The Az. Game & Fish Dept. is holding a tortoise adoption fair on Oct. 6th. The adoption fair will be held at Game & Fish's Phoenix headquarters at 2222 W. Greenway Rd from 7 am to 11 am.
Tortoise experts will be on hand to answer questions about care, & examples of proper outdoor enclosures will be displayed. Forty animals will be available for adoption on a 1st-come, 1st-served basis. They are microchipped & pass a health check before being available for adoption. State law prohibits taking these creatures from the wild.
Those interested in sharing their yard with a tortoise must bring a completed application form & photos of their enclosure to the fair in order to take a tortoise home. Enclosure specifications & application forms can be downloaded prior to the event at azgfd.gov/tortoise. Prospective adopters can also start the application process at the fair if their application requirements are not yet complete.
Desert tortoises can live as long as 50 - 100 years. They grow to about 15 pounds & hibernate in the winter months. They eat plant material, including grasses, wildflowers & native cactus fruits. Once captive, desert tortoises can't be released back into the wild. Captive animals can pass a dangerous upper respiratory disease to wild tortoise populations.
Game & Fish discourages tortoise custodians from allowing their animals to breed. Each year, there are more tortoises than there are homes for them.