Sudan Sulcatas (This never gets old...)

Tom

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It was an unusually cool August day with temps only in the 80s. I caught Dad up and walking around. You can see his burrow in the first pic. That is where he spends most of his time in summer. That's why he looks so dirty. I include the pics to show the high dome characteristic of Sudans. You can clearly see it in these pictures. He's only 8 years old and about 80 pounds, so this will become more apparent as time passes.
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Mystic_Queen (Llaria)

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It was an unusually cool August day with temps only in the 80s. I caught Dad up and walking around. You can see his burrow in the first pic. That is where he spends most of his time in summer. That's why he looks so dirty. I include the pics to show the high dome characteristic of Sudans. You can clearly see it in these pictures. He's only 8 years old and about 80 pounds, so this will become more apparent as time passes.
View attachment 302522
View attachment 302523
Beautiful boy.
 

EllieMay

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It was an unusually cool August day with temps only in the 80s. I caught Dad up and walking around. You can see his burrow in the first pic. That is where he spends most of his time in summer. That's why he looks so dirty. I include the pics to show the high dome characteristic of Sudans. You can clearly see it in these pictures. He's only 8 years old and about 80 pounds, so this will become more apparent as time passes.
View attachment 302522
View attachment 302523
Would you take a similiar pic of one of your other Sulcatas that’s not a Sudan??? I’d like to compare them... I’m trying to educate myself!! ?‍♀️
 

BrookeB

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Ok.. this put it in perspective for me! Thank you. I can definitely see the difference now..View attachment 302540
Wow that’s a big difference. I can’t believe I’m going to be lucky enough to have a few of theses guys. And look at how beautiful that are ?... the baby pictures are getting me lol.
 

Tom

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Ok.. this put it in perspective for me! Thank you. I can definitely see the difference now..
It becomes more pronounced with age and size. Here are some pics of older ones that I took at a private facility in AZ. This one is around 250 pounds:
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The owner estimated this one at 380 pounds. The week before I saw this tortoise, I had done a job with Aldabras that were 400+ pounds on a scale, and this sulcata looked bigger to me:
IMG_2758.JPG

These adults came from the facility that I got my babies from. Its physically possible that one of these is the parent of my babies. Not likely, but possible.
 

Tom

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That's crazy! Totally new to me as well. Thanks for the comparison photos. :)

@Tom, are these considered a subspecies or just a kind of separated Sulcata community?
These are just from a different locality than the "normal" sulcatas, and there are some morphological differences. All one species. Similar in this way to the SA leopards compared to "regular" leopards.

As babies and juveniles, I don't know of any obvious difference or way to tell them apart, but at 10-15 years old the normal sulcatas will usually have reached their full size of 100-130 pounds, and these ones just keep growing and growing an growing...

For a few years Dean and I had our doubts about how different they were or weren't, but now its becoming more and more apparent as Gargantua gains size.
 

Oxalis

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These are just from a different locality than the "normal" sulcatas, and there are some morphological differences. All one species. Similar in this way to the SA leopards compared to "regular" leopards.

As babies and juveniles, I don't know of any obvious difference or way to tell them apart, but at 10-15 years old the normal sulcatas will usually have reached their full size of 100-130 pounds, and these ones just keep growing and growing an growing...

For a few years Dean and I had our doubts about how different they were or weren't, but now its becoming more and more apparent as Gargantua gains size.
That is really fascinating to me. I love being able to learn more about torts while checking out adorable baby photos. :cool: Thanks!!
 

EllieMay

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It becomes more pronounced with age and size. Here are some pics of older ones that I took at a private facility in AZ. This one is around 250 pounds:
View attachment 302581
View attachment 302582

The owner estimated this one at 380 pounds. The week before I saw this tortoise, I had done a job with Aldabras that were 400+ pounds on a scale, and this sulcata looked bigger to me:
View attachment 302583

These adults came from the facility that I got my babies from. Its physically possible that one of these is the parent of my babies. Not likely, but possible.
Is it just me or does the color and the texture of the carapace differ as well... even the regal shaped heads look different to me now....?
 

Tom

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Is it just me or does the color and the texture of the carapace differ as well... even the regal shaped heads look different to me now....?
Color varies depending on age, current growth, environment, and individual habits. I have not noticed a color difference between Sudans and regulars.
 

Mimzy2225

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@Markw84 Please chime in with any added info or details I am missing. I'm singling you out because I know your methods are similar to mine, and your attention to detail is unparalleled.
Hello Tom, I have a question about my baby tortoise, I wanted to know about how much is she supposed to eat everyday at a month old? She doesn’t eat much at all and everything I find says about a 1/4 cup a day but she want eat not even half of that and I wanted to make sure that was ok or not?
 

Tom

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This little guy has an unusual anomaly. He's got rough serrations on the sides of his shell. I feel it every time I pick him up in and out of the soak water. Hard to see in the pics, but very noticeable when you touch him. I wonder how these serrations will develop or fade as this one grows.
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BrookeB

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