So far...

[Eric 0223]

Ok, people who read my introduction know about my plans on getting a Sulcata hatchling....Ok so far I have $150 because (since fall is close no one needs there lawn mowed) I sold my Xbox to a friend yesterday for $130 and I already had $20 so yeah...Everything is going good and I am very happy with my progress and I might have Nacho (tortoise) within 2 weeks.

 

[wellington]

Ya, Congrats. Post pics when Nacho arrives

 

[Jacqui]

Sounds good!

 

[Momof4]

How exciting!

 

[Yvonne G]

Good luck, Eric! But how about the cost of all the accouterments that Nacho is going to need? Light, fixtures, substrate, habitat, hiding place, water dish and food dish, plants.

I'm also worried about your support group. Do you have the support of you family to help you in this endeavor?

 

[yellowfoot]

Congratulations! Wish I had the space for a sulcata.

 

[yoda3106]

Good luck, Eric! But how about the cost of all the accouterments that Nacho is going to need? Light, fixtures, substrate, habitat, hiding place, water dish and food dish, plants.

I'm also worried about your support group. Do you have the support of you family to help you in this endeavor?

Very much agree with this!! I'm happy for you and I hope you get your tort soon but you really need to have the funds to help with the running of it all, to keep him happy and more importantly fit and healthy!! You you have it sorted already??

 

[Eric 0223]

Well I decided that I will save up around $200 so that I can buy everything at once since the tortoise is around $90 including the shipping so I will buy the things I need with the rest of the money, but if I do need help with money my parents and I have already agreed that they will pay for it but I will need to pay it back.
I do have quite a few people supporting and my parents are very happy especially since I got rid of my Xbox and a few friends really want to help out so they are "donating" money so that I can still buy more things needed for Nacho. When my birthday comes up any money I get will be towards getting Nacho food and paying back any borrowed money.

 

[Masin]

Well I decided that I will save up around $200 so that I can buy everything at once since the tortoise is around $90 including the shipping so I will buy the things I need with the rest of the money, but if I do need help with money my parents and I have already agreed that they will pay for it but I will need to pay it back.
I do have quite a few people supporting and my parents are very happy especially since I got rid of my Xbox and a few friends really want to help out so they are "donating" money so that I can still buy more things needed for Nacho. When my birthday comes up any money I get will be towards getting Nacho food and paying back any borrowed money.

Good for you,
I like that you're selling things and working toward saving up for Nacho, that says a lot about you.
Make sure that you factor in the supplies needed and do as much homework as possible. We've done a lot of trial and error in our corner and had to tap into more funds then we first thought we would. Glad your folks and friends are willing to lend a hand, especially if (hopefully never!) little Nacho needs a vet visit etc
Good luck and keep plugging away!

 

[Terry Allan Hall]

Not to discourage you in the keeping of a tortoise, but have you considered all the "negatives" in keeping a sulcata at your young age? Because of their eventual size (sometimes 200# or a bit more), they need a fair amount of room, like a backyard, so an apartment won't work, and a lot of rental homes won't allow one (sulcatas are VERY destructive!), so plan on having to be a home owner (an expensive endeavor, particularily when owning a pet than can (and often will) do incredible damage to your home's foundation, burrow under the ground in tunnels that can go 25-30 feet, can literally destroy a chain-link fence in his/her urge to go elsewhere, etc...etc...etc). When you get it, it'll be the size of the ones in the bottom of the pic, but it could be the size of the two in the top in as little as 10 years!

When a sulcata "goes poo", it'll leaves behind "gifts" about as large as a pony's...7 days a week, 365 days a year. And they'll eat EVERYTHING in your yard and still need a lot of veggies from the grocery...they've been descibed as a cow in a shell.

Give this some thought and think about whether a smaller tortoise wouldn't be a wiser choice...you can often find a Russian as inexpensively as a sulcata, and they make a nice pet, and a Hermann's is even better, although for a slightly higher price, because they've got as big a personality as any sulcata, but only get up to 9"-10".

Read up on the adventures of "Bob", and some of the other sullies members own. They're not a pet for everybody!

Hope this helps!

 

[Eric 0223]

I have read and found out many things about these tortoises and right now my parents own our home and we have a back yard quite big and they have even been thinking about buying an even bigger house so that they can put the one we have right now for rent and my brother is already 18 so he and I have decided that we will live here when our parents get the other house. If I read correctly, it takes around 5 years to get them to adult size and in 5 years I will be 18. I don't want this reply to be taken negatively, but I am sure of what I want and I do like the fact that you are concerned. In fact a few days after deciding on getting a tortoise even I was having bad thoughts about this.