How big and how fast do sulcatas grow?

Kikwi

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I'm not making the same mistake as people who see a baby sulcata and say ill get it because its cheap and then it grows huge and then you have to give it away, ive actually done some research and i want a big sulcata. i just want to know how long will it take for them to get big? i would like to keep it in an enclosure inside my house while its young but when it grows older and bigger i would like to begin making a fence underground outside so i can secure the fence and have it live in my backyard without being able to dig, and where it will have plenty of space and natural sun and shade. how long does it take for a sulcata to grow big, and at what point in its life would i have to move him/her outside? (also side note whats something easy i can do to shelter a sulcata from rain? it doesnt rain often oin my part of texas but i cant get the sulcata without first having prepared for something like this)
 
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Tom

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I'm not making the same mistake as people who see a baby sulcata and say ill get it because its cheap and then it grows huge and then you have to give it away, ive actually done some research and i want a big sulcata. i just want to know how long will it take for them to get big? i would like to keep it in an enclosure inside my house while its young but when it grows older and bigger i would like to begin making a fence underground outside so i can secure the fence and have it live in my backyard without being able to dig, and where it will have plenty of space and natural sun and shade. how long does it take for a sulcata to grow big, and at what point in its life would i have to move him/her outside? (also side note whats something easy i can do to shelter a sulcata from rain? it doesnt rain often oin my part of texas but i cant get the sulcata without first having prepared for something like this)

They grow at vastly different rates and for a wide variety of reasons. Ideally you will have a large indoor enclosure for nights and colder days, and a large outdoor enclosure for nice weather while your tortoise is still small. If you get a properly hydrated and well started baby from a good source, and then you care for it and feed it properly, it will likely outgrow a 4x8 indoor closed chamber in about 18-24 months. At that point you can move it outside with a proper heated night box like one of these: http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/another-night-box-thread.88966/
This type of box would also be your rain shelter. If its raining before you move the tortoise outside full time, just bring it inside, or leave it out in the rain if its a warm summer rain.
 

Alaskamike

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@Tom gave a good answer. My experience has been
1. The first 2 yrs it seems you can't wait for them to get big
2. The 3rd yr they start to need outdoor time and sprout like weeds.
3. By yr 4 keeping them inside all the time would be cruel & unusual punishment for you - and the tort.
4. By 6 they will knock over chairs , bulldoze fences and intimidate dogs and children.
( some humor here :)

But actual size - weight - at various stages is impossible to guess. I have a 4 yr old sulcata who is only 10 lbs, I've seen one 4 yr old that was 22 lbs. There are probably ones that are larger.

I'm not sure why rain would be an issue - mine loves the rain , unless it is below 70f then he needs his heated hide.

I also initially thought that embedding a barrier in the ground to prevent digging out was important. Not found that to be the case. The walls should be solid ( like concrete blocks, boards, etc) cause they think if they can see thru they can get thru. And sometimes can.
But when they dig a burrow they dig down , and do not dig out a back door - it's one way in.

I Always give my torts outside time as babies in the sun , fresh air , plants & dirt. As much as weather will allow. But at a certain size & activity level , no tort table will hold them.
It happens fast with a sulcata.
Good fortune to you !
 

Jimb

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I've heard that (probably for all torts) if you only feed them ever other day while they're babies, they grow slower and also have less of a chance of pyramiding. Anyone agree/disagree? I'd be interested in everyone's thoughts.
 

Tom

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I've heard that (probably for all torts) if you only feed them ever other day while they're babies, they grow slower and also have less of a chance of pyramiding. Anyone agree/disagree? I'd be interested in everyone's thoughts.

Disagree. I tried that. It resulted in small, stunted, pyramided tortoises.

The food has little or nothing to do with pyramiding. Its the environmental conditions that cause it or prevent it. Hydration and humidity being two key elements.
 

Jimb

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Disagree. I tried that. It resulted in small, stunted, pyramided tortoises.

The food has little or nothing to do with pyramiding. Its the environmental conditions that cause it or prevent it. Hydration and humidity being two key elements.

Good to know, thanks!
 

Tom

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Good to know, thanks!

I see you are a new forum member as of last month. Hello and welcome, if I haven't said so already.

I've been studying this pyramiding thing for two decades now and for the last few years I've been doing annual growth experiments to try and learn more about it.

Forgive my presumptuousness, but I'm going to assume that since you are posting on the topic, the subject interests you. Here are some past experiments, in case you'd like to check them out:
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/the-end-of-pyramiding.15137/
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/the-end-of-pyramiding-ii-the-leopards.18931/
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/2015-growth-experiment.119874/
 

Jimb

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I see you are a new forum member as of last month. Hello and welcome, if I haven't said so already.

I've been studying this pyramiding thing for two decades now and for the last few years I've been doing annual growth experiments to try and learn more about it.

Forgive my presumptuousness, but I'm going to assume that since you are posting on the topic, the subject interests you. Here are some past experiments, in case you'd like to check them out:
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/the-end-of-pyramiding.15137/
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/the-end-of-pyramiding-ii-the-leopards.18931/
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/2015-growth-experiment.119874/

You're assumptions are right Tom! Thanks for the links I'll be checking them out.
 

Kikwi

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Location (City and/or State)
Houston, Texas
@Tom gave a good answer. My experience has been
1. The first 2 yrs it seems you can't wait for them to get big
2. The 3rd yr they start to need outdoor time and sprout like weeds.
3. By yr 4 keeping them inside all the time would be cruel & unusual punishment for you - and the tort.
4. By 6 they will knock over chairs , bulldoze fences and intimidate dogs and children.
( some humor here :)

But actual size - weight - at various stages is impossible to guess. I have a 4 yr old sulcata who is only 10 lbs, I've seen one 4 yr old that was 22 lbs. There are probably ones that are larger.

I'm not sure why rain would be an issue - mine loves the rain , unless it is below 70f then he needs his heated hide.

I also initially thought that embedding a barrier in the ground to prevent digging out was important. Not found that to be the case. The walls should be solid ( like concrete blocks, boards, etc) cause they think if they can see thru they can get thru. And sometimes can.
But when they dig a burrow they dig down , and do not dig out a back door - it's one way in.

I Always give my torts outside time as babies in the sun , fresh air , plants & dirt. As much as weather will allow. But at a certain size & activity level , no tort table will hold them.
It happens fast with a sulcata.
Good fortune to you !
Thank you so much for the info, i was only wanting to keep one indoors for maybe a year, 2 at most while i build him the safest and most roomy possible enclosure outdoors, and while hes a baby i would improvise something small so he can have time outside and i would bring him in at night. also i hear that rain can cause respiratory problems in sulcatas so thats why i would want a shelter for rain, also it doesnt get too cold where i live but for particularly cold days he could go in the shelter for warmth.
 

Alaskamike

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Wow. The differences are amazing. I haven't had the experience raising a Sulcata from a hatchling. Every time mine have been intervention / rescuer with poor dry start - bad food - etc etc.
My Sal is 8 yrs old , just got him this year , and about 45lbs , but was hit by a car at 2. You can still see the old crush damage on top of caprice.

This is why it is so hard to answer the size / age question. Even siblings raised in same environments show dramatic differences. Even sex is not necessarily the determining factor.

Regardless - sullys so are fun and have great forward personalities. Until a person raises one , there is no way to prepare for the size and rapid growth.
It goes by so fast
My how they grow up
Time flies when you're having fun :)
 

mike taylor

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In the summer warm rain . In the winter in the Houston area it can be as low as 30 ° . One year it started raining by the time I got to work it was frozen . That is rare thank god . For the most part its middle 50's and rain . That sucks and I don't go outside at all .
 
M

Maggie Cummings

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Kikwi, ...Bob was 25 pounds at 5 yrs and 115 at 17 yrs. And if I can do it right here's a picture of Bob's shed, it's 12'X20'. That small door on the side is his doggie door. It's insulated and heated to an ambient temp of 85 degrees with 2; 150 watt UVB basking bulbs, a sleeping box with a pig blanket in it. A solid cedar fence, a dug out pool and decent grass. If Bob was still there, the grass would not be like you see. So that's, IMO, the minimum a large Sulcata needs in the North, so he has room to pace while it's icing or well below freezing. Bob went out, loved the rain cold or not and would take a couple of laps in the snow. BUT, that's a large Sulcata not a small young one.

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