How do you deal with a very large dead tortoise?

K8E K

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What do you do with a very large (80+ lb) tortoise that dies? This is thankfully totally hypothetical on my end- just curious. Just thinking about the size hole if you were to bury ?
My grandparents were dairy farmers and if a cow died they'd move it to a separate field and leave it for the scavengers, but I can't image that's everyone's solution for a pet that dies ?
 

Maggie3fan

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My Sulcata, Bob, died in 2015. He was 125 lbs. It took me 2 days to dig a big enuf hole for him. I weighed 115, and I'm old. So I dug and dug, rested and dug some more. It was knee deep to me, so I thought it was big enough. I fought to get him into the hole. The top of his carapace was above the hole, but the whole thing was such a nightmare, I just left it temporarily. The next day I went to Home Depot, bought 4 bags of top soil and made a mound. Now, it has sunken in a bit these years later.
 

Yvonne G

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I bury 'em. Took in a very sick 100+lb sulcata once. The hole required for him wasn't all that big.
 

K8E K

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My Sulcata, Bob, died in 2015. He was 125 lbs. It took me 2 days to dig a big enuf hole for him. I weighed 115, and I'm old. So I dug and dug, rested and dug some more. It was knee deep to me, so I thought it was big enough. I fought to get him into the hole. The top of his carapace was above the hole, but the whole thing was such a nightmare, I just left it temporarily. The next day I went to Home Depot, bought 4 bags of top soil and made a mound. Now, it has sunken in a bit these years later.
Sorry about Bob ? and thank you for the response, I had been wondering what people do.
 

ZEROPILOT

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My Sulcata, Bob, died in 2015. He was 125 lbs. It took me 2 days to dig a big enuf hole for him. I weighed 115, and I'm old. So I dug and dug, rested and dug some more. It was knee deep to me, so I thought it was big enough. I fought to get him into the hole. The top of his carapace was above the hole, but the whole thing was such a nightmare, I just left it temporarily. The next day I went to Home Depot, bought 4 bags of top soil and made a mound. Now, it has sunken in a bit these years later.
Sorry you had to do that by yourself, Maggie
 

Lokkje

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The first time one of my horses passed away I had to rent a backhoe to dig a grave for him. It was extremely difficult for me but the next horse that I had in my life that passed I had hauled and I’m sure it was a mass cremation as in I don’t want to think about it but it was a practical solution. I suppose a large tortoise could be the same. There’s hauling services for animals who have passed away. Both solutions were painful and I still have five more horses to think about, but no horse property as I now board. No large tortoises. I’ve always buried my beloved dogs in my backyard but I recently had to move and found out the home were some of my favorite pets were buried was completely flattened and rebuilt and I imagine all their little graves were scattered around and I don’t want to think about that either. It’s really hard when your pets are part of your family and you can’t honor them the way you want to when they pass. I had an Irish wolfhound who passed away who was so large that I ended up having to have her cremated and I ended up not taking the ashes because I found out they just give you a scoop of ashes of a bunch of dogs that were cremated in a big batch. It made me feel really bad because I really loved that dog and I wanted to do something nice for a burial of her ashes. I probably think about it too much but I have a 16-year-old lab and I’m been thinking about what’s going to happen to her. She’s my favorite dog of all time and it’s going to be devastating when I lose her. Wow, I just completely depressed myself.
 

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