Sulcata purchase questions

[hobie237]

I've decided (and gotten the go-ahead from my girlfriend) to purchase a Sulcata. I'd like to get a hatchling so I can raise it- I raised my pair of painted turtles starting hours after their hatching in my parents' driveway, and they're doing fine, so I'd like to do it again.

Are there any more or less reputable breeders? Obviously I want the best price, but I'm more than happy to pay more for a tortoise from a more reputable breeder.

Are there any breeders or sellers local to the Newark, Delaware (greater Philadelphia) region? I'd prefer pickup to shipping, if possible.

Do breeders often "temperature sex" the eggs? I know with other turtles the sex of the offspring is largely determined by average temperature of the eggs (although I know it's not a guarantee), just wondering if it was a common practice. Is either sex more prevalent than the other? Just curious, more than anything else.

 

[Yvonne G]

Contact Julie at the Turtle Rescue Long Island. Also, look for TurtleHomes and contact them. Rescues always have sulcatas that need homes.

Yvonne

 

[hobie237]

Oh, while I'm asking questions, how fast do the buggers grow? I've seen contradictory information here and there- just curious if there was a more accurate consensus.

 

[Yvonne G]

Just like people, tortoises all grow at different rates. Some are 10lbs at 3 years of age, while it might take another 8 or 9 years to reach 10lbs. My Dudley is 18 years old and 100lbs. Ron in Colorado, a newbie on this list, has Louie, who is quite a bit younger than Dudley and he reached 100lbs sooner than Dudley did. Try not to worry or to compare your tortoise to others. Just make him happy in his new environment, feed him right and love him.

Yvonne

 

[hobie237]

Fair enough, I was just curious more than anything. I guess the two main points I can be reasonably well assured of, are that he/she won't grow to full size for at least 10 years or so, which is good, because we may move once or twice before we settle into longer-term careers. I think the tortoise would be one of the easier things to moved, relative to the fish tanks...