Sulcata Owner - 9 year old guy

[Schatzi011]

Hello, I have a 8.7 year old sulcata male, Hercules. I've had him since he was a couple months old. We've moved around a few times (spent 4 rough years in MN) and are now in LA, where Hercules gets all the sun he wants.

I often have questions about my guy, but haven't joined a forum until now.

I often hear about huge, young tortoises. My guy is quite small, but growing steadily. He is 23 lbs. I graph his growth weekly (done so since I acquired him). He has a great diet of fresh and dried grass, as well as fresh cactus, carrots and other miscellaneous vegetables. I was concerned when I saw how fast other's were growing while Hercules was plugging along at a much slower rate. I heard wild tortoises grow slowly, so maybe he is alright. His shell is very smooth and has no pyramiding.

We are always working on his enclosure, making improvements, seeing what he likes, etc. We also keep a turtle cam on him, so we can check his movement in the evening (fast forwarded tortoise running/walking is pretty amusing). Right now we don't have a huge yard for him, but plan to buy a house in the new few months, with a huge yard to give him some serious room. Meanwhile, we take him to the park every couple of days, which he loves, running around eating weeds.

Anyway, I am happy to join this forum.

 

[russian/sulcata/tortoise]

welcome to the forum! do you provide water for him? are you sure its a sulcata? we would love to see pics!

 

[ALDABRAMAN]

Welcome!

 

[Tom]

Hello and welcome.

Often the slow growers were started much too dry as hatchlings. For decades all the books and experts have taught us that sulcatas are a desert species that come from dry areas. Well there are two problems. 1. Yes it is hot and dry for 8-9 months of each year, but the sulcatas are underground in damp warm burrows during that time. 2. What the books never mention is the 3-4 month rainy season replete with puddles, marshes and very high humidity. Guess when the babies hatch?

Sadly, to this day most breeders still start them way too dry and don't soak them enough. Many of them die, but some survive and are just stunted or grow very slowly. I've done experiments where I take groups of hatchlings from the same clutch and raise them different ways. The ones raised with high humidity and daily soaks grow 2-3 times faster on the same quantity of the exact same food.

Mind you, I am not trying to grow them fast, slow, or at any speed. I am trying to grow them as healthy as possible, and this faster growth is a by product of good hydration. It is my supposition, based on my experience and experiments, that this faster growth is "normal" speed, and the slower growth that yours, and my older ones exhibited, is slow stunted growth due to chronic dehydration as a hatchling and youngster.

When you say LA, do you mean Los Angeles of Louisiana? Your tortoise ain't gettin' no sun in Louisiana today!

 

[bouaboua]

Hello and welcome to the forum. Like russian/sulcata/tortoise said, some photo of your torts and the enclosure he is in may help us to learn why he have slow growth.

Welcome ! ! !

 

[dmmj]

Salutations.
Y ou know a 23 pounder is nothing to sneeze at. As long as his growth is steady, don't comp[are him to other tortoises ( you will give him a complex )

 

[Schatzi011]

Oh yes, he has two dishes for water. I'm sure he's a sulcata.
Here are a couple of pictures (including his baby photo).

This is him a few weeks ago, taking in the last section of sun before night time.

 

[russian/sulcata/tortoise]

Oh yes, he has two dishes for water. I'm sure he's a sulcata.
Here are a couple of pictures (including his baby photo).

This is him a few weeks ago, taking in the last section of sun before night time.View attachment 119830 View attachment 119829 View attachment 119828 View attachment 119826

beautiful!

 

[Schatzi011]

I think the 4 years in MN wasn't great for him. He is keeping steady, exponential growth though. Now he is in a half grass, half concrete enclosure, with a wooden home, extra lamp and water bowls. It is pretty small for him, but the best I can do for now (20' x 15'). I take him out quite a bit though and he has learned to follow me. He knows when we are just going for a walk to the front of the apartments, that he follows me out there, then eats a bunch, then follows me back to his enclosure. I'm a bit wimpy, so even at 23 lbs he is a bit heavy for me to pick up for anything over a minute or so, and I am perfectly happy to have him follow me, carrying his weight himself. They learn pretty quick though and after just a few times, he figured out our walk routine.

The park is different. Then my husband puts him in a large container and we drive out to the fields. It is only a 4 minute drive, so he seems fine.

 

[Grandpa Turtle 144]

Hello and welcome to the TFO from AZ . Torts rule !

 

[bouaboua]

He is a very nice looking Sulcata ! ! ! ! That I have to say.

If this is my torts, I will have no worry for sure. Very smooth and I can see the growth line......Good looking indeed! ! !

 

[Schatzi011]

Thanks for the compliments! That gives me some encouragement. Maybe he's just going at his own pace.

 

[pam]

Welcome

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi and welcome to the Forum!

Oh my...he's beautiful!

 

[gingerbee]

Looks nice and happy!! Welcome!!

 

[Momof4]

Welcome!!! He is very handsome!!

 

[mike taylor]

Welcome to TFO! Very pretty sulcata indeed!

 

[Kathy Coles]

He is so pretty, he took my breath away. Beautiful.

 

[Tom]

I take him out quite a bit though and he has learned to follow me. He knows when we are just going for a walk to the front of the apartments, that he follows me out there, then eats a bunch, then follows me back to his enclosure. I'm a bit wimpy, so even at 23 lbs he is a bit heavy for me to pick up for anything over a minute or so, and I am perfectly happy to have him follow me, carrying his weight himself. They learn pretty quick though and after just a few times, he figured out our walk routine.

The park is different. Then my husband puts him in a large container and we drive out to the fields. It is only a 4 minute drive, so he seems fine.

I feel compelled to warn you that these are very dangerous practices. Apartment complexes and parks almost always spray all sorts of chemicals all over everything. Pesticides, fertilizers, fungicides, etc. Their goal is to make the plants look healthy and pretty, not keep them safe and edible for tortoises. Bug eaten plants don't look so pretty, so they coat the plants with toxins to keep the bugs away. Parks with lawns full of weeds are less attractive, so they put out "weed n' feed" granules to fertilize and kill the weeds. They know some people are uncomfortable with these chemical, but they think they are fine and harmless. I have had them lie right to my face without so much as a flinch about using these chemicals. They sometimes just tell you what they think you want to hear to shut you up, not knowing or caring that they are killing your pet.

I would never let my tortoise walk around the grounds of an apartment complex or roam at a park and I certainly would not let them graze.

 

[Schatzi011]

Thank you for the warning. The park I take Hercules to is a park full of those unattractive weeds. That is why he loves it so much.
As far as walking around the grounds of an apartment complex, I don't think a lot of chemicals are going to be soaked up through his feet. There are quite a lot of children as well, who are walking around barefoot as well (I do a lot myself). We've been alright (I was barefoot a lot as a child as well, and seemed to survive just fine). He mostly stays on the concrete anyway. His feet are healthy and in good condition, so the concrete has not been too hard on him either.
I have parrots as well and realize that with all pets and people, there are risks no matter what you choose to do. I am an animal scientist and work as a animal nutritionist/mathematical modeler. It is very important to stay educated about the risks, but no matter what, we will be taking some kind of risks with our babies.