Sulcata Growth

[tortoiseplanet]

Does a sulcata’s growth rate affect its full grown size? I know many factors affect growth rate, but if put under the same conditions will a sulcata that grows faster become larger; and vice versa? Will a sulcata that is born larger become larger?

 

[Tom]

Does a sulcata’s growth rate affect its full grown size? I know many factors affect growth rate, but if put under the same conditions will a sulcata that grows faster become larger; and vice versa? Will a sulcata that is born larger become larger?

No one knows the answer to this question. You can find examples from one end of the spectrum to the other.

 

[tortoiseplanet]

No one knows the answer to this question. You can find examples from one end of the spectrum to the other.

Maybe if someone has raised hatchling(s) to adult hood that weighed the clutch at birth: We could compare the birth size(s) to adult size(s). Therefore we know if it has anything to do with how large they end up.

 

[Tom]

Maybe if someone has raised hatchling(s) to adult hood that weighed the clutch at birth: We could compare the birth size(s) to adult size(s). Therefore we know if it has anything to do with how large they end up.

There are too many variables and not nearly enough reliable data. Genetics, food, weather, climate, housing conditions as a baby and adult, etc… There is just no way to draw reliable conclusions.

You'd have to hatch all sorts of eggs from multiple sources and then raise, feed, and care for them as identically as possible, and then see what you've got at 10, 20 and 30 years. Even then, there are just too many variables. Like individual basking preferences or individual appetites.

 

[tortoiseplanet]

There are too many variables and not nearly enough reliable data. Genetics, food, weather, climate, housing conditions as a baby and adult, etc… There is just no way to draw reliable conclusions.

You'd have to hatch all sorts of eggs from multiple sources and then raise, feed, and care for them as identically as possible, and then see what you've got at 10, 20 and 30 years. Even then, there are just too many variables. Like individual basking preferences or individual appetites.

I have another question, if this is answerable?: Do males grow faster than females, or vice versa? I think if we understand growth rate and birth size we could predict a lot more about a young Sulcata.

 

[Tom]

I have another question, if this is answerable?: Do males grow faster than females, or vice versa? I think if we understand growth rate and birth size we could predict a lot more about a young Sulcata.

Not that I have seen in sulcatas. In SA leopards, the males grow faster initially, but around year 3 or 4, the females hit a growth spurt and catch them. All of my 8 year olds are about the same size. The males might be slightly larger.

Trey, my hatchling female from 2010, outgrew her brother by a third. She would eat every chance she got and never leave leftovers. Tuck would eat half the food and then walk away. In other cases, the males grew faster than the females. From what I have observed with sulcatas, some individuals are just more greedy about the food than others, and this is regardless of the sex.