Good size for a 2 year old?

[aidenb]

He's broken 2.5 pounds but unfortunately with how cold our winters get (-40 Celsius isn't uncommon) he has to be raised indoors most of the year an can only be outside 4-5 months a year. I think his shell looks pretty good and he's alert and active. I've had him since it was about 5 months old.

 

[Prairie Mom]

Hello, I'm afraid I can't answer your question regarding size. I'm a newer sulcata owner and my beastie was found as an abandoned rescue. I'm eager to see what another member would say is about average for a two year old also as we are guessing my sulcata is between 2-3.

When I found my beastie last Autumn she was so small that I could hold her in one hand and I didn't have the proper tool to weigh how light she was. In just over a year's time, she tripled in size and is now almost 16lbs. She really tripled--maybe a bit more! It feels like overnight she went from a little tortoise flapping legs in one hand to a big heavy two-hander. It's pretty crazy.

I live in a colder US climate and would love to know how you are housing your sulcata. I'm always looking for new inspiration. Please tag me if you ever post photos or have threads regarding your housing and enclosures etc.

 

[Tom]

That is well within the range of "normal" for a two year old sulcata. I've seen bigger and I've seen smaller, but yours looks just fine.

 

[SGT Fish]

looks like a nice tortoise! considering mine is at least 8 years old and less than twice that size, Id say yours is plenty big. Mine wasnt very well taken care of but he seems pretty healthy despite his small stature. So don't be afraid if he is small, they dont always grow fast and big. I know somebody(idk if they are on here) had a female stay small enough that they mated it with a leapord tortoise and call the babies "leaprocatas"

 

[SGT Fish]

OH! and I love your profile picture. Id love to have a fly river turtle one day, but I would never get one unless I had a very large custom aquarium or a heated pond

 

[aidenb]

Fly River is about 15, we call him Wilbur. He's one of the most personable creatures I've got. Any tips to get the sulcata on dried grasses and hay? He won't touch it and it's getting difficult to grow enough fresh grasses indoors over winter to sustain him. Can you starve a sulcata like other reptiles until he take it?

 

[Tom]

Fly River is about 15, we call him Wilbur. He's one of the most personable creatures I've got. Any tips to get the sulcata on dried grasses and hay? He won't touch it and it's getting difficult to grow enough fresh grasses indoors over winter to sustain him. Can you starve a sulcata like other reptiles until he take it?

He's still a little small for plain dry hay.

You can introduce it by using some scissors finely chopping a very small amount of Bermuda grass hay or orchard grass hay on top of the greens and mixing it in. It works even better if you pre-soak the grass hay to rehydrate it, spray the green with some water and then thoroughly mix it all together. Start with a tiny tiny amount of chopped grass hay and gradually add more each day over a period of weeks.

Sometimes introducing fresh grass make the process work better too. You can get those little organic plots of wheat grass at pet stores or organic food markets for about $2. Chop a little bit onto your greens the same way as the hay. Keep the plot watered and in a window sill and it will re-grow about 8 times.