New addition..

[Tony the tank]

Well this morning I saw an ad for a female sulcata...answered the ad... And got a call..drove the two hrs to see the animal...and to my surprise the animal was as described... 60lbs+ female sulcata perfectly smooth... He explained to me he has had the animal for 4 yrs but do to a dispute with the neighbors he had to get rid of some of his animals...(6 lg sulcatas,and over a 100 ducks)... So a deal was made and I was on my way..

Here is a question... As I was loading her in the truck..he tells me she is gravid..... (As she has laid 4 clutches this yr...) and when I saw her she was backed up into a hole she had dug against the the foundation of his house...So how do I confirm if she is gravid..Is there anything I should look for..is there anything special I have to do for her??... He really didn't seem that knowledgeable about sulcatas.. Since he told me he feeds them mostly apples and they occasionally eat the ducks pelleted food..

Any suggestions??

 

[Torty Mom]

You can take her in for an xray, sounds like a change of diet is in order too! No doubt you are already all over that! How fun to get a new tort, and very cool of you to take in a big one!!!

Forgot to say, do you have an area where you can loosen up the dirt for her, so if she tries to dig a hole she can?

 

[coreyc]

Congrat's were's the pic's ?

 

[Tony the tank]

I have hay in the enclosure now.. I could change it out for some dirt... Really didn't want to do that... But if it's necessary I will do it...

Will post pics as soon as I figure out how to using my iPad app..

 

[Maggie Cummings]

OMG! How can people,have an animal and not know how to care for them??? That makes me so mad. I don't know much about gravid females. It seems like she was backed into a nest possibly getting ready to drop her eggs. I would say to make sure she has a place to make a nest and leave her be. Are you going to want the eggs to hatch? If not smash them in the first 24 hours after laying, then they are not little turtles yet. It would be the best idea to destroy the eggs. We really don't want anymore homeless Sulcata running around and filling up the rescues. but others will have different ideas.

I forgot to say you need to quarantine her for 3 to 6 months. You really don't want her making your resident animals sick. So you need to keep them separate. I think that is really important...

 

[Tony the tank]

Maggie.. She is in pen with a heat mat and UVB lighting... So I'll quarantine her for a month or two...but I'm running out of room untill I can rehome the other female..


Here are a few pics...I don't want to move her around to much as she appears really stressed and shoved herself into a corner

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[Laura]

she needs to be outside to dig a hole to nest.. moving her while laying prob stressed her out.. i hope she does ok... let her be, keep her warm,, make sure she can soak and drink...
good save!

 

[Tony the tank]

The only issue is that he has 5 more he's desperate to rehome them and he needs them gone ASAP..... As the neighbor keeps calling the local pd on him... Since his animals wander...(he also has a huge sientific america incubator he is giving away... The thing looks new... But it's almost the size of a refrigerator)

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi Hector:

I know the weather isn't ideal right now for her to be outside, but that's what she needs so she can finish digging her nest. Once she decides on the spot, you can position a heat/light/CHE over her to keep her warm and just let her do her thing.

 

[FADE2BLACK_1973]

Congrats on the big smooth shelled female . From what I could tell from trhe pics, she looks really good from someone who said he did not know much about sulcata's even though he had more then one and she looked that good. I think he was just pulling your leg. Wanted to sell her really bad so to say something silly like that to get her sold..lol.

 

[Tony the tank]

What's the most humane way of destroying the eggs?? If she does have them?? ..is smashing them the only way?? Won't they just die with the cold temp??


If I put her outside will she start nesting right away?? How do I know where to set up the heat lamps ...

Also the seller gave me a rather lg stanfield heat mat when I was leaving.... Can I place that outside for her to go to to warm up while she is digging??

 

[JLSchmittou]

The only issue is that he has 5 more he's desperate to rehome them and he needs them gone ASAP..... As the neighbor keeps calling the local pd on him... Since his animals wander...(he also has a huge sientific america incubator he is giving away... The thing looks new... But it's almost the size of a refrigerator)

I was gonna say, she doesn't look like she's been mistreated... She looks beautiful. We're his other torts in similar shape??

 

[CtTortoiseMom]

Congrats!! She is beautiful!

 

[Tony the tank]

No he showed me the receipt came from someone in Arizona..He showed me the shipping crate and the receipt..he paid 1500 for her 2006..So she was already a adult when he got her...He even stated.. His passion are the ducks..he has a huge green house with a pond .. Where he keeps his ducks and 2 peacock ...

And the worst part..is he had a 2 foot high pile of rotting apples the sulcatas were eating...

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The only issue is that he has 5 more he's desperate to rehome them and he needs them gone ASAP..... As the neighbor keeps calling the local pd on him... Since his animals wander...(he also has a huge sientific america incubator he is giving away... The thing looks new... But it's almost the size of a refrigerator)

I was gonna say, she doesn't look like she's been mistreated... She looks beautiful. We're his other torts in similar shape??

The males were pyramided. And another female had a burnt shell... From a heat lamp.... He couldn't find one of the females..so she thinks she might of escaped..

 

[JLSchmittou]

People are weird.. Paying $1500 for one tort when the ducks are the passion... Weird... Just weird.. And then he lost one..?? She might be pregnant... She might not... Weeeee-ierd

 

[Yvonne G]

You wait until she finds a spot and starts digging. Then you position the light over her.

 

[FADE2BLACK_1973]

No he showed me the receipt came from someone in Arizona..He showed me the shipping crate and the receipt..he paid 1500 for her 2006..So she was already a adult when he got her...He even stated.. His passion are the ducks..he has a huge green house with a pond .. Where he keeps his ducks and 2 peacock ...

And the worst part..is he had a 2 foot high pile of rotting apples the sulcatas were eating...

---

The only issue is that he has 5 more he's desperate to rehome them and he needs them gone ASAP..... As the neighbor keeps calling the local pd on him... Since his animals wander...(he also has a huge sientific america incubator he is giving away... The thing looks new... But it's almost the size of a refrigerator)

I was gonna say, she doesn't look like she's been mistreated... She looks beautiful. We're his other torts in similar shape??

The males were pyramided. And another female had a burnt shell... From a heat lamp.... He couldn't find one of the females..so she thinks she might of escaped..

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Oh then that changes my ideas on that note then...

 

[Tony the tank]

People are weird.. Paying $1500 for one tort when the ducks are the passion... Weird... Just weird.. And then he lost one..?? She might be pregnant... She might not... Weeeee-ierd

To each his own...He seemed like a really nice guy.A little eccentric.... He had four 10 ft tall bannana tree in huge pots growing in a empty room..... And quite the elaborate enclosure for his Ducks , peacocks and some really strange looking birds from Africa...

 

[ALDABRAMAN]

 

[Zamric]

geesh, sounds like a crazy soap-opra!