# Biggest desert tortoise



## Shelly (Sep 29, 2008)

What's the biggest/heaviest desert tort you've ever seen? My female is pretty big, over 15 pounds, but I'm sure there are others much larger....


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## Shelly (May 25, 2009)

Come on you guys! Nobody wants to share about their gigantic torts?


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## Candy (May 25, 2009)

Ask Maggie she has "Bob" who is supposed to be 85 lbs. he's a Sulcata with a lot of personality. And then I know Yvonne has some pretty big ones at her house. Come on Maggie and Yvonne tell us about your big guys.


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## Millerlite (May 25, 2009)

your talking about desert tortoises only right, not all tortoises, because there are a few people with aldabras that are huge.


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## Yvonne G (May 26, 2009)

Several years ago there was some really bad flooding in the desert and CTTC had too many rescued tortoises, so I took in several. These tortoises were the biggest I'd ever seen. Some of them were 18 or 20" long and weighed around 20lbs.

Yvonne


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## Shelly (May 26, 2009)

Millerlite said:


> your talking about desert tortoises only right, not all tortoises, because there are a few people with aldabras that are huge.



Yes, only DT's.


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## desertsss (Jun 2, 2009)

Just wanted to to post this because I find it kind of humorous.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BhwEZpwoHk8


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## lgdpt (Jun 8, 2009)

Here is what the CTTC website says....

The largest recorded desert tortoise is "Maximus" a captive tortoise measuring 15 inches in carapace length and weighing 23 pounds (St. Amant, 1976). Maximus had been a pet for many years and was turned into the California Department of Fish and Game office in Long Beach in the 1970's.

Maximus
Largest known desert tortoise
23 pounds; 15 inches carapace length 



The largest known wild desert tortoise was about 14.5 inches. The tortoise was a male and was frequently observed on the western portion of the on the Desert Tortoise Natural Area in the 1970's. (Berry, 1990).

Michael J. Connor 



However, my brother just adopted a male surrendered after his elderly owner passed away. She had him for 40 years. We measured him at 17 inches long and at least 23 lbs. He is at least 12 inches wide.

I wear a size 10 shoe (that is my foot) and the dimension of that container (on the inside) is 19x14".


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## LBSKUNK (Jul 7, 2009)

wow! Thats a BIG boy!


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## chelonologist (Jul 15, 2009)

The biggest one I recorded in the field was a MASSIVE boy, pictured here:

http://tortoiseforum.org/attachment.php?aid=927

As you can see, he topped out the 5kg scale. I estimate him to have been around 12 pounds. Take into account that this is a wild animal, not one that's been gorging on greens in captivity. Had he been a captive animal, he would have weighed closer to 15 pounds. I remember his midline carapace length was over 320mm. HUGE.


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## Shelly (Jul 15, 2009)

Is that a radio transmitter stuck to his side?


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## chelonologist (Jul 15, 2009)

yes, good eye.


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## Shelly (Jul 16, 2009)

So how old do you estimate a wild tort that size is?


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## chelonologist (Jul 16, 2009)

For that guy, his shell condition says that he's probably older than 25 years, perhaps as old as 40. Some estimates place tortoise longevity at 60-80 years. While I think this is certainly attainable for captive desert tortoises, it's probably not as likely for wild ones.


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## dmmj (Jul 16, 2009)

Mine personally just tips the scale at 15 pounds. But at my latest C.T.T.C deworming clinic I did see a giant DT that had to be at least 20 pounds


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## Shelly (Jul 19, 2009)

Here's a picture of my big girl, "Bubbles". 15 pounds, 3 ounces.




BTW, I wear a size 11.5


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## Madortoise (Jul 19, 2009)

Hi there Shelly,
Your bubble looks nice and healthy. How old is she and how long have you had her?


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## Shelly (Jul 19, 2009)

If you believe the people I got her from, she's in her early 50's. I adopted her about 10 years ago. She really is my favorite of the 3 I have. She is a lot of fun, very curious and friendly. That's her in my avatar.


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## tortoisenerd (Jul 19, 2009)

She's gorgeous!


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## LBSKUNK (Jul 23, 2009)

Love her!


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## Nay (Jul 23, 2009)

Shelly, Beautiful!! 
Is that your picture in the corner called an avatar? How do you put it up, if you please? Thanks Na


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## TKCARDANDCOIN (Jul 23, 2009)

What a beautiful tortoise! I do not have a dessert tortoise but my sulcata is over the 30 pound mark a few months shy of 6 years old.


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## Madortoise (Jul 28, 2009)

Just a perfect avatar. I also want to know how to put that up, if you please.


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## Shelly (Jul 29, 2009)

Madortoise said:


> Just a perfect avatar. I also want to know how to put that up, if you please.



Click on link above that says "USER CP" then click on "Change avatar" link on left side of page..... then upload an image.


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