Quote Originally Posted by M&M's Mommy
What are the differences between a turtle and a tortoise?? I live in a city in California, no where near any creek or river, or stream. I rent a guest house where the owner have a very big backyard (about 25,000 sf) that is rarely taken care of, so the grasses are free to grow high. My dogs found it there, so we took it in and put it in a big plastic tub.

Is there any shelter that take in turtles? How should I check if it belongs to other people?? What is the SPCA??
Turtles and Tortoise belong to the same family called Testudines. However, the Tortoise is a member who is well adpated to living on land only approaching water to drink or bathe. They have a larger domed shell and thicker/more stocky legs than the Turtle. Turtles generally have smaller legs and spend a lot of time swimming in water as well as being able to venture onto land. Their shell is much flatter than that of the Tortoise, making it more streamlined for swimming.

http://www.sandiegozoo.org/animalbytes/t-turtle.html

Scroll down. There is alot of difference between the to but no site really dose good saying what they are