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Due to my physical condition and my living situation, it is no longer possible for me to continue to care for this sulcata. He's almost 14 years old. I've had him for just about 12 of those 14 years. I didn't have him the first year of his life or about 8 to 10 months in his 2 1⁄2 to 3 1⁄2 year...

A warm place to hang out. Having friends over for dinner. Taking a walk in the woods. Stopping in at the local watering hole. Sitting on the front porch. Every day is an adventure when keeping a sulcata.

Can someone tell me the name of this plant. And, is it okay for my sulcata to munch on it?

A touch of winter has hit Southern California (it won't even get to 60F here today!) and I am wondering how to soak my sulcata. Last winter it was easy. I could bring him inside and put him in the plastic box filled with warm water. Now he is too big for that. Since early summer he has been...

I started the project back in September when faced with housing a a friend's 65 lb. sulcata with no place to put her at night. Chuck (my 35 lb sulcata) needed a bigger house and so I planned to construct a new house for him and use it to house her temporarily. The house is based on Tom's design...

This time of the year in Southern California there is a lot of cactus fruit available. I have found some the have few seeds in them and others that are filled with seeds. The seeds are very hard. I would not want to bite into one. Is it safe for my sulcata to eat these seeds?

I have noticed what seems to be a bit of growth at the back of Chuck's beak. Not sure if this is normal or not. It is on both sides, just more pronounced on his left than on the right.

With temperatures pushing 100 degrees here in Southern California I thought Chuck could use a good soaking. I got out the old kiddie pool we used for an outdoor enclosure a couple of years ago. After cleaning off the dust I picked a shady spot in the yard (near the peach trees, one of Chuck's...

Yesterday I noticed a small injury to Chuck's shell. It looked and felt like the intersection of several scutes was being pushed out. Today it appears larger and I can see that something puhed under the edge of the scute puncturing it. Do I need to take him to the Vet, or is this a common injury...

I have noticed this growing in a few places in my yard. It probably got started from seed that we feed the wild birds. Any help would be appreciated.

Yesterday was a nice day in Southern Cal. The sun was warm and the air temp got just above 60*F. Chuck came out of his box about 10am just to check things out. Soon afterward he found his favorite sunning spot. Once warm enough he checks out his garden for a snack. Along the way...

I have had Chuck for about 2 years now. In that time it seems like every time I make a hide for him the next thing I do is make the door bigger. Last Spring I built a night box for him and he moved outside 24/7. I was positive the box was big enough to last for a couple of years. Here is...

I made this to welcome Chuck back home from the Vet's. It's a crust of Mazuri filled with rehydrated Timothy hay and topped with TNT (nutrients). The recipe calls for 40 grams of Mazuri (lightly soaked) and 25 grams of Timothy hay pellets (soaked very well).

I did not see what happened, but I noticed that Chuck was stopping to rub his eye (right eye only) every few steps he took. When I looked at the eye there was some redness and what looked like a small splinter in the eye area. He wasn't too fond of me holding him so I didn't get a good look to...

I let Chuck out of his pen to roam in the yard. I do this as often as I can. He usually heads over to the fruit trees to see if he can score a fallen peach. Along the way he munches on any dandelion flowers he can find. When he wasn't where I though he should be I searched some of his hides...

Does anyone feed timothy hay pellets to their sulcata? I was given some by a friend that raises horses. He soaks the pellets in water and they expand like Mazuri or Zoomed. My juvenile sulcata doesn't really eat hay yet, but I have been adding some Bermuda hay to his Mazuri to get him...

While soaking my 2 year old sulcata this morning he stood up and seemed to be straining to poop. He was actually backing up into the side of the container and doing a little dance. The last time I saw him do this he pooped out a very large solid urate (like a white rock). That was over a year...

In the past week or so I have noticed the I can hear my 2 year old exhale. Not all the time. It's just after he swallows a big bit of leafy greens. It's almost as if he holds his breath while he devours a leaf and then exhales. The sound he makes is similar to the sound they make when the are...

For the past year I have raised my tortoise using the "wet method". The original pyramiding remains, but I have had sustained smooth growth. Recently I have noticed that the area along the new growth line of some of the scutes is raised, or the areola area is depressed. I can't decide which it...

Chuck is a healthy 18 month old. He is active, alert, eats well, and spends most of the day outdoors. Recently I have noticed that the spurs on his front legs aren't as full as they once were. Can anyone tell me if this is normal or is it a developing problem?