Aging a Sulcata?

Yvonne G

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Hi Lisa, and welcome to the Forum!

I think what your asking is how can you tell the age of a baby tortoise???

If he still has a bit of disfigurement in the middle of the bottom shell, he's fairly new out of the egg. Baby sulcatas grow pretty quickly, so if you see new growth between the scutes, he may be upwards of 6 months.

Can you post a picture of the baby?
 

Yvonne G

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Judging from how healed the umbilical area is, I'd say this baby is about a month or two out of the egg. Are you sure it's a sulcata? They usually look like this:

IMG-20110402-00008.jpg
 

vocalisa

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The seller identified it as Sulcata but did comment on the different looking pattern. Do you think it could be something else? Can tortoises cross-breed?
 

G-stars

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Yes some species can cross breed. This one almost looks like a cross between a leopard and sulcata. Ask the breeder if he keeps them together.
 

Yvonne G

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Yes, it does look like a cross between a leopard and a sulcata. If that's the case, you've got something exceptional there. Take good care of it and please keep showing us pictures as it grows. We're all interested in how these crosses look as they get bigger.

The care for both leopard and sulcata is the same, so you can follow Tom's care sheets.
 

vocalisa

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Interesting! Thanks for the info, folks. I called the place where I got it but I don't think they have many clues about what they are selling. It was Petland Orlando South.
 

Tom

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Dean is right. That tiny baby is less than two weeks out of the egg. Very interesting markings. I've had some with similar markings, but not that distinct.

You MUST set it up correctly with warm temps day and night, high humidity, and daily soaks or you could lose it. Please read these:
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/how-to-raise-a-healthy-sulcata-or-leopard-version-2-0.78361/
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/for-those-who-have-a-young-sulcata.76744/
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/hatchling-failure-syndrome.23493/
 

vocalisa

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I will do my best. Thanks. BTW, Tom's hyperlinks are click-able but DeanS, yours are not. Are they still active?
 

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