Tell me about your Sulcata

[Candy]

I would like to hear from the people who own Sulcata's. Tell me the positive things that you've experience owning a Sulcata and the negative things also. And if you have any interesting stories that you could tell about your Sulcata I would love to read about them. Tell me how does it feel to own one. This is not for argument sake this is so I can see how Sulcata owners really feel about owning something so that gets as big as they do. And answer one more question.....would you do it again if given the chance?

 

[shelber10]

having my sulcata i great i never get tired of seeing him he always comes up to me for food they also have great personalities. one thing i dont like is his size and that he makes a lot of messes but i dont mind

 

[Yvonne G]

I didn't buy Dudley, he came to me as a 35lb rescue. The gal who had him also had a female and she was breeding them and selling the babies. I have to keep Dudley as an only child because he doesn't want any other sulcatas in his territory. If he smells a rescue next door to his pen he'll just keep after the separating fence until he has it broken enough to get through.Then if its a female next door, he'll breed her, but if its a male he fights. I've always been there in time to take charge, but I'm sure he would fight to the death.

Having a 100lb tortoise is quite entertaining, providing you have the correct habitat for him. Dudley has a pretty large yard that used to be divided into three pastures, so two could be growing while he grazed on the third. But once he became aware that there was greener grass on the other side, he just keeps knocking the gates down. So he has one big pasture that's fenced funny.

He's very tame and will eat right from my hand. He's a sweet tortoise and is pretty gentle with humans. But its really not a good idea for a 71 year old woman who lives alone to have such a large animal. I have no way to take him to the vet. Its an extremely hard job to move him by myself.

I would say that 95% of the time, Dudley takes care of himself. I have provided him the heat and shelter, the pastures and safety. The rest is up to him.

 

[chandlerledray]

I love having sulcatas. They are a complete joy to be around and are so interesting.

I got franklin for my birthday when he was a baby and he is now 2 and a half years old.
He crawls up his little log house thing and slides down it face first like he's going down a water slide, it's the funniest thing in the world. At first I was a bit nervous about it but after a while I thought hey if he keeps doing it over and over and over again it must not hurt him!! He is so sweet and runs around my room all the time. A while back I took frankie outside so he could have some 'sun time' and a came back three min later and he was gone. I searched everywhere for him and couldnt find him. My boyfriend felt horrible and got me a baby sulcata, who I named peanut. yet at the same time no one could replace franklin. the next day I went outside to look for him and he was sitting right where I left him!!!! I was so happy to have him back. He's a little adventurer. And now every time he goes outside I keep all eyes on him!

Peanut and frankie are best friends and peanut whose much smaller sits on franks shell and franklin takes him for rides around my room its shilarious!

Having sulcatas can be quite a joy!

 

[Candy]

having my sulcata i great i never get tired of seeing him he always comes up to me for food they also have great personalities. one thing i dont like is his size and that he makes a lot of messes but i dont mind

Well Shelber he is adorable. He looks like he has tons of personality. Thanks for sharing about him.

---

I didn't buy Dudley, he came to me as a 35lb rescue. The gal who had him also had a female and she was breeding them and selling the babies. I have to keep Dudley as an only child because he doesn't want any other sulcatas in his territory. If he smells a rescue next door to his pen he'll just keep after the separating fence until he has it broken enough to get through.Then if its a female next door, he'll breed her, but if its a male he fights. I've always been there in time to take charge, but I'm sure he would fight to the death.

Having a 100lb tortoise is quite entertaining, providing you have the correct habitat for him. Dudley has a pretty large yard that used to be divided into three pastures, so two could be growing while he grazed on the third. But once he became aware that there was greener grass on the other side, he just keeps knocking the gates down. So he has one big pasture that's fenced funny.

He's very tame and will eat right from my hand. He's a sweet tortoise and is pretty gentle with humans. But its really not a good idea for a 71 year old woman who lives alone to have such a large animal. I have no way to take him to the vet. Its an extremely hard job to move him by myself.

I would say that 95% of the time, Dudley takes care of himself. I have provided him the heat and shelter, the pastures and safety. The rest is up to him.

Well Yvonne Dudley sounds like a very macho kind of tortoise that knows what he wants and go and gets it. He's lucky that he found his home with you.

---

I love having sulcatas. They are a complete joy to be around and are so interesting.

I got franklin for my birthday when he was a baby and he is now 2 and a half years old.
He crawls up his little log house thing and slides down it face first like he's going down a water slide, it's the funniest thing in the world. At first I was a bit nervous about it but after a while I thought hey if he keeps doing it over and over and over again it must not hurt him!! He is so sweet and runs around my room all the time. A while back I took frankie outside so he could have some 'sun time' and a came back three min later and he was gone. I searched everywhere for him and couldnt find him. My boyfriend felt horrible and got me a baby sulcata, who I named peanut. yet at the same time no one could replace franklin. the next day I went outside to look for him and he was sitting right where I left him!!!! I was so happy to have him back. He's a little adventurer. And now every time he goes outside I keep all eyes on him!

Peanut and frankie are best friends and peanut whose much smaller sits on franks shell and franklin takes him for rides around my room its shilarious!

Having sulcatas can be quite a joy!

Well Franklin and peanut are very beautiful Sulcata's and we're so happy you found us to help you take the best care of them that you can. I'm hoping that Peanut is feeling better soon so him and Franklin can get back to playing together.

 

[Isa]

What an interesting thread! Thanks for starting it Candy

 

[Jacqui]

What an interesting thread! Thanks for starting it Candy

I agree!

I wanted a sulcata for years, but always talked myself out of it. Nebraska is not the best place to be raising them with our winters forcing them to spend a great deal of time inside. I would go to a reptile show and see these adorable hatchlings and be oh so tempted. Then I would think, no you need to wait and get a rescue one that actually needs a home. I would hear the horror stories and listen to the folks who would say nobody in the midwest could give them a proper home. Of course most of the rescues I would have asked for a sulcata from, would never adopt to me even if I did fill out the paperwork, because of where I lived. So I just sat and had jealous moments.

I began to really get an itch to try having one again and even had started daydreaming where to put one, how to fix up homes, ect.., One day, Yvonne posted this thread about a little sulcata she got in. He was so beautiful with his unique scute pattern, I just really wanted him. I bit the bullet and asked Yvonne if she would consider letting me adopt him. I really expected her to send me a polite note saying something like, "Thanks for your interest, but I won't adopt one to you." Shockingly, she didn't. Instead she allowed my the honor and privilege of keeping this little guy.

Tilman has a very under bite (his lower jaw sticks out more then the top one), so his jaws don't line up as they should. This means he can't bite down on his food enough to bite thru it and it also won't allow his beaks to be wore down naturally. What happens if you feed him a hunk of greens larger then a bite, is often he will swallow it whole. If it's too long, part will hang out of his mouth, while the other half is already swallowed and down his throat.

Most of his food is chopped fine, but to get him use to having to eat more solid, natural length foods, he gets those kinds too. We just have to watch him. Someday hopefully he will get to the point where with proper growth and beak trims, his bite might become good again.

Tilman is sweet and so much fun to watch him in his enclosures. He is still tiny, so no horror stories about that...yet. He's not friendly like most sulcatas, well he is until you go to touch or pick him up. I think he is afraid your going to have to pull a piece of long food out of his mouth/throat/stomach and he doesn't like that (neither do I).

My biggest problem with Tilman is he is small. In all my dreams and plans, I thought large. I knew where various large pens for him could be and had plans for his large house, but never thought out where to house a baby. So silly me, I kept wishing and a hoping for him to hurry and grow. I did come to my senses and became glad he was so very small....then Dee asked if I would take in two of her boys.

All three of her boys started showing themselves as boys and with one female, she thought things would get worse in the future. I had meet these guys and quickly agreed. It took months to get to Dee's to get them. Boy had they grown since I had saw them last!

We walked up to where they were grazing and I had this "Oh goodness, what have I gotten myself into?" moment. I mean I had saw Dudley and so visually saw how big they get (and I think that is important, to actually see an adult, not just read about them). It was more this reality moment of this is going to be mine to take care, to protect, to keep housed right, ect.., For a minute, I think I was almost over whelmed by it all.

The trip home with them took a couple of weeks and they were fun...and a pain. There is really not a lot of room in a semi truck's cab. We had two large humans, two dogs, and two large tubs each with a medium sized sulcata.

Trying to find places to let them out to run around, was a bit of a pain, especially places without trash (like cig butts) for them to try to eat. We spent one day in a repair shop and they let us use their front lawn. I learned that if you let two sulcatas out to exercise, they will each take off in opposite directions, they can move fast when they desire too, and that standing in front of one will not stop their forward motion, instead they plow over you. I also learned how with each time of bending over and picking them up to redirect them, they become heavier and heavier.

I had never had a large tortoise do that quick pull into the shell thing that produces the hissy sound. That shocked me. Then there is this little dance like movement where one will sarta make these forward movements, but not actually move (more like reeving up his engine before taking off). And eat, boys does food disappear in front of them!

I really love how the boys will stop whatever they do and coming running to see you. They love attention more then any other tortoise I have ever had.
March, the woman who care for my critters, was not a turtle/tortoise person. She thinks my shells are cute and pretty, but didn't really fall for them. Then came the boys. Those two charmed her in minutes.

There is just something magical to me about any of the large tortoises, that the smaller ones don't have. My first love of shells came from the Galaps in our local zoo as a child and that sense of wonder and awe has never left me.

I look forward to the years to come as they grow bigger, as they become more difficult due to size and strength, as they hopefully force me to keep up with their wants and needs and to grow along with them. I can't wait to find out what life is like, when they become large and yes feel free in the years to come to remind me of these foolish and stupid thoughts.

 

[Candy]

What an interesting thread! Thanks for starting it Candy

I thought it would make a good thread too Isa. Thanks.



Jacqui, that was a great story I loved it, but now have a question. How big is Tilman (love his name) now (pounds) and how big are your two boys? Plus now we need to see pictures of them all.

 

[Stephanie Logan]

Yes! Photos to go with this great story, please!

 

[Maggie Cummings]

I have one word....BOB

That gives an idea of what it's like to have Bob...

 

[Yvonne G]

In the last picture Bob wants to go bye bye.

 

[Stephanie Logan]

Aaawwww...where would the forum be without Bob?

Trying to climb the fence, role modeling for his pen buddy, posing sweetly for F.G.'s camera, splashing in the mud puddle, asking for a ride in the wheelbarrow...could he possibly be any cuter or more heartwarming?

Clearly, all those stories Maggie tells about him are gross exaggeration or misunderstandings!

(I love the way his back foot is tucked under in that 2nd-to-last photo--I can just picture a Converse high-top tennie on that foot and a baseball cap perched on his head!)

Is it any wonder we all want a Sulcata like Bob?!

 

[Kayti]

I feel like I'm not qualified to post in this thread because my sulcata weighs less than a kitten!
I'll get back to you all in 10 or 20 years or so.

 

[TylerStewart]

Cute and cuddly.

 

[terryo]

I don't have a Sulcata, so I don't have one thing to add to this thread, except....I LOVE BOB!!!

 

[Candy]

We all love Bob, but Maggie who the little Sulcata in the picture with bob is that the one you had to give up because Bob kept picking on him?

Kayti, I meant everyone who has one. I would love to know how active yours is right now at his/her age. And what kinds of things does he/she do? And are you afraid of how big it's going to get or not?

Tyler who the little girl in that pictures and are those your Sulcata or did you have that picture take for your business? Either way those are some beautiful big guys. And I'm also curious do they bite or are you afraid of them biting when they're that size or not?

 

[Yvonne G]

Those are beautiful, Tyler. Did you raise them up from babies? I wish Dudley was that smooth.

 

[TylerStewart]

Tyler who the little girl in that pictures and are those your Sulcata or did you have that picture take for your business? Either way those are some beautiful big guys. And I'm also curious do they bite or are you afraid of them biting when they're that size or not?

That's my niece, who lives 4 houses down (my brother's daughter). I took the photo. They don't intentionally bite.... The only risk would be if you were feeding them, they might accidentally get your finger if they ate too close to whatever you were feeding them. They have got me a few times trying to handfeed Mazuri, and got my boy once (he cried for a bit). Never really drew blood or anything, they let go pretty quick once they realize it's a finger. My wife has had her red toenails nipped at a few times when she's sitting with her feet in the enclosures talking on the phone. One of these is the one you saw at the Anaheim show last year. I have had some of these for several years. A few I got when they were babies or 5-6" size, others I bought later on as adults. As far as pyramiding goes, it's really all in the first few years that the damage can be done. After about 5" size, mine all live pretty much outside year round here and any new growth has always been smooth that way.

 

[Annieski]

These stories are great and I am in awe of all Sully caretakers. My son and 2 roommates[all Marine Officers, now] graduated U of M in April 2008. "Mortimer"/now to be called Mortisha via blood test confirmation, made the drive[9 1/2 hours] from Michigan to New Jersey weighing only 6.5 oz. Her estimated B-Day was about July/August 2007. Today she weighs 8.5 lbs. and has totally taken over the hearts of anyone who meets her. I broke my leg last January and she was my calming feature during the seven weeks I was on crutches. Because of her my husband learned how to find spring mix, dandelion,and chicory in the food store. We have had some health issues and despite the trips to the vet, she has continued to "grow" not only in size but in my heart. I can't remember what it was like without her here. Would I do it again?---Only if I lived in a state more condusive to her native habitat. I would rather ask my husband to move to another state because of her. I love her.

 

[Jacqui]

You have to be thrilled, when you see those amazingly smooth shells on Tyler's sulcatas.

Here are a couple of pictures of the Boyz eating their breakfast hay and greens. I started to say how they treat their greens like it's candy, but then started thinking and I believe they treat all food as if it's candy. Even boring dry hay (when the better candies are gone. ). I was amazed at how they made pumpkin disappear like some magic slight of hand...err...mouth.

As to their size, I never weighed them and I am not sure how long ago Dee did. Jeff guesses them at 20-25 and I would have said around 20 lbs.

When my son first came back from college, after they arrived, I asked him how the little boys in the room were doing. He texted back that he didn't see any, only these two big tortoises were in there. I texted back those ARE babies. With his next text, it was something showing shock that those are just babies. I think he still has problems believing Tilman is going to get big like that.

I almost forgot to say they do have real names: Juno and Tanga.