Our desert tortoises enjoy eating sweet saguaro cactus fruits. Desert Duets: Sonoran Desert Tortoise Info Web Page Information about Sonoran Desert Tortoises An adult Sonaron desert tortoise is from six to fifteen inches long; males are larger than females. Like all reptiles, they have tough, scaly skin. Desert tortoises have strong front legs and sharp claws, which they use to dig their burrows. They hibernate in their burrows during the winter months and stay cool in their burrows in the summer. Some burrows are quite large and more than one tortoise can occupy a singleburrow. Sometimes tortoises share their burrows with other animals, such as cottontail rabbits and snakes. Tortoises should never be taken from the wild and adopted as pets. However, once a tortoise has been in captivity, it cannot be released because it might have a disease that could infect the wild tortoise population. The Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum runs the Tortoise Adoption Program (TAP) in order to find homes for tortoises that were pets or were hatched in captivity. TAP makes sure the people who adopt Sonoran desert tortoises will be responsible pet owners. Sonoran Desert Tortoise Pages: Home | Information | Babies | Activity | Resources |