Common to find sulcatas wandering in Texas?

[Eden Animal Sanctuary]

Hey all,

I was hoping someone could point me in the right direction-I was concerned about how common it is for sulcatas to be found wandering around wild in Texas? I am more familiar with the owner surrender situation, but not real knowledgeable about these kinds of statistics. I have heard so many stories of folks finding them wandering outdoors, also situations where they are picked up as strays. Anyone?

 

[wellington]

I'm not from Texas, but do know they of course are not native to Texas or this country. They are however very good escape artist and I would imagine some people are dumb enough to just let them go once they get too big. If anyone does find one, they first should try and the rightful owner before just keeping it.

 

[dmmj]

I cannot speak for Texas but here in California, it is becoming more and more common to find them out in the desert

 

[tglazie]

I live in Texas, and yeah, it's fairly common. I once fostered a female, years ago, that was such an animal. She was about thirty five pounds, and some gentleman found her plastron deep in his wife's geraniums. He took her to a mutual friend who keeps snakes, who then brought her to me after unsuccessfully flyering the neighborhood, and I adopted her out in the space of a few weeks. I think a combination of factors leads to sulcatas escaping, but most of it, I figure, is ignorance on the part of novice keepers concerning secure fencing. Once sullies get big enough, they will easily plow through barriers that held them as babies. I think many people simply underestimate the power of these animals. I know I did that day back in 2001 when my old sully Jerry (God rest him) pushed aside a wall of staked cinder blocks to help himself to the vegetable garden. That which he didn't eat, he smashed into compost. After this, I doubled the cinder wall and applied multiple, tall stakes to keep him from overcoming the wall a second time. I found myself having to constantly reinforce it until I finally decided to use some mortar and cement to ensure a degree of permanence. Folks often underestimate the sheer power and tenacity of these stubborn giants.

T.G.

 

[RayRay]

I cannot speak for Texas but here in California, it is becoming more and more common to find them out in the desert

Do you think they will get established?

 

[yillt]

How I wish that we just had tortoises wandering round In England. The only tortoises I see are in little pet shops or back yards.

 

[RayRay]

How I wish that we just had tortoises wandering round In England. The only tortoises I see are in little pet shops or back yards.

Dont let your dreams be just dreams. Start breeding lots of cold hardy ones and start releasing them en mass

 

[dmmj]

Do you think they will get established?

it's an outside possibility I will admit. But for the most part the winters in the desert here in California are just too cold for the average African tortoise.

 

[SarahChelonoidis]

Dont let your dreams be just dreams. Start breeding lots of cold hardy ones and start releasing them en mass

Don't actually do this...

 

[dmmj]

Don't actually do this...

there go all my plans.

 

[yillt]

Dont let your dreams be just dreams. Start breeding lots of cold hardy ones and start releasing them en mass

Hmm. I may be put into prison. But at least everyone else will be able to enjoy the phenomenon

 

[ALDABRAMAN]

~ I can say very common in Florida!

 

[enchilada]

i just wish one day radiata can establish a wild population in US lol

 

[W Shaw]

The path that eventually led me to rescuing Ronan started with finding a 45 pound Sulcata in the woods beside a creek, near the Canadian border -- in November. Turned out his owner had been looking for him for 3 months. He couldn't have wandered to where he was, so I theorized at the time that he got out of his summer yard (which he'd done before) and someone spotted him on the road and thought he was a turtle, so they did what any well-meaning, but ignorant person would have done --- got him off the road and drove him to the nearest wooded park with a nice creek, and carried him to a little secluded bend of the creek not far from the parking lot but well off the trail where he wouldn't be "bothered." It's what I refer to as being "rescued to death." Happens to a lot of wild critters. He just got lucky in that my sister and I were short on time that day and decided, instead of walking the trail, to just go off into that little secluded area to take photos of some wild ducks. And, although I'd never seen a Sulcata before, I was savvy enough to recognize that he was one of the desert species and had to be a released pet, so I packed him out.

 

[RayRay]

The path that eventually led me to rescuing Ronan started with finding a 45 pound Sulcata in the woods beside a creek, near the Canadian border -- in November. Turned out his owner had been looking for him for 3 months. He couldn't have wandered to where he was, so I theorized at the time that he got out of his summer yard (which he'd done before) and someone spotted him on the road and thought he was a turtle, so they did what any well-meaning, but ignorant person would have done --- got him off the road and drove him to the nearest wooded park with a nice creek, and carried him to a little secluded bend of the creek not far from the parking lot but well off the trail where he wouldn't be "bothered." It's what I refer to as being "rescued to death." Happens to a lot of wild critters. He just got lucky in that my sister and I were short on time that day and decided, instead of walking the trail, to just go off into that little secluded area to take photos of some wild ducks. And, although I'd never seen a Sulcata before, I was savvy enough to recognize that he was one of the desert species and had to be a released pet, so I packed him out.

That reminds me of the people in Florida "saving" the "turtles" in the sand dunes near the beaches that are actually endangered tortoises not sea turtles, and putting them into the ocean

 

[dmmj]

stupid people can be dangerous

 

[deadheadvet]

The biggest issue which is now problematic in the CT is the spread of disease from animals kept in captivity released into the wild. Mycoplasma agazizii is found in a lot of wild tortoises. That could be easily duplicated in the release of animals that may not be healthy.

 

[sibi]

MA is a nasty disease! I had my sullies tested for it to ease my mind. My heart sinks just thinking about how sulcatas are exposed to cold, dangerous environments.

 

[W Shaw]

That reminds me of the people in Florida "saving" the "turtles" in the sand dunes near the beaches that are actually endangered tortoises not sea turtles, and putting them into the ocean

EEK!

 

[Maggie Cummings]

I live in Texas, and yeah, it's fairly common. I once fostered a female, years ago, that was such an animal. She was about thirty five pounds, and some gentleman found her plastron deep in his wife's geraniums. He took her to a mutual friend who keeps snakes, who then brought her to me after unsuccessfully flyering the neighborhood, and I adopted her out in the space of a few weeks. I think a combination of factors leads to sulcatas escaping, but most of it, I figure, is ignorance on the part of novice keepers concerning secure fencing. Once sullies get big enough, they will easily plow through barriers that held them as babies. I think many people simply underestimate the power of these animals. I know I did that day back in 2001 when my old sully Jerry (God rest him) pushed aside a wall of staked cinder blocks to help himself to the vegetable garden. That which he didn't eat, he smashed into compost. After this, I doubled the cinder wall and applied multiple, tall stakes to keep him from overcoming the wall a second time. I found myself having to constantly reinforce it until I finally decided to use some mortar and cement to ensure a degree of permanence. Folks often underestimate the sheer power and tenacity of these stubborn giants.

T.G.

OMGosh! Bob and I did the same thing. How funny. He knocked over a 4 high cinderblock fence with T-posts in for support. He ate 10 or so rose bushes, or squashed'em, then squashed the veggie garden. Gotta love'em tho.......