The Clark County Desert Tortoise Pickup Service provides free pick up of desert tortoises to developers who do voluntary surveys of their property prior to disturbance and to individuals who find a tortoise wandering near urban development.
To schedule a pick up, call the Desert Tortoise Hotline at (702) 593-9027 and leave a message as directed. Messages are checked daily, but depending on the number of calls and the time of day, your message may not be returned for twenty-four to forty-eight hours, although someone will get back to you as soon as possible. The pickup service is not an emergency response service.
Do not release desert tortoises to the desert. Doing so may expose wild populations to disease. If you have a desert tortoise you must surrender the tortoise through the Desert Tortoise Pickup Service or to a local animal shelter.
FAQs
What happens to desert tortoises picked up by this service?
Tortoises picked up by the Clark County Desert Tortoise Pickup Service are taken to the Desert Tortoise Conservation Center, which is a U.S. Bureau of Land Management owned facility operated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will determine what will happen to the tortoise, which may include adoption or placing the tortoise back into the wild.
What is the Clark County Desert Tortoise Pickup Service schedule?
The pickup schedule is based on demand for pickups, but generally abides by the following schedule:
November to March Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 8 a.m. to 11a.m.
April to October Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 2:30p.m.
Please keep in mind that April through October is a busy time with high pickup demands, which are scheduled on a first come, first serve basis. If you require an immediate pickup that the service is unable to accommodate, you must find an alternate means of handing over the tortoise. Your options include asking a friend or neighbor to care for the tortoise until it can be picked up by our service or take the tortoise to the your local animal shelter, which will contact our service for a pickup.
How do I care for a desert tortoise?
If you have found a desert tortoise, place it in a clean, well ventilated container, such as a cardboard box, and keep it in a dry area with moderate temperature, such as your bathroom or laundry room.
The tortoise will be okay without food, but you can offer it a drink of water in a shallow bowl. Do not be alarmed if the tortoise does not drink or eat. Tortoises can survive for days without food or water.
What do I do if I have an injured desert tortoise?
If your pet desert tortoise is injured, contact a local veterinarian, as you would for any injured pet.
If you find an injured desert tortoise contact Mountain Vista Animal Hospital. Tortoises treated by Mountain Vista will be turned over to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
What if I have another species of tortoise or turtle?
The Clark County Desert Tortoise Pickup Service only picks up desert tortoises. If you have any other species of tortoise or turtle you must contact your local animal control office. If you are unsure, you can leave a message with the Desert Tortoise Pickup Service at (702) 593-9027 and someone will contact you and help determine if you have a desert tortoise or another species.
What if I lost my pet?
If you have lost a pet tortoise and would like to find out if it has been picked up by the Clark County Desert Tortoise Pickup Service, please contact Terry Christopher at the Desert Tortoise Conservation Center at (775) 240-8107.
What about breeding of desert tortoises?
The breeding of pet tortoises creates an unwanted pet population that takes resources away from efforts to help the wild population. Do not breed your pet desert tortoises.
The Clark County Desert Tortoise Pickup Service currently picks up over a thousand unwanted pets per year. The service conducts multiple pickups from the same address year after year for unwanted desert tortoise hatchlings. Citizens are asked to surrender one of their breeding pair when surrendering the hatchlings to stop the propagation of unwanted tortoises.
This is an issue that Clark County will be researching further over the next several months. We need Clark County citizen’s help to stop backyard breeding.