iAmCentrochelys sulcata
Well-Known Member
haha whats funny it’s yall couldn’t tell before i had Another account and didn’t say. nothing about being a different speciesIf so, I WANT ONE!!!
haha whats funny it’s yall couldn’t tell before i had Another account and didn’t say. nothing about being a different speciesIf so, I WANT ONE!!!
Yes I did. It is still a chaco!
I would gladly trade you for a sulcata.....
when it was young.Yes I did. It is still a chaco!
I would gladly trade you for a sulcata.....
so 100% a chaco.that's because in that picture we can't see the leg scales. But now that we know, it's also obvious from his head he's not a sulcata.
have you ever seen one IRL?Some do. Others can totally lack the speckles in the scute centers. The "typical" chaco has a quite plain yellow-tan scute center. Those with patterns usually have the pattern fade rather quickly as they grow.
have you ever seen one IRL?
Back in the day (late 70s/early 80s) they were readily imported. I got a pair for around $50 each but ended up selling them the following year while trying to get my TAS (Tortoise Acquisition Syndrome) under control...I'm better now.Yes, they are VERY rare in the pet trade.
i guess i will see in a few years, i find it that he/she is Thriving. she eat a lot.Don't feel bad about the confusion in identification. For years, the chaco was considered the closest living relative to the sulcata. Scientists theorized about how it could have got to South America from Africa and remained so much more like sulcatas than any other species, most of which were much closer geographically. Back then, without mitochondrial DNA evaluations, based upon looks many considered the young almost identical. Of course sulcatas got much larger so easy to tell adults apart. Now with the genetic assessments, the closest relative is actually the Galapagos tortoises!
Whenever I tried to teach folks how to ID a chaco, many simply could not do it. I worked for a reptile wholesaler/importer for a time when younger. I guess looking at so many tortoises, I became used to seeing subtle differences while others simply thought they looked the same. Head shape is one example as @Yvonne G has mentioned. To me there is a big difference in the way the head looks, but nothing specific you can explain.
With young tortoises there were 3 main differences I thought were easiest for folks to see. I've already mentioned the first 2.
1. The easiest difference for most to see is the front legs. The scales of the front legs of a sulcata are VERY distictive. Huge, enlarged protective scales Along the top edge of the front legs almost forms a saw-like formation. The enlarged scales actually protrude outwards. I'll post the picture I did for comparison again below.
2. Sulcatas even have enlarged scales in the "brow" directly over the eye. A chaco will have small, smooth scales over the eye.
View attachment 290660
3. Since you posted more pictures on your other thread, I have a butt picture to talk about. The butt shot of a young sulcata is very distinctive. Some refer to the butterfly scale just above the tail that looks like the back half of butterfly wings. Although still serrated, the supracaudal of a chaco is relatively "normal" and straight across. I took a picture at bath time today and tried to pick one the same size as yours. Sulcata on right and 3 mos old.
View attachment 290662
is mine one?Back in the day (late 70s/early 80s) they were readily imported. I got a pair for around $50 each but ended up selling them the following year while trying to get my TAS (Tortoise Acquisition Syndrome) under control...I'm better now.
Normal price for sulcata babies in a pet store is $150.Sulcata babies don't cost that much.
yup, that was the original Price but my stepdad didn’t had 150 in cash. we thought we can do it from credit card. but tom as i know youNormal price for sulcata babies in a pet store is $150.
He's in Texas. My guess is that maybe somehow someone brought this Tortoise across the border, perhaps illegally. Then it was brought to a pet shop and sold. The pet shop probably looked at it and thought it was a Sulcata. Neither party knowing what it actually was. Just my theory.How would a CB Chaco end up in a Texas pet store that didn't know what it was and sold it for $140? That doesn't make sense.
I've seen a lot of variation in sulcata leg scales and it depends on how they are raised and what their environment is like.
@iAmCentrochelys sulcata can we get more pics of the baby? More pics from when you first got it too? Post a whole bunch of close up from different angles, and plastron shots too. This is very intriguing.
I never had a juvi - mine were full grown adults. I tend to believe yours IS a Chaco and not a Sulcata, but I claim no expert status. More of: "just an old guy with a bad memory and peculiar hunches."is mine one?
I suppose that is possible.He's in Texas. My guess is that maybe somehow someone brought this Tortoise across the border, perhaps illegally. Then it was brought to a pet shop and sold. The pet shop probably looked at it and thought it was a Sulcata. Neither party knowing what it actually was. Just my theory.