Introducing Andrea!

[sienna.lynne]

Andrea is my 14 year old sulcata tortoise! I got him when I was 5 years old and now I'm almost 20! i realize Andrea is a really unfortunate name for a male tortoise but I was five and named him before we knew his sex. I would have changed his name but it was too late and he was already responding to Andrea so we kept it. my dad and I have taken great pride in him the past 14 years and can't wait for the years to come.

Just a warning to those who have sulcatas in outdoor pens in their back yards... Andrea is known for running away! Make sure you have good pens for them and you close the gate tightly when you leave the backyard!

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi sienna.lynne and welcome to the Forum!

I'm curious about appx. where you live. Your tortoise has grown so smoothly and I'm wondering if it was your climate that helped him grow that way.

 

[wellington]

Hello and Welcome I was thinking the same thing as emysemys. Very nice looking smooth tort. Not many that size are so smooth. Great job.

 

[omgdoubletacos]

He's beautiful! I have a baby sully that is about 6 months old! As far as the name goes, couldn't you call him André and him still respond?

 

[Tom]

Hello and welcome. What an awesome story. Just think ahead a few decades when you will be able to tell your grandchildren all about him. How cool will that be?

Your tortoise has rub marks on the carapace and is covered in dirt. (Both awesome things for a sulcata.) Does he have a burrow? I see Palm trees in your pics, so I'm going to guess Florida or SoCal. Given the unusually good smoothness, I'm leaning toward Florida or Louisiana. And I'm going to bet that your tortoise has lived outside for most of its life too. Please fill us in. Am I right?

 

[Dizisdalife]

Andrea is a handsome devil. I like your story about getting him when you were 5 years old. My son bought a sulcata for his 4 year old daughter and then they moved into an apartment and couldn't keep him any more. That was about 2 years ago and Chuck (my sulcata) has lived with me ever since. Some day my grand-daughter will take over as Chuck's keeper.

 

[sienna.lynne]

alright so I live in Phoenix, Arizona so it is a very hot dry climate for most of the year! Andrea has been living outside since he was about 4 years old so yeah most of his life! He he does have some rubbing and scratches on the top of his shell due to the fact that he has dug a large burrow in our yard that we attempted to measure once and with a 20 foot measuring tape we still didn't reach the bottom. there is loose dirt all over our backyard due to it!

 

[mainey34]

He is so handsome. And such warming eyes..you have done a great job with him...

 

[Jacqui]

He is great! Glad you have joined us here.

 

[Carol S]

Welcome. He sure is a handsome guy. He has such a sweet expression.

 

[DeanS]

Funny! I was going to guess AZ. It seems the best-looking sullies come from AZ, CA or FL! He is gorgeous...have you considered dropping the last 'a' and just call him Andre'...you've been so accommodating to this point...could you do one last thing? Let us know his SCL...I'm guessing about 30"...thanks again and WELCOME! You're gonna have a lot of fun here!

 

[Katherine]

Andrea is beautiful, you have done very well for him

 

[Dizisdalife]

alright so I live in Phoenix, Arizona so it is a very hot dry climate for most of the year! Andrea has been living outside since he was about 4 years old so yeah most of his life! He he does have some rubbing and scratches on the top of his shell due to the fact that he has dug a large burrow in our yard that we attempted to measure once and with a 20 foot measuring tape we still didn't reach the bottom. there is loose dirt all over our backyard due to it!

Beautiful, and has a personality too.

 

[KingInCulver]

Andrea is AWESOME! i can't believe you got him when you were 5 - that is such a great story! do you have pictures of his burrow too?