Marking Your Tortoise

This photo depicts a desert tortoise with its

custodian's contact information affixed to its shell
with epoxy. Any person finding the tortoise
wandering outside of its backyard can call the phone
number displayed on the tag. - Photo Credit: USFWS
Photo by Dan Balduini

https://www.fws.gov/FieldNotes/r
egmap.cfm?arskey=37090
An unmarked tortoise has almost no chance of being returned to you if it escapes.
Never drill holes through the shell. There are nerves and blood vessels under the entire
shell. Drilling causes pain. Never cover the shell with paint or similar material. If you receive
a tortoise that has been painted, do not try to remove the paint. Solvents that remove paint
should not come in contact with the seams between the shell plates (scutes) where there is
sensitive, live tissue. Scraping the paint can cause injury. The paint will eventually wear off.

Materials needed: Quick-drying (5-minute) clear epoxy. A piece of white, self-stick label
cut to size, that is, no larger than needed to hold your phone number. Use a fine tipped
pen with dark waterproof/India ink (other inks may fade) or type or print out the number,
firm toothpicks, old, clean plastic lid, small rags damp and dry.
1. Clean and dry an area on a scute where it has or will receive very little abrasion. See
suggested places under Figure A. The cleaned area should be large enough for the sticker
that will hold your phone number (you may have to use two lines) and allow a margin of
shell for the epoxy to overlap the sticker and yet NOT TOUCH A SEAM. See Figure B. IF
EPOXY GETS IN THE SEAMS IT CAN CAUSE DEFORMITY AS THE TORTOISE
GROWS. For hatchlings, use a waterproof marker and write a letter or some dots on a
scute. Redo as necessary until the tortoise is large enough for an epoxy covered tag.

2. Set up a protected area on a table with all the materials. Apply the sticker with
your number to the cleaned area, pressing it firmly against the shell using a tissue,
not your bare finger. Only now should you mix the epoxy. Make sure the tortoise is
within reach but not on the table while you are mixing the epoxy. In a box, if
necessary.
3. Unless your are experienced with epoxy, practice several times on a piece of
cardboard.on which you have written your number. Mix the epoxy thoroughly according to
directions on an old plastic lid with a toothpick and apply to a practice label before it
becomes too firm to spread but not while it is still runny enough to flow onto the seams.
Timing is everything. Even when at the right consistency, the epoxy will tend to sag
downward so start applying at the top of the tag by touching drops of epoxy from the
toothpick on the upper edge of the tag and dragging it short distances to cover. Cover the
tag a little beyond the edges to seal it. (Figure B.) Have your small damp rag ready so you
can immediately and firmly wipe off any epoxy that sags or runs, especially into the
seams. The rag should be thin enough for your fingernail to make the precise cleaning
action. Practice will help with this, also.
4. To hold the tortoise relatively still while you are applying the epoxy use your other hand
and gently but firmly hold it over the opening of the shell to keep the tortoise’s head inside.
You may have to press the tortoise against your body as well, unless you have help.
Keep the tortoise away from blowing dust, grass, or the burrow until the epoxy has
become dry. (About 20-30 minutes should be enough time.) Leave the tooth pick in the
plastic lid where you mixed the epoxy. You can test the set of the epoxy there without
touching the tortoise’s tag. If you did not mix equal amounts of the epoxy and the
hardener, the epoxy will never set and you will have to start over. It will pay to practice.