Arizona Game and Fish seeking homes for desert tortoises in Yuma

 You like pets, but you don't have time to take care of a dog and cat.

  What do you do?

  The Arizona Game and Fish Department may have a solution: become a custodian for a desert tortoise.

  The public can learn about keeping and caring for the tortoises at an adoption fair and workshop that the department will offer Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at U.S. Fish and Wildlife building in Yuma, 9300 E. 28th St.

  Actually, a desert tortoise is not what one might think of as a high-maintenance pet, department officials say.

  Someone wanting to adopt tortoise needs to have a fenced backyard that will contain it, plus water and food for it.

  The food source can be vegetation growing in the yard, or it can be produce bought at a grocery store, said Catherine Pederson, a Game and Fish customer service representative who handles the department's tortoise adoption program.

  "Otherwise, they're pretty self-sufficient animals," she said.

  Available for adoption are about a dozen desert tortoises the department previously acquired from area residents who could no longer care for them, Pederson said.

  Once in captivity, desert tortoises cannot be released back into the wild because captive animals can pass a dangerous upper respiratory disease to wild tortoises, department officials said.

  Pederson said the department wants to find homes for the tortoises with area residents who can make long-term commitments to caring for them. That's because the tortoises can live longer than 50 years.

  Some of the tortoises available for adoption in Yuma are as old as 20 years, she said, while others are about 2. A fully grown desert tortoise can weigh up to about 15 pounds, she said.

  People who adopt the tortoises will have to return them to the department if they move from Yuma County, Pederson said, explaining that the tortoises are native to the area and may not be acclimated to other places, even in the Southwest.

  At Saturday's fair, experts will show residents how to build enclosures and dens for the tortoises, which hibernate from October through the winter.

  The fair will also feature exhibits of native plants that tortoises eat, as well as store-brought produce that can substitute as food sources, such as kale, broccoli, spinach, collards and other dark greens.

  The department encourages those interested in sharing their yards with a tortoise to bring a completed application form and photos of their enclosure to the workshop. Enclosure specifications and application forms can be downloaded at www.azgfd.gov/tortoise.

 Prospective adopters can also start the application process at the workshop if their application requirements are not yet complete.

  Adoptions will be limited to one per family, Pederson said.

  Tortoises will be microchipped and must pass a health check before being made available for adoption. State law prohibits taking these creatures from the wild.

  The Game and Fish Department discourages tortoise custodians from allowing their animals to breed. Each year, there are more tortoises than there are homes for them.