Only a little bit larger than a Kennedy half dollar, the hatchling desert tortoises (seen in the video above) are a fan favorite at the Valley Chapter show. The Mojave desert tortoise is the state reptile of both California and Nevada. Its conservation status was up-listed to "critically endangered" by the Turtle Conservation Coalition in their 2018 publication, Turtles in Trouble: The World’s 25+ Most Endangered Tortoises and Fresh-water Turtles. And indeed from the 1980s to the present, Mojave desert tortoise population in the wild has dropped by 90%. They have been protected under the U.S. Endangered Species Act since 1990. As a result, there are many laws associated with keeping them as pets. One such, is that it is illegal to take a wild desert tortoise out of the desert or to put a captive desert tortoise back into the desert. Another is that it is illegal for captive desert tortoises to breed. This notwithstanding, a female desert tortoise can continue to lay fertile eggs for up to seven years after mating. So captive-born hatchlings are often surrendered to the CTTC. The Valley Chapter raises these babies for at least six months before adopting them out.

You can download a free, e-book version of Turtles in Trouble from ResearchGate.

Or learn more about adoption at the CTTC website.