My Sudan Sulcatas

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Tom

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IRTehDuckie said:
okay, i re read the post, and i understand, i cannot believe how smooth they are, when i read that they were 2x as big i thought mine might be one, because he is massive compared to other 2 and a half year olds. but his scutes are nowhere near that smooth, now i wonder if its me and im doing something wrong D: I wish there was some way i could know, like shell differences or something =\


well let me know when you guys are ready for a buyer! SIGN ME UP! haha



You may not have noticed, but I'm a little obsessed with figuring out and stopping the whole pyramiding thing...

These are my latest attempt. Glad you think it is going well so far. :D I have to agree.
 

IRTehDuckie

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Tom said:
There are not really any visible differences in the babies. None that I am noticing anyway. As they mature the Sudans will have a higher, rounder dome, without the slant in the back, and they will also be about twice the size of a "normal" one.

DeanS said:
IRTehDuckie said:
i am lost, is there a difference between sudan sulcatas and ... regular sulcatas? i guess, unless i misread. i feel silly asking this question when im such a devoted tfo member lol

The Sudans are locale specific...to...wait for it...the Sudan! They have a more prehistoric (less streamlined) appearance than the Mali or Senegal...and get typically much larger...with adult males averaging over 250 pounds! Most sulcata for sale in the states are mixed region (or mutts). Only one breeder in the States has managed to maintain this group exclusively...for the past 25 years or so! Tom and I are hoping to change that...in about 10 years! ;)

Tom said:
IRTehDuckie said:
okay, i re read the post, and i understand, i cannot believe how smooth they are, when i read that they were 2x as big i thought mine might be one, because he is massive compared to other 2 and a half year olds. but his scutes are nowhere near that smooth, now i wonder if its me and im doing something wrong D: I wish there was some way i could know, like shell differences or something =\


well let me know when you guys are ready for a buyer! SIGN ME UP! haha



You may not have noticed, but I'm a little obsessed with figuring out and stopping the whole pyramiding thing...

These are my latest attempt. Glad you think it is going well so far. :D I have to agree.



thats a super good thing! about the pyramiding, i will have to take a pic of my tortoise and show you, see if she is alright, i think she is but i need an expert on the subject :p
 

Yellow Turtle

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It's amazing to see them grow so fast with only grass and weeds and yes the smoothness! Real nice sudans.
 

Tom

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Yellow Turtle said:
It's amazing to see them grow so fast with only grass and weeds and yes the smoothness! Real nice sudans.

I feed them everything, not only weeds and grass. They also get cactus pads, endive, cilantro, spring mix, mulberry, rose, hibiscus and grape leaves, clover, alfalfa, squash leaves, and they've had Mazuri about 20-30 times in the last year.

I guess you could say they've had MOSTLY grass and weeds though. :)
 

sibi

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Beauties for sure! Tom, have you raised any other to full grown (Dean"s terminology "mutts") without pyramiding? I know they will never be as big as your Sudan's, but have you raised any others with all the right conditions, yet they are still pyramiding? I'm trying to figure out if pyramiding is partly genetic or solely environmental.
 

Tom

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It's solely environmental. Daisy was my first "wet routine" guinea pig. I started her in 2008, so she's my oldest non pyramided tortoise. She started out heavily pyramided when I got her, but I was able to stop it. She hardly grew for the first two years, but then started growing normally. You can see her in this thread:
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/thread-56465.html

In that same thread you can see Tuck and Trey who were my first "wet routine" babies that were started from scratch from day one. They just turned three and I'm due for another update on them. They are just about ready to move into the larger enclosure now.
 

sibi

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Wow, Tom, I just love your dedication to resolving the end of pyramiding. Your experiments must be documented in a book! I mean it. Just think of how you can help new owners, and even long time owners to stop the pyramiding of their sullies. I know your lifetime commitment was motivated out of real love and concerns for your torts. I too, am very interested in researching various aspects of a sulcata's life, specifically the genetic side of things. I hold back because I'm too sick and too old to start this adventure. But, where I can read about it would satisfy me. I will create a thread on my three sullies and how they started out and where they are now. I will say that with your advice and information, I have stopped the pyramiding of my original two sullies whom I have raised since they were about 3 weeks old. Pics will definitely be included. So, thanks to you, I'm raising some pretty happy sullies.
Tom said:
It's solely environmental. Daisy was my first "wet routine" guinea pig. I started her in 2008, so she's my oldest non pyramided tortoise. She started out heavily pyramided when I got her, but I was able to stop it. She hardly grew for the first two years, but then started growing normally. You can see her in this thread:
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/thread-56465.html

In that same thread you can see Tuck and Trey who were my first "wet routine" babies that were started from scratch from day one. They just turned three and I'm due for another update on them. They are just about ready to move into the larger enclosure now.
 
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