These guys are still growing, all of them are over 250 pounds. The 246 pounder (no photo of him here) I mentioned in the other thread was noticeably smaller than these guys so my estimate of 250-265 pounds is conservative. My animals all originate from the Sudan. I've noticed that they get much larger then the commonly seen male Mali tortoises and their descendants. I also notice they are not quite so flattened in appearance (the shell) like the Mali tortoises.
My thoughts on sulcata tortoises are that they are not yard pets. They should not be or recommended to be, housed in the normal backyard furnished with normal backyard accouterments. They should be housed like livestock, with livestock strength fixtures. I don't expose my animals to fences that they can tear apart; if the animal can tear the fence apart, it isn't a good fence, it is a flimsy fence.
I don't expose my animals to sitting benches, screen doors, sheet rock walls, sprinklers & garden hoses, or any other backyard pieces. For example, garden hoses are very dangerous to large tortoises. They can become tangled, while struggling pulling the hose tighter and tighter, strangling themselves or a limb. Putting tortoises in these situations, then blaming, denigrating or gasconading the species after they make contact with this kind of stuff reflects only on the keeper; it has zero to do with the tortoise. That's my two cents and yes, I'm 100 percent correct.
My thoughts on sulcata tortoises are that they are not yard pets. They should not be or recommended to be, housed in the normal backyard furnished with normal backyard accouterments. They should be housed like livestock, with livestock strength fixtures. I don't expose my animals to fences that they can tear apart; if the animal can tear the fence apart, it isn't a good fence, it is a flimsy fence.
I don't expose my animals to sitting benches, screen doors, sheet rock walls, sprinklers & garden hoses, or any other backyard pieces. For example, garden hoses are very dangerous to large tortoises. They can become tangled, while struggling pulling the hose tighter and tighter, strangling themselves or a limb. Putting tortoises in these situations, then blaming, denigrating or gasconading the species after they make contact with this kind of stuff reflects only on the keeper; it has zero to do with the tortoise. That's my two cents and yes, I'm 100 percent correct.
