Tobias & Maximus - New Member Here

BlakeElDorado

New Member
Joined
May 12, 2020
Messages
25
Location (City and/or State)
El Dorado Hills
I have two 5 year old sulcatas that have free roam of our large back yard. They were from two separate clutches (intentional) but have lived together since they were both 4 inches long. Different body types but both friendly.

the 1st photo is Tobias, the second is Maximus in their eating enclosure.

**Just seeded grass so the dirt in the background will hopefully be grass in a few weeks time!

Also, they have indoor housing for winter and heating pads available. They eat a huge variety of foods, what you see was just today’s mix.

6E91DD47-D727-4103-89FF-A99C6B8AD1F7.jpegA3B55EBB-DF3A-4B25-9264-F557B75BCB8D.jpeg
 

BlakeElDorado

New Member
Joined
May 12, 2020
Messages
25
Location (City and/or State)
El Dorado Hills
I have two 5 year old sulcatas that have free roam of our large back yard. They were from two separate clutches (intentional) but have lived together since they were both 4 inches long. Different body types but both friendly.

the 1st photo is Tobias, the second is Maximus in their eating enclosure.

**Just seeded grass so the dirt in the background will hopefully be grass in a few weeks time!

Also, they have indoor housing for winter and heating pads available. They eat a huge variety of foods, what you see was just today’s mix.

*Tobias is nearly 17/18 inches long and feels like he’s approaching 50 lbs, Maximus is closer to 14 inches and 35lbs.
 

Maggie3fan

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I have Big Sam and Knobby...their weight is the same as yours...plant weeds and grass in the pens...Sulcata are super easy keepers and if they had grass and weeds you wouldn't have to buy food to feed them...welcome
 

Tom

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Hello and welcome!

El Dorado hills, as in Southern CA? These guys need to be living outside full time. I can't imagine what you must be doing to keep them indoors...

Here is how you do it in our warm climate here:

I sent you the link for the double door box because these two need to be separated. They should never live as pairs, and this gets worse as they approach maturity. Building the double door box will allow you to easily divide the yard and then you only have to heat one house for the both of them.

If two separate houses are easier or more convenient for your situation, then here is a smaller house suitable for a single tortoise, also with a different, but still safe, heating strategy.

Here is some diet info to give you more ideas about what to feed. I'm to the north of you in Santa Clarita. I have an abundance of spineless opuntia cactus pads. You are welcome to come get some for free if you don't mind the drive. Or you can order your own on-line. Your area is ideal for growing all types of opuntia.
 

BlakeElDorado

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Location (City and/or State)
El Dorado Hills
Indoors during the few cold spells we have annually... I live in a hot part of ca, with summer breaking into the 100's/110's. Lows typically don't go below 60, and if we have an abnormal cold spell I have indoor housing that my wife hates I use to keep them warm :).

Ill look into the double doors and appreciate the info!
 

BlakeElDorado

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Messages
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Location (City and/or State)
El Dorado Hills
I have Big Sam and Knobby...their weight is the same as yours...plant weeds and grass in the pens...Sulcata are super easy keepers and if they had grass and weeds you wouldn't have to buy food to feed them...welcome
They mow our weed lawn for much of their diet, and a local grocery shop puts together a large box weekly that consists of bell peppers, mixed greens and other treats for them. [any produce that is a day old or hits the ground has to be thrown out, so they give it to me :). I mix in mazuri on occasion but that's the only part of their diet I have to pay for.
 

Markw84

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Indoors during the few cold spells we have annually... I live in a hot part of ca, with summer breaking into the 100's/110's. Lows typically don't go below 60, and if we have an abnormal cold spell I have indoor housing that my wife hates I use to keep them warm :).

Ill look into the double doors and appreciate the info!
I live maybe 10 miles away from you. I keep my sulcatas outdoors year-round using the heated night-box as their "burrow" to stay warm when needed. They are free to go in and out as they please 24/7. They put themselves in every night. (which is important as my biggest is over 200 lbs!) They will learn to do this within just a few day when you build your box. The night boxes as @Tom linked are very cost effective to keep warm. I start keeping sulcatas outdoors year-round when they reach about 10". So your 14" tortoise, which normally weighs about 13.5 lbs will be fine. Your 17"-18" tortoise should weigh in at 35-40 lbs at that size. So both are plenty big enough for outdoor full time. The larger should now be mature. The smaller will probably be next year. You're going to have some trouble keeping them together as mature tortoises as a pair, especially if one is a male. If both are male, you are in for trouble big time.
 

BlakeElDorado

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I have to separate them during mating season... but the rest of the year they're best friends. May end up re-homing if everyone thinks this is going to be a persistent issue. Appreciate the help and glad to be here.
 

Maggie3fan

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They mow our weed lawn for much of their diet, and a local grocery shop puts together a large box weekly that consists of bell peppers, mixed greens and other treats for them. [any produce that is a day old or hits the ground has to be thrown out, so they give it to me :). I mix in mazuri on occasion but that's the only part of their diet I have to pay for.
I have the same arrangement with a local store...
here's where my torts live...I am in the PNW with rain and snow...
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Here is Big Sam (50lb)
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Knobby...a rescue...(35lb)
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Tom

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I have to separate them during mating season... but the rest of the year they're best friends. May end up re-homing if everyone thinks this is going to be a persistent issue. Appreciate the help and glad to be here.
Mating season for sulcatas starts in Early January and ends in late December.

They are not best friends the rest of the time, and the things that make it look like they are friends are actually tortoise aggression.
 

Maggie3fan

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My Sulcata are both male...they were separated by a cinder block wall stacked 2 high...Sam, the bigger of the 2 would stand on his back feet and use his front feet to smash at the top row of blocks and twice he has broken thru to flip Knobby on his back and tried to push him into the ground...hence killing him. So I have had to make a new pen for Knobby where Sam can't smell him and try to kill him....you will as well...
 

BlakeElDorado

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Tom, be that as it may... they only bicker like this and mount each other from late April through early summer [in my house]. Would a male live in peace with a female or are they best raised alone?
 

Maggie3fan

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Both mine are male, but tortoises as a whole...look upon another tortoise as competition for anything...sleeping spot, basking spot, food...for personal reasons my tortoises have always been male...BUT...a female Sulcata lays between 10 and 20 eggs to a clutch...and they don't seem to have a breeding season...they breed all the time...you could possibly have large amounts of Sulcata...you ready for that? Can you find homes for a lot of babies? On the West Coast Sulcata are like feral cats...and a bigger problem is when the cute little baby starts to get big and cause damage...they dump it somewhere. If you insist on having 2 Sulcata, male or female, keep them separate...my cinder block wall was 2 high...but Sam keeps knocking it down so that he could flip Knobby over...so I made the wall 3 high...but a Sulcata is VERY strong and Sam could and would knock over that wall to get at Knobs...so I am in the process of cutting away years of blackberry growth to build a new area for Knobby using a solid ceder fence to keep them apart...and believe me...I wouldn't go to all this damn work if it wasn't necessary...
 

BlakeElDorado

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El Dorado Hills
Not insistent on having two at all... just want whats best for them. I have the ability to set up separate pens in the yard, and will discuss with my wife either rehoming or separating if that's the consensus.

Edit: On a side note, I commented yesterday on a FB group I'm a part of that I was considering rehoming one of my two males, not that I was, and I got 50 plus PM's asking to adopt him. I hear the "no one wants them" comment a lot, from everywhere... but my experience has been very different.

Also, I don't have a desire to become a breeder,.. could I financial support a bunch of torts... sure, but not something I'm actively pursuing.

P.S. I appreciate all the advice and warm welcome!
 

Tom

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Tom, be that as it may... they only bicker like this and mount each other from late April through early summer [in my house]. Would a male live in peace with a female or are they best raised alone?
That's odd. They mount and dominate each other all year, and actual breeding occur in fat and winter. I get my first eggs in late December or January. These guys are winter layers in North America. They stop laying when the weather warms up in April May, although the males try to breed them all year long anyway.

They should never live in pairs. Male/male would be the worse. Male/female would be a close second. Female/female is the least problematic, but still not good. Groups can sometimes work, but never pairs. Best to divide the yard or rehome one.
 
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