Master Oogway the Aldabra Giant Tortoise

[MasterOogwayMd]

Hi,

my name is Mike and I just joined this forum.

I have an Aldabra called Master Oogway and he's an amazing pet.
Master Oogway lives in MD on 2 acres.
Most of the year is easy, he runs around and eats like a lawn mower and occasionally I give him/her some treats (tomatoes or anything red are a favorite) or some additional leafy greens.

For the winter my family built him a very large house that sits in our green house. It is consistently heated to 80 degrees fahrenheit and has a lot of glass to ensure that Master Oogway gets a plenty of sun.
The house has 4 inch thick walls which contain high quality insulation material used to build houses. For the glass part we have four lids. Two are placed on top of each other in order to have the air between them act as an additional layer of insulation.

He/she (never had him/her sexed) has been with us for several years and is a blast.
Keeping him/her is a bit of work and he/she's not getting smaller I'm thinking about whether we can keep Master Oogway much longer. Family is planning to travel more etc. Haven't made up my mind yet but I may sell him/her if there's a good home with similar space to roam.

The first two pictures are about two years old. Master Oogway has grown quite a bit since.

 

[wellington]

Hello and Welcome. It's too bad you are considering parting with him/her. A little work to the greenhouse, some added heat, maybe even solar heat, reinforce the bottom walls and he/she would have a decent winter home. Just a suggestion

 

[crimson_lotus]

Nice tortoise you have there, and what a great home! Wish I had something like that for my tortoise! Is that another aldabra in the enclosure, or is it a different species?

 

[MasterOogwayMd]

Thanks for the suggestions and compliments.

The other tortoise is a brown mountain tortoise. Quite young, they get reasonably big as well.

The picture doesn't show the heating system. Inside the enclosure there is a heating unit with a thermostat that keeps it at 80 when the lid is closed.

 

[hingeback]

Welcome to the forum, nice tort you have.

 

[Grandpa Turtle 144]

Hello Mike

 

[Yvonne G]

Welcome to the Forum!

 

[Speedy-1]

Hi and welcome Mike !

 

[leigti]

That is a very nice enclosure. I would be a little worried about the big one squishing the little one though.

 

[Lyn W]

Hi and welcome - it would be a shame to lose him/her from such a great home.
If you post pics of the tail I'm sure someone will ne able to ID male or female

 

[Loohan]

Awesome.
Be aware that glass blocks UVB but not UVA...

 

[popeye tortoise]

Hey Mike,
Welcome to the forum. I just joined recently as well I am sorry to here that you may be thinking of getting rid of your tortoise. I am in Pa and I know sometimes it can be a bit trying and a great responsibility but it is worth it. I also have a aldabra and it is not as big as yours. But if you are seriously thinking of getting rid of him please contact me. I hope you change your mind. This forum is a great benefit to tortoise owners.

Thanks, Roy

 

[Tidgy's Dad]

Hello, Mike, and a very warm welcome to Tortoise Forum to you and Master Oogway.

 

[MasterOogwayMd]

Thanks for all the welcomes.
I've decided to keep Master Oogway and we've made sure someone is always around for him.
I had considered selling him in the area but am glad he's staying around.

His winter home has been working like a charm. Every year he eats more. Been feeding him a variety of things. A few days ago he ate two and a half heads of lettuce in no time. Aldabras are eating machines. It's easy in the summer when he can just graze.

 

[Tidgy's Dad]

Thanks for all the welcomes.
I've decided to keep Master Oogway and we've made sure someone is always around for him.
I had considered selling him in the area but am glad he's staying around.

His winter home has been working like a charm. Every year he eats more. Been feeding him a variety of things. A few days ago he ate two and a half heads of lettuce in no time. Aldabras are eating machines. It's easy in the summer when he can just graze.

Glad you've decided to keep lovely Master Oogway, but hope you set up a separate enclosure for the mountain tortoise.
it's not safe to have the two together.

 

[MasterOogwayMd]

You're right, I'm definitely planning to separate them soon.
For the longest time they were similar in size but the size difference is starting to become a concern.
Otherwise they fit together very well. Neither species is aggressive at all. In fact they tend to sleep next to each other.

 

[Tidgy's Dad]

You're right, I'm definitely planning to separate them soon.
For the longest time they were similar in size but the size difference is starting to become a concern.
Otherwise they fit together very well. Neither species is aggressive at all. In fact they tend to sleep next to each other.

Often the aggression isn't obvious (and i'm not saying there is any), but snuggling up is one sign of it! It can mean one is trying to gentle push into the others sleeping space. Also different species carry different pathogens which the one species may be immune to but the other may not be.
Have a look at http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/bad-day-for-baby.114328/
and http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/pairs.34837/
and http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/keeping-two-together.115787/
And Happy Christmas to you and Master Oogway and the little guy , too!

 

[TerrapinStation]

Hello and Welcome! very nice tortoises, but definitely +1 on what Tidgy's Dad has said.... just be careful-better to be safe than sorry.

Check out ALDABRAMAN's thread(s) he keeps a herd of very impressive Aldabra tortoises...