Sulcata Gold?

[Yaouch]

I purchased a Hypo Gold Sulcata today at the reptile show. I believe this breeder is legit, he used to breed sulcata in Texas but now he is at San Diego, showed me a bunch of pictures of his Large Sulcata colony. Had this one golden hatchling out of the whole batch. Claimed that out of 20 years of breeding this was his first one. I have 4 Ivory that I kept for about a year now, but I have never hear of golden sulcata. Out of the whole reptile show I only saw this one golden for sale so after a few hours of walking around I went back and struck a deal and took it home.

Has anyone seen or heard of golden sulcata before? Anyone experience with this hypo morph?

Here is a picture of the little guy, looks very very close to ivory with jet black eyes but really not the same because I already have 3 ivorys. Please give me your thoughts.......




Here is family pic with my ivory, ivory het, and baby star......

 

[Yvonne G]

I've never heard of that before, Cam, but he's awfully pretty. Be sure to keep him in a more humid environment, as he's got some pretty excessive pyramiding going on. Your original sulcatas look very nice...very smooth.

 

[tortdad]

Pretty.... And dry. Your others look good so I'm sure he'll be fine.

 

[Yaouch]

yeah I did notice the pyramiding, but that should be a easy fix. I keep my tort tank somewhere around 70% humility at all times so the new addition should smoothen his shell in a few months or so.....

 

[leopard777]

what sort of difference did you see ? i think 'gold' is just a fancy name

 

[Tom]

I think you got taken.

Sometimes they will be an off color. That one looks like its older and had a pretty rough dry start. Dean had one that turned that color. It had a rough start. It barely grew for 2 years because its intestines were blocked up with perlite from the breeder's place. It just urned to that color over a relatively short period of time. Yours looks just like that one.

Chart the growth for a while and then come back and tell me if I was right or wrong.

Now the next question: You are not only skipping quarantine entirely, but mixing species too? Why would you do that?

 

[Yaouch]

Should I quarantine the new guy? How long should I qt him for? I understand I should not mix species but I Had them since they were hatchlings and they all were getting along well, no signs of sickness, I do not wish to separate them. its only one baby star i mixed in there, would that cost much prob??

 

[Yaouch]

I snap a few more picture of the little guy.

 

[Tom]

Should I quarantine the new guy? How long should I qt him for? I understand I should not mix species but I Had them since they were hatchlings and they all were getting along well, no signs of sickness, I do not wish to separate them. its only one baby star i mixed in there, would that cost much prob??

Yes, you should have quarantined any new guy before it has any contact with other tortoises. That new tortoise does not look well at all, and if he is carrying any sort of disease, you have now exposed all your other tortoises to it. My vet recommends a one year quarantine for tortoises coming from any sort of questionable which this one most definitely qualifies.

Disease potential is only one of the many reasons to not mix species. Behavioral compatibility is another. To answer your question: Yes, that could cause huge problems. You should separate them.

This might help you:
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/


I'm curious what you paid for this guy. Feel free to decline, if you would rather not answer.

 

[Yvonne G]

Take a close look at the first picture in this second group of pictures. Notice how sunken in his eyes look. He's very dehydrated. It wouldn't hurt to soak him a couple times a day for at least 30 minutes each time. And all the new growth between the scutes is flakey and whitish.

To tell the truth, I don't see much difference between this new one and your existing lighter colored ones. But then pictures don't always show the brightest or best colors.

 

[Yaouch]

I paid $400 for this guy..... Not too much but it wasn't cheap either....


I will soak him a few times a day for a while.... Also the picture don't show it but my Ivory hold them next the the light their eyes are dark red or pink. The new guy has jet black eyes no pink or red pigments.

 

[russian/sulcata/tortoise]

I paid $400 for this guy..... Not too much but it wasn't cheap either....


I will soak him a few times a day for a while.... Also the picture don't show it but my Ivory hold them next the the light their eyes are dark red or pink. The new guy has jet black eyes no pink or red pigments.

yea to me he looks like a normal sulcata, you can already see the darker new growth.

 

[Tom]

I paid $400 for this guy..... Not too much but it wasn't cheap either....


I will soak him a few times a day for a while.... Also the picture don't show it but my Ivory hold them next the the light their eyes are dark red or pink. The new guy has jet black eyes no pink or red pigments.

One of the traits that defines an ivory sulcata is dark eyes. If yours have pink or reddish eyes, you do not have an ivory.

Sorry man. More bad news.

 

[Yaouch]

One of the traits that defines an ivory sulcata is dark eyes. If yours have pink or reddish eyes, you do not have an ivory.

Tom, I know for a fact that they are ivorys. Just by looking at my ivory eyes they look black..... however hold them onto a light, the iris looks red or pinkish. I bought them from Tyler (Tortoise Supply), I known him for years and been following him around reptile shows.

 

[leopard777]

if its red/pinkish then its a albino , but its quite prominent , you dont have to shine any light on the eyes in order to see it

 

[Yvonne G]

Well, regardless...it's a beautiful baby and I'd like to see his growth progression over the years and see if he stays that pretty color.

 

[Yaouch]

This is what I mean when I say my Ivory has pink eyes. To the naked eye it looks black, but hold it to the light their iris looks red/pink....

 

[leopard777]

its a albino then , if its has black normal eyes its called leucistic

 

[TopNotchBoas]

I'm certainly no expert on the distinction between "t positive albino: Ivory" (not considered leucistic, from my understanding) and "t negative albino" phenotypes but from the photos that tortoises eye's appears darker than photos of t negative albinos I've seen. I also think it's highly unlikely that he would be sold an albino as an ivory given the significant price difference ($700 vs $3000). My guess is that ivories have a dark pinkish hue to their eyes that appear black, unless you significantly overexpose a photo (such as the one above), or shine a light on them. Anyone who owns an ivory care to confirm? My 4 little hets are no help in the matter .

 

[Yvonne G]

I think you are correct, Top. Also, the fellow he bought them from is not a fly-by-night sort of guy. Tyler knows his tortoises, and if he sold them as Ivories, then they're not albino.