More then 1

[Bobbyott]

who has more then one sulcata? Pros and cons of owning more then 1. I have the opportunity to get another one from the same person I have got my current one from. I can get it at a really good price, it is the brother or sister of mine. What should I do!!!!

 

[Robertchrisroph]

I will always say no. I have rescued them from family's that have two. Very rare they live together peaceful. Unless you have acres lol. Good luck

 

[BILBO-03]

If you have two enclosures it would be fun but I wouldn't house them together

 

[Speedy-1]

If you have the room it can be done .

 

[Bobbyott]

I'll stick with one.

 

[Tom]

I have more than one. I have 7. They are divided into two enclosures with one male per enclosure.

Housing them as a pair would be a bad idea.

Having two separate enclosures would be great.

 

[Bobbyott]

I'd have to house them together and if that's not a good idea, then I'll have to stick with one. The one she has left is the Runt of the litter. And he/she is just so darn cute lol

 

[Robertchrisroph]

So cute

 

[Robertchrisroph]

You should put that picture in contest for calender

 

[saginawhxc]

I recently took on a pair of 5 year old siblings that have been housed together from the beginning. Previous owner said there was no sign of bullying yet. So I set them up temporarily together and there wasn't any bloodshed or actual fighting, but I absolutely saw the need to separate them. There were definitely signs of bullying. So now they live separated from each other. Now neither has the room to roam that they previously had, nor do they even have the room they deserve. Their home situation is much improved from where it was, but I'm probably already looking at finding one of these guys a quality home. All because somebody got a pair.

I'm glad you took the general advice here against two being kept together. My story will only end with passing on a tortoise to a new and better home, others have ended their stories of pairs much worse.

 

[saginawhxc]

Oh, i forgot to mention that they were also sulcatas.

 

[Bobbyott]

It's not mine, the people I got my sulcata from have that on left and it's the runt. They ask if I wanted it but if I can't put 2 in a enclosure it won't work for me. This is Larry he's mine

 

[saginawhxc]

Well I think you are making the right decision for Larry. He looks awesome and I wouldn't want to put him at risk.

 

[Bobbyott]

That's exactly what I was thinking, I wouldn't want to cut down on Larrys roaming room and housing. As much as I would love to take it , I'm not. The perso who has this on is in Delaware if anyone is interested I'll pass on the information.

 

[Speedy-1]

I recently took on a pair of 5 year old siblings that have been housed together from the beginning. Previous owner said there was no sign of bullying yet. So I set them up temporarily together and there wasn't any bloodshed or actual fighting, but I absolutely saw the need to separate them. There were definitely signs of bullying. So now they live separated from each other. Now neither has the room to roam that they previously had, nor do they even have the room they deserve. Their home situation is much improved from where it was, but I'm probably already looking at finding one of these guys a quality home. All because somebody got a pair.

I'm glad you took the general advice here against two being kept together. My story will only end with passing on a tortoise to a new and better home, others have ended their stories of pairs much worse.

we were at the reptile show and all the Sully hatchlings were being sold with a 1 for $ 40 or 2 for $75 discounted rate ! As if they were "cheaper by the dozen" !
My wife spent part of the day dragging me away from booths where people were being blatantly lied to as far as how big they get , how much room do they need etc.
I know that's the way things are , and I don't guess it will change anytime soon . Like they say "Caveat emptor" or "let the buyer beware" pretty much the way it is !

 

[Tom]

we were at the reptile show and all the Sully hatchlings were being sold with a 1 for $ 40 or 2 for $75 discounted rate ! As if they were "cheaper by the dozen" !
My wife spent part of the day dragging me away from booths where people were being blatantly lied to as far as how big they get , how much room do they need etc.
I know that's the way things are , and I don't guess it will change anytime soon . Like they say "Caveat emptor" or "let the buyer beware" pretty much the way it is !

That is odd. When I listen in at reptile shows, I hear them accurately describing the adult size, space and food requirements. They usually mention the digging and destruction too. The care and diet info is usually wrong, but I've yet to hear any seller lie about the size.

I wonder what the difference is? I know that this happens, I just haven't seen it myself, even though I hear other people talk about it.

I make sure all of my buyers know what they are getting into and suggest they not buy one if they are unsure and need to think it over or do more research. I try to get them to come here and read some threads. I've refused sales before. People in apartments, kids whose parents didn't really know what they were getting into, people that were going to keep them in a 10 gallon with reptile carpet. I've spent my whole animal career talking people out of buying animals that were wrong for them or that they were not prepared to care for properly. I can't tell you how many people came to buy a hatchling sulcata that they intended to turn loose in their back yard with no heat or housing. If people don't want to answer my questions, or if they get annoyed with my questions, they can buy their tort from someone who doesn't care. If they don't answer my questions correctly, I'll give them time to get the right stuff. I've been pleasantly surprised at how many people actually get the right stuff, set it all up and then call me back.

 

[Speedy-1]

That is odd. When I listen in at reptile shows, I hear them accurately describing the adult size, space and food requirements. They usually mention the digging and destruction too. The care and diet info is usually wrong, but I've yet to hear any seller lie about the size.

I wonder what the difference is? I know that this happens, I just haven't seen it myself, even though I hear other people talk about it.

I make sure all of my buyers know what they are getting into and suggest they not buy one if they are unsure and need to think it over or do more research. I try to get them to come here and read some threads. I've refused sales before. People in apartments, kids whose parents didn't really know what they were getting into, people that were going to keep them in a 10 gallon with reptile carpet. I've spent my whole animal career talking people out of buying animals that were wrong for them or that they were not prepared to care for properly. I can't tell you how many people came to buy a hatchling sulcata that they intended to turn loose in their back yard with no heat or housing. If people don't want to answer my questions, or if they get annoyed with my questions, they can buy their tort from someone who doesn't care. If they don't answer my questions correctly, I'll give them time to get the right stuff. I've been pleasantly surprised at how many people actually get the right stuff, set it all up and then call me back.

I don't know Tom , I guess the short answer is the people I saw were in it for the profit ? I have been on the forum a relatively short time , and would love to have a $ for every "should I buy one or two" post I have read . Sadly I saw a lot of people being convinced that 2 is a better deal than 1 !

 

[saginawhxc]

I think the turn this discussion is taking illustrates perfectly that there are those out there who just want the sale and there are those who genuinely care about the animals.

 

[Maggie Cummings]

I currently have 3 sulcata, ages 2 yrs and under. Most of you know my 125 lb. sulcata died a year ago. Anyway, here's my story.

Each sulcata has it's own inside housing and outside pen. I operate a small special needs turtle and tortoise rescue, so I have other species as well. My outside pens are made out of cinderblock, easy to move pen or make new. So one day a month or so ago, I put an 8 yr old male adult of another species out in his pen. The 2 yr old sulcata, Sam, was in Bob's shed where he lives. So I go about my business and about an hour later I looked out to see what looked like one tortoise humping a rock. So I went out, and my 8 year old adult male was on his back with blood all over his face and the 2 yr old Sulcata was intent on killing him. He had AB on his back and was on top of him biting his face. AB has a broken gular, and open wounds on his face.
Now....a 2 yr old 7 pound Sulcata seriously hurt my AB, and if I had been gone Sam would have killed him, no doubt. And he's only 2!!!! He climbed out of his pen and obviously defended what he thought was his territory. I do not have room for 3 adult Sulcata, don't want 3 adult Sulcata.
My point being, Sam is only 2 and he's already a monster. He's gonna be hard to handle just on his own. And I'm raising his cinderblocks to 2 high.
My advice to the "average" keeper is 1 sulcata is enough trouble. And that comes from experience

Here's Sam and the yearling Pansy, Sam is biting her carapace, they do not stay together