# Why are Sulcata hatchlings so inexpensive?



## Mgridgaway (Aug 15, 2012)

Are they easily bred? Do they lay a lot of eggs?

I've always found it weird that the 3rd largest tortoise in the world is usually one of the cheapest ones you can buy, if not the cheapest.


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## Maggie Cummings (Aug 15, 2012)

They are seriously over bred. Momma tortoise can lay 2 or 3 clutches a year with an average of 20 eggs at a time. The female can retain sperm for about 5 years after breeding...That's about all I know about it...


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## tortadise (Aug 15, 2012)

Well considering they can start producing rather young in comparison to many other species, you can get eggs as early as 9-10 years old maybe earlier. They increase clutch size as they get older. My 13 year old female laid 4 clutches last year a grand total of 118 eggs, 99% hatch rate 100% fertile rate. Then she will begin her egg cycle and start to lay her first clutch all over again starting in december=january. They produce alot of young mainly is the reason, as well as the maturity rate. Take an aldabra or galapagos that a female can maybe start to hit her egg cycle and produce around 25 years old, and the male around 40-50 years old. radiated 18-20 years old, leopards can start maybe around 13 years old, but have much smaller clutches until they are around 16-19 years old. So your sulcatas kinda outweigh most other species, as well as they get huge and people have the desire to get a tortoise, well it needs to get big. My 2 cents anyways.


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## Laura (Aug 15, 2012)

i just looked at Los Angelas craigs list and there are many ads....


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## Tom (Aug 15, 2012)

Mgridgaway said:


> Are they easily bred? Do they lay a lot of eggs?
> 
> I've always found it weird that the 3rd largest tortoise in the world is usually one of the cheapest ones you can buy, if not the cheapest.



Yes and yes. Simple supply and demand.


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## Mgridgaway (Aug 16, 2012)

Well that was explanatory 

Curse my luck living in the mid atlantic! It'd be no fun owning a giant tortoise that has to spend 6 months of the year locked in a shed


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## ALDABRAMAN (Aug 16, 2012)

Tom said:


> *Simple supply and demand. *


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## StudentoftheReptile (Aug 16, 2012)

Ditto what Tom said. Supply and demand.


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## Tom (Aug 16, 2012)

Mgridgaway said:


> Well that was explanatory
> 
> Curse my luck living in the mid atlantic! It'd be no fun owning a giant tortoise that has to spend 6 months of the year locked in a shed



It's a free country. You can move. 

And I think every sulcata would agree with your last sentence too. I wouldn't keep them if I lived somewhere with a frozen winter. Of course, I wouldn't live somewhere with a frozen winter, so it's a pretty moot point.


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## Mgridgaway (Aug 16, 2012)

Tom said:


> Mgridgaway said:
> 
> 
> > Well that was explanatory
> ...



Haha, aside from the no Sulcata part, I love living in Maryland. I love having seasons, I love living near water, and I really enjoy the fact that the worst destructive weather/acts of god we have are the occasional blizzard or hurricane leftovers.


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## GBtortoises (Aug 17, 2012)

All of the above! The first Sulcata baby that I ever bought was 25 years ago. I paid something like $150-$175 for it. At that time there were very few adults in captivity and no one was breeding them yet.


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## clare n (Aug 17, 2012)

I'm in the uk, I paid Â£60 for flo, I think that's about $95 to you guys. It varies here, I've seen them since for up to Â£195.


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## leonardo the tmnt (Aug 17, 2012)

I paid 125$ it was expensive since he had pyramiding already


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## lovelyrosepetal (Aug 17, 2012)

Not all sulcata tortoises are cheap. I saw a baby one at a pet store for $349. I know some tortoises are a lot more expensive but not all sulcatas are real cheap either.


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## StudentoftheReptile (Aug 17, 2012)

lovelyrosepetal said:


> Not all sulcata tortoises are cheap. I saw a baby one at a pet store for $349. I know some tortoises are a lot more expensive but not all sulcatas are real cheap either.



Well, pet store retail is a different ball game than the general reptile market (expos, online classifieds, direct-from-breeder/dealer sales, etc). Retail mark-up is to be expected....on the flip side though, I have seen some fairly cheap baby sulcatas as well. Like I said, pet stores are a crap shoot when it comes to pricing and finding the best deal.

My point is that you are very unlikely to find a normal, hatchling sulcata for sale for more than half of that price at any of the venues I mentioned.


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## Masin (Aug 19, 2012)

These were $75 each. Shocking to turn around and see all these dirty little ones. I couldn't help but break in and roll some over that had flipped. 

View attachment 26484


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