Regarding the 50 lb. Sulcata that was found in my neighborhood; there is someone who is insisting that it is theirs that they lost when he was "little" 10 years ago. They don't have pictures of course and I doubt that it is theirs, but just curious, think it would be possible for a tortoise to "go native" in So Cal and survive 10 years?
How long could a sulcata survive in the wild in SoCal?
- Thread starter Ellie Mae
- Start date
No. Not without a source of heat over winter. Even down in a burrow it is too cold here in our temperate winters. They can sometimes survive in Phoenix with no heat all winter, but not here in most cases. I've heard of some surviving for a winter or two, but they eventually die from the cold.
I doubt it's their tortoise, but I don't see any reason why a large Sulcata couldn't survive in, say, Whittier. Check out http://www.intellicast.com/Local/History.aspx?location=USCA1239 & you'll see that if it burrowed when it got cold, it would do just fine. Just because we're watching them doesn't mean they can't do okay on their own. After 100 million years or so, they're pretty darn hardy!
Ken
Ken
I can see a bigger one living a few years. A cold winter though could kill a sulcata. I rescued one that lived outdoors 5years ish no heat hide or anything and it survicrd. He had a burrow but that's about it . I mean oir winters are mild and the past few years warmer then normal. I would say plausible not likely
Kyle
Kyle
Alexio
Active Member
So now I'm kind of wondering how far south in north america do you go until you reach a place where a sulcata could live outside comfortably year round? Mexico? South america?
(Sorry if this is too off topic)
(Sorry if this is too off topic)
desert tortoise hatchlings survive those predators.
I know people here in AZ who leave their large Sullies outside 24/7/365 with no heat,etc and they do fine. Granted, the tortoises have grown up outside and have a very large network of burrows
Ok, I'm voting for yes. Here's my story:
As you all know, I rescue turtles and tortoises. A few years ago I got a phone call from a gal who found a tortoise. When I went to pick it up she told me that the tortoise came from her neighbor's back yard. The house next door had been vacant for three years. The back yard is totally fenced - with GOOD fence - and no escape areas...no holes under, around or through. So a tortoise found in that back yard had to have been there for over 3 years, ever since the people vacated the house.
Our weather here in the winter averages 40/30 (day/night), with the occasional dip down into the 20's at night (fahrenheit). And guess what, folks...this was a small, softball-sized sulcata.
I'm not saying this was a healthy way for the sulcata to have lived for three winters, but it can (and I'll bet it does) happen.
Uneducated people are releasing their tortoises into the desert all the time. One school of thought was that the mycoplasma infecting and killing the desert tortoises came from released exotic tortoises. Constrictors coming from warm climates get along just fine in Florida and they sometimes have pretty cold nights there.
So, yes, a hardy, healthy sulcata tortoise can live and grow in some areas of SoCal.
As you all know, I rescue turtles and tortoises. A few years ago I got a phone call from a gal who found a tortoise. When I went to pick it up she told me that the tortoise came from her neighbor's back yard. The house next door had been vacant for three years. The back yard is totally fenced - with GOOD fence - and no escape areas...no holes under, around or through. So a tortoise found in that back yard had to have been there for over 3 years, ever since the people vacated the house.
Our weather here in the winter averages 40/30 (day/night), with the occasional dip down into the 20's at night (fahrenheit). And guess what, folks...this was a small, softball-sized sulcata.
I'm not saying this was a healthy way for the sulcata to have lived for three winters, but it can (and I'll bet it does) happen.
Uneducated people are releasing their tortoises into the desert all the time. One school of thought was that the mycoplasma infecting and killing the desert tortoises came from released exotic tortoises. Constrictors coming from warm climates get along just fine in Florida and they sometimes have pretty cold nights there.
So, yes, a hardy, healthy sulcata tortoise can live and grow in some areas of SoCal.
