Largest mainland tortoises

[Tom]

First of all I was told size does not matter, with that being said what about those seychelle tortoise?

You mean the ones from the Seychelle ISLANDS?!!

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Thanks Dean

If we do average weight, here goes

Sulcata.............150 lbs
Asian Mountain....50 lbs (as a species)
Leopards............40 lbs (as a species)
Yellowfoots.........35 lbs

Danny

This seems about right to me too.

 

[stells]

I'm going off topic for just a little bit. Terry says that his dumba** comment was directed towards Kristina. He was saying to KRISTINA that being a smarta** was better than being a dumba** So Maggie took it personal and it wasn't directed towards her. Would have been nice of Terry to come back and reassure Maggie that the comment wasn't directed towards her.

I apologize to Terry for warning him about calling people dumb. It was meant in jest, but taken the wrong way.

Wasn't aimed at Maggie... how come it was Maggie that was quoted then... and Maggies name is at the end of Terry's sentence???

Someone is trying to worm out of it...

 

[Redfoot NERD]

There is no reason anyone should have to interpret a reply on a thread in an open forum.. especially when it's not asked for. And sometimes the explaination isn't accepted anyway.. but here goes just the same.

Maggie told Kristina that nobody likes a smart***

I replied by saying...

"No more than a 'dumb' one Maggie! [ meaning better to be called a smart*** than a dumb*** ]

I happened to think Maggies reply was a little off-color on this 'Open Family-oriented' forum so I also replied with...

You could have 'responded' with ... oooops! or something.. better than what you did.. don't you think?"

Next thing I know we hear from Stells twice here.. and Yvonne thru a PM telling me I'm warned for calling Maggie dumb and then Maggie thru a reply here and then a PM from Maggie telling me how she was so hurt because I called her dumb.. and how rude, etc. I am.

That's how this all came down...... view it as you wish.

How all this got into Larry's thread about the largest mainland tortoises I'll never know.

Can we not ALL have fun on this open forum designed to discuss tortoises?

Terry K

 

[dmmj]

All of this talk of mainland versus islands, after all aren't continents just really really big islands?

 

[Kristina]

No.

 

[Madkins007]

I want to revisit Dan's earlier comment- are we using averages or max. known, and more to my point, if we are using max. numbers, whose are we using?

Not to cast aspersions on any specific measurement offered, it is a little troublesome how often big animals, and even people, do not measure up when measured by professionals.

And if we are using max numbers- should we differentiate between captive and wild? It seems like some species of captive torts can really get huge- the St. Louis Yellow-foots, for example- because of the diet, etc. It feels a little like comparing speeds of cars without differentiating between stock off the line or souped up.

Or, if we are using the 'walking though a door' criteria, then are we really looking for height and width? (Just kidding on this part!)

I think average sizes is more fair in a question like this. If you bought the tortoises as hatchlings, how big would they grow? If you collected a hundred of each in the wild, how big would they tend to be?

 

[Tom]

Amazing how such a simple question can be so difficult to answer.

 

[Yvonne G]

I think average sizes is more fair in a question like this. If you bought the tortoises as hatchlings, how big would they grow? If you collected a hundred of each in the wild, how big would they tend to be?

See? This is what I was trying to get to. The average leopard anyone is able to buy and raise up ISN'T going to get over 30lbs. The average Yellowfoot anyone is able to buy and raise up ISN'T going to get over 20lbs.

Those few examples of huge tortoises are the exception to the rule and the whole species shouldn't be named at that size because of those few "freaks" of nature.