sulcata X leopard

[Zabbi0]

They are not very frequently available (at least, not openly) in the US, but I have seen them sell for anywhere from ~$550 to ~$3000 and anywhere in between, depending upon size, condition, and if there are morph genes involved. Bill Corwin of reptileodyssey dot com sometimes has them.

Excuse my ignorance but wouldn't they all have morph genes? I'd have to look ito that. They're neat but do they, in fact, have known issues such as the previously stated undergrowth of organs and such? I know you mentioned you had experience with them. Are they healthy for the most
Part or are they a lot more risks and extra care that needs to be provided to them? Thanks for the info looking into your reference now.

 

[Baoh]

They are not very frequently available (at least, not openly) in the US, but I have seen them sell for anywhere from ~$550 to ~$3000 and anywhere in between, depending upon size, condition, and if there are morph genes involved. Bill Corwin of reptileodyssey dot com sometimes has them.

Excuse my ignorance but wouldn't they all have morph genes? I'd have to look ito that. They're neat but do they, in fact, have known issues such as the previously stated undergrowth of organs and such? I know you mentioned you had experience with them. Are they healthy for the most
Part or are they a lot more risks and extra care that needs to be provided to them? Thanks for the info looking into your reference now.

No. You can cross a wild type sulcata and a wild type leopard and the hybrid result has no morph genes. If you cross an ivory sulcata to a leopard, then the hybrid would be heterozygous and carry one copy of a gene for leucism along with one wild type gene at the same position. The first example has no morph genes. The second example does.

No. They do not have known issues as claimed. That person has no experience with these animals. They are healthy and very robust. As healthy as any typical specimen of either parent species would be. The care is no different than that you would provide for a sulcata or leopard. If I ever have to reduce the size of my collection, and I plan to once certain animals transition to key breeder roles in my breeding program, my adult female hybrid would definitely be one of the animals I would retain whether it is as a breeder or simply as a pet. As "giant" pet tortoises go, she is fantastic. Very alert, interactive, reaches a large size, healthy, and attractive. If one has the accommodations to care for a larger tortoise, it is a very nice animal to have. Among my tortoises, I have ivory sulcatas, sulcatas het for ivory, a Sudanese sulcata, an Aldabra, a Burmese black, "giant" yellowfoot tortoises, Western Hermann's tortoises, a marginated female, hypomelanistic cherryheads, a Burmese star, and this hybrid. Out of these, my hybrid is in my top three tortoise pets along with my Aldabra and one of my female ivory sulcatas.

I am curious to see if she can produce offspring with a male ivory sulcata. However, even if that ends up not coming to pass, she is a wonderful pet tortoise.