Sulcata Investment

[Texastort]

Hi everyone! Got a question that I would love some feedback on. I have jumped into the world of Sulcatas this year and I love it! I have a small herd now and I can't express how much fun these guys are to have. I recently took in my largest tort, a 40lb male I rehabbed and he is doing great. This big male however is extremely sexually active, and is getting it on with everything and everyone. I have been thinking for a while of getting him a girl friend. My questions are this. I have a couple of opportunities to get a female for him ranging from 300-800 dollars depending on size. I have adopted all of my torts so paying for one is a new concept. I have a friend that views me getting a female as an investment, as any babies produced could be sold to cover the costs of the female. I am not so sure how realistic this is, as it seems there are a lot of babies for sale and the prices seem to be dropping. I am also not sure about producing more of these animals when so many need homes. I guess I could not let any eggs hatch? Is a female a good idea or investment?? Sorry this is a long post!

 

[Livingstone]

Tortoises are solitary, If you want your boy to have some "fun"; get a large mixing bowl, fill it with something heavy and invert it. The upside down bowl will trigger the same mounting reaction a female will. Its also cheaper and you dont have to worry about producing lots of little sulcata babies (you are correct in assuming the market is already saturated with "breeders").

 

[Texastort]

Tortoises are solitary, If you want your boy to have some "fun"; get a large mixing bowl, fill it with something heavy and invert it. The upside down bowl will trigger the same mounting reaction a female will. Its also cheaper and you dont have to worry about producing lots of little sulcata babies (you are correct in assuming the market is already saturated with "breeders").

Interesting. Never thought about a bowl! His favorite thing now is a rock! Try explaining that to the kids!

 

[Yvonne G]

Is he by himself? You mentioned that you have a small herd.

If you keep him by himself, he will be much easier to handle and keep contained. Once he has been allowed to breed, then he will break down fences, climb fences, push, shove, do whatever is necessary to get to the female again.

My Dudley came to me with his female partner. I didn't want to have to find homes for sulcata babies, so I separated them. It took over a year for him to stop breaking down fences, and she was long gone by that time.

 

[Tom]

Adding a female will only torture the poor female in a case like this. He'll harass her relentlessly. You would need to add several females in a very large enclosure for this to work out, and then you will start producing A LOT of eggs.

I think you'd be better off just keeping this male alone. I have a lone male and he is quite happy all by himself.

 

[ascott]

Seems to me he already has a girlfriend, Rocksie....LOL

 

[Laura]

yep.. dont invest.. enjoy what you have..

 

[FADE2BLACK_1973]

This big male however is extremely sexually active, and is getting it on with everything and everyone.

Sounds like me....lol Except for the getting it on with everything and everyone....lol. Got shot down again lastnight by my wife, been married for over 12 years with 3 kids. With 3 kids it gets hard to find time for ourselves but when we finally do then she is too wore down to even be in the mood. So I serously feel for the poor guy, talking about your 40lb. male sulcata . Hope you figure away to help him out because as you know, us guys dont like to wait .

 

[JLSchmittou]

Adding a female will only torture the poor female in a case like this. He'll harass her relentlessly. You would need to add several females in a very large enclosure for this to work out, and then you will start producing A LOT of eggs.

I think you'd be better off just keeping this male alone. I have a lone male and he is quite happy all by himself.

LOL!!! This sounds a lot like my marriage!!! Wonder if a bowl would work for my husband... Certainly would be cheaper than another wife... *chuckles*. I'm cracking myself up!!!!

Anywho.....

 

[FADE2BLACK_1973]

Adding a female will only torture the poor female in a case like this. He'll harass her relentlessly. You would need to add several females in a very large enclosure for this to work out, and then you will start producing A LOT of eggs.

I think you'd be better off just keeping this male alone. I have a lone male and he is quite happy all by himself.

LOL!!! This sounds a lot like my marriage!!! Wonder if a bowl would work for my husband... Certainly would be cheaper than another wife... *chuckles*. I'm cracking myself up!!!!

Anywho.....

LMAO!!!!!!!!!!!!! Men dont need to be starved...

 

[Texastort]

Adding a female will only torture the poor female in a case like this. He'll harass her relentlessly. You would need to add several females in a very large enclosure for this to work out, and then you will start producing A LOT of eggs.

I think you'd be better off just keeping this male alone. I have a lone male and he is quite happy all by himself.

LOL!!! This sounds a lot like my marriage!!! Wonder if a bowl would work for my husband... Certainly would be cheaper than another wife... *chuckles*. I'm cracking myself up!!!!

Anywho.....

LMAO!!!!!!!!!!!!! Men dont need to be starved...

So funny! Does anyone make money selling babies? My big boy is so funny. I do have 4 smaller ones but they are separate. Whenever they do mix, it's a wild tortoise orgy, quite complicated to explain to 3 year olds!

 

[Yvonne G]

I think in order to make any money at it you would have to have more than just one pair of breeders. There's too much overhead...food, heat, etc. not to mention the occasional vet bill, that you have to consider before you get the profit.

 

[JLSchmittou]

So funny! Does anyone make money selling babies? My big boy is so funny. I do have 4 smaller ones but they are separate. Whenever they do mix, it's a wild tortoise orgy, quite complicated to explain to 3 year olds!

I got Bishop and Hindu from a guy who had 2 females and one male. He had two sets of eggs, and incubated each at diff temps to determine the sex of each clutch. He sold the torts at $40 each. I don't know much more about what he does as far as breeding, but his combined 5 torts (he has two other torts who he said would eventually weigh 600 lbs). Looked heathy and seemed content... They roamed his backyard (which seemed a bit small to me)...

And... There is my two cents...

---

So funny! Does anyone make money selling babies? My big boy is so funny. I do have 4 smaller ones but they are separate. Whenever they do mix, it's a wild tortoise orgy, quite complicated to explain to 3 year olds!

How long have you had your torts in relation to your tots?? I've got a two year old... He is really hilarious with the torts...

 

[ADVANceNA]

Sorry, but did you just say SIX HUNDRED POUNDS ? Those couldn't have been sulcatas ....

hahaha that made my eyes go big

 

[Yvonne G]

Sorry, but did you just say SIX HUNDRED POUNDS ? Those couldn't have been sulcatas ....

hahaha that made my eyes go big

I just had a vision of Jim Carey in Mask with the eyes bugging out like they were on springs.

 

[bfmorris]

Adding a female will only torture the poor female in a case like this. He'll harass her relentlessly. You would need to add several females in a very large enclosure for this to work out, and then you will start producing A LOT of eggs.

I think you'd be better off just keeping this male alone. I have a lone male and he is quite happy all by himself.

LOL!!! This sounds a lot like my marriage!!! Wonder if a bowl would work for my husband... Certainly would be cheaper than another wife... *chuckles*. I'm cracking myself up!!!!

Anywho.....

LMAO!!!!!!!!!!!!! Men dont need to be starved...

In all fairness then, tortoise husbandry (like the bowl jokes) should apply both ways. If a female won't breed, get a new female, or an extra female or two.


My comment is that if fences are being broken down by tortoises, it needs to be interpreted as a husbandry correction issue not a tortoise behavior issue.

 

[Texastort]

So funny! Does anyone make money selling babies? My big boy is so funny. I do have 4 smaller ones but they are separate. Whenever they do mix, it's a wild tortoise orgy, quite complicated to explain to 3 year olds!

I got Bishop and Hindu from a guy who had 2 females and one male. He had two sets of eggs, and incubated each at diff temps to determine the sex of each clutch. He sold the torts at $40 each. I don't know much more about what he does as far as breeding, but his combined 5 torts (he has two other torts who he said would eventually weigh 600 lbs). Looked heathy and seemed content... They roamed his backyard (which seemed a bit small to me)...

And... There is my two cents...

---

So funny! Does anyone make money selling babies? My big boy is so funny. I do have 4 smaller ones but they are separate. Whenever they do mix, it's a wild tortoise orgy, quite complicated to explain to 3 year olds!

How long have you had your torts in relation to your tots?? I've got a two year old... He is really hilarious with the torts...

---

Yeah, I have a 6 and 3 year old. They love our torts so much. They take great care of them. My big boy is too big for them to pick up, so sometimes the other ones get picked up. But, it's great because I can send them deep into their caves to check on them and I don't get dirty!!

---

Adding a female will only torture the poor female in a case like this. He'll harass her relentlessly. You would need to add several females in a very large enclosure for this to work out, and then you will start producing A LOT of eggs.

I think you'd be better off just keeping this male alone. I have a lone male and he is quite happy all by himself.

LOL!!! This sounds a lot like my marriage!!! Wonder if a bowl would work for my husband... Certainly would be cheaper than another wife... *chuckles*. I'm cracking myself up!!!!

Anywho.....

LMAO!!!!!!!!!!!!! Men dont need to be starved...

In all fairness then, tortoise husbandry (like the bowl jokes) should apply both ways. If a female won't breed, get a new female, or an extra female or two.


My comment is that if fences are being broken down by tortoises, it needs to be interpreted as a husbandry correction issue not a tortoise behavior issue.

Agreed, this wouldn't be a breeding project, just give my male something productive to do. He has been raping a 12 inch male I have constantly. Do you think a bigger female than him would still get harrassed?

 

[Tom]

You have to have a pretty large operation and devote a lot of time to it to actually make any money at it beyond your overhead.

Yes they will harass females larger than themselves. They are all different and each housing situation is different. I am just sharing the generalities that I have seen with you.

 

[bfmorris]

So funny! Does anyone make money selling babies? My big boy is so funny. I do have 4 smaller ones but they are separate. Whenever they do mix, it's a wild tortoise orgy, quite complicated to explain to 3 year olds!

I got Bishop and Hindu from a guy who had 2 females and one male. He had two sets of eggs, and incubated each at diff temps to determine the sex of each clutch. He sold the torts at $40 each. I don't know much more about what he does as far as breeding, but his combined 5 torts (he has two other torts who he said would eventually weigh 600 lbs). Looked heathy and seemed content... They roamed his backyard (which seemed a bit small to me)...

And... There is my two cents...

---

So funny! Does anyone make money selling babies? My big boy is so funny. I do have 4 smaller ones but they are separate. Whenever they do mix, it's a wild tortoise orgy, quite complicated to explain to 3 year olds!

How long have you had your torts in relation to your tots?? I've got a two year old... He is really hilarious with the torts...

---

Yeah, I have a 6 and 3 year old. They love our torts so much. They take great care of them. My big boy is too big for them to pick up, so sometimes the other ones get picked up. But, it's great because I can send them deep into their caves to check on them and I don't get dirty!!

---

Adding a female will only torture the poor female in a case like this. He'll harass her relentlessly. You would need to add several females in a very large enclosure for this to work out, and then you will start producing A LOT of eggs.

I think you'd be better off just keeping this male alone. I have a lone male and he is quite happy all by himself.

LOL!!! This sounds a lot like my marriage!!! Wonder if a bowl would work for my husband... Certainly would be cheaper than another wife... *chuckles*. I'm cracking myself up!!!!

Anywho.....

LMAO!!!!!!!!!!!!! Men dont need to be starved...

In all fairness then, tortoise husbandry (like the bowl jokes) should apply both ways. If a female won't breed, get a new female, or an extra female or two.


My comment is that if fences are being broken down by tortoises, it needs to be interpreted as a husbandry correction issue not a tortoise behavior issue.

Agreed, this wouldn't be a breeding project, just give my male something productive to do. He has been raping a 12 inch male I have constantly. Do you think a bigger female than him would still get harrassed?

---

---

I'm not saying inhabitants should be changed, I'm saying it is the fence builder's fault the fence didn't do its job.

 

[Jacqui]

Agreed, this wouldn't be a breeding project, just give my male something productive to do. He has been raping a 12 inch male I have constantly. Do you think a bigger female than him would still get harrassed?

Do you still have the smaller male in with him? Poor little male and he could end up being killed by the larger one along with the stress he must be under. How much space would you have for the pair (if you got the female) and would you just have the two together?