introduction--can u ID the tortoise?

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suewalt

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this is my first time posting here. i have a 12 year old tortoise. i am not sure exactly of the breed. can you tell by these photos?. he weighs about 3 lbs.
 

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Yvonne G

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Hi Sue:

Welcome to the Tortoise forum!!

Well, if your tortoise is 12 years old, there is something drastically wrong...either with the age as you know it, or with the tortoise's husbandry.

You have a sulcata tortoise, and at 12 years of age a sulcata usually weighs in at the 50lb or more mark.

Can you give us a bit of history on the tortoise?

(and may we know appx. where you are?)
 

Arizona Sulcata

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You have a Sulcata! Definitely not 12 years old though. Congrats! They do get very large so be prepared!
 

suewalt

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to give you some history...tonka belonged to a family member from the time he was 2 inches, that was in 2000. i feel like he was not given the best care, to say the least. i adopted him about 3 years ago. he weighed 15 ounces. he now weighs 3# 14 oz. he was sold as a sulcuta, but since he didnt grow like he should have, i wondered if he were a different type (Testudo graeca?) so thanks for the id~! i think maybe his growth was stunted from poor nutrition. we live in ne ohio, so he indoors in the house.. in a kids sandbox enclosure now. in the summer he goes in a pen outside and grazes on dandilions and grass.
 

dmarcus

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Hello and welcome to the forum..

The growth was definitely stunted, that is the smallest 12 year old sulcata that I have seen... But at least there has been some growth since you have had him and thats a good thing...
 

zzzdanz

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After 12yrs and he's that small?...I'ld expect him to look sickly and a mess. ...I dont know
 

Neal

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I have a leopard nearly the same age with stunted growth as well.

It sounds like he is in better care now. Welcome to the forum!
 

Zamric

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Welcome to the Forum!

See this beautiful tort in my post? Thats WalkingRock.... he is 11 years old and 85lbs...

With a proper diet and plenty of exercise Tonka should be close to this. But it's never to late since these guys live for a VERY long time!
 

Jacob

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Welcome, that seems to be a very small guy at 12 years old.
poor diet might have been the case, great thing he's in your hands now :)
 
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Maggie Cummings

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He definitely is a Sulcata and at age 12 my Bob was 95 pounds. I suggest you start shoving food at him. Feed him all the dark leafy greens you can buy and add 1 cup of Mazuri daily to that. What kind of lighting are you using to make up for his lack of UVB? Bob lives in a heated insulated shed and we live in Oregon so he too spends most of his time indoors. So welcome, and if you follow our advice he will start to grow...
 

tortuga_please

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Definitely a sulcata, definitely needs food. Post in the Sulcata section for extremely good/invaluable advice :) I know that they shouldn't get fruit but that's about it :-/
 

Zamric

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Lots of green leafy veggies, Mazuri, grass, grass and more grass and a small piece of watermellon for dessert!:p
 

Laura

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well, you found the right place to find out what kind of diet and care he should be getting now..
the more outside the better..
 

Zamric

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OH YES! Sunshine! Lots of Natural Sunshine! These eating/growing machines need lots Solar Energy to function properly!
 
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