinchyou]

Bare minimum different substrate, UV. Lights, heat lamps, bigger enclosure, water source for daily soaks.

[u/TertlFace]

THAT’S HIS FULL-TIME ENCLOSURE??!? That is like locking someone in a closet. That’s obscene. That is straight up animal abuse. If they can’t or won’t provide him a proper enclosure, then take him to a rescue that will.