What's it like to own a Galapagos?

Yellow Turtle01

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Just wondering, I've been reading a bunch of threads here and was kind of surprised that so many (in my view) keep them. They just get so BIG! :eek: I mean, not much bigger than a sulcata, but still, must be interesting?
 

wellington

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As far as I know, we only,have two members that own them. One being N2TORTS and his is little. Another member in Florida doesn't post much. The other ones you might be talking about, like ALDABRAMAN owns are Aldabra tortoises not Galapagos.
 

Turtlepete

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Very few own them. There are very few that produce them in the US, and hatchlings are about 5 grand. Wayne Hill has a group, and he had a couple hatchlings at the NRBE last year (adorable little things, if you've never seen hatchling galaps).
And they get much, much, much bigger then sulcatas. They could easily triple the size of a sulcata.
 

Yvonne G

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I imagine it might be the same as keeping aldabran tortoises. My biggest one is now close to 300lbs. They are gentle giants, however, they don't care what they bump up against, and if you don't have pretty strong fencing, you will find yourself on the repair-the-fence detail frequently. Two nights ago my two decided to sleep in a corner of their yard that has the pond fence on one side and the redwood privacy fence on the other. I made the mistake, when building the fence, of putting the pickets on the OUTSIDE of the fence rather than on the inside. So in the morning, when they decided it was time to 'get up,' the were pushing up against the fence to get turned around and back into their world, and they popped some of the boards off the 2x4's. The horizontal 2x4 was still in place, so there was no danger of them getting out, but it made more work for me hammering the boards back onto the fence. I'm hesitant to make any permanent repairs to their fence because in a year of so the county is going to be condemning the front of my property to widen the street and I'm pretty sure that fence will be going and I'm going to have to move the tortoises to another yard.
 

Yellow Turtle01

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Very few own them. There are very few that produce them in the US, and hatchlings are about 5 grand. Wayne Hill has a group, and he had a couple hatchlings at the NRBE last year (adorable little things, if you've never seen hatchling galaps).
And they get much, much, much bigger then sulcatas. They could easily triple the size of a sulcata.
WHOA, that's a... bit? For a hatchling. They are endangered though... I know, 5 feet long! :eek:
No, I have seen a few semi-adult torts at the zoos though... I feel bad for them :(
 

Yellow Turtle01

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I imagine it might be the same as keeping aldabran tortoises. My biggest one is now close to 300lbs. They are gentle giants, however, they don't care what they bump up against, and if you don't have pretty strong fencing, you will find yourself on the repair-the-fence detail frequently. Two nights ago my two decided to sleep in a corner of their yard that has the pond fence on one side and the redwood privacy fence on the other. I made the mistake, when building the fence, of putting the pickets on the OUTSIDE of the fence rather than on the inside. So in the morning, when they decided it was time to 'get up,' the were pushing up against the fence to get turned around and back into their world, and they popped some of the boards off the 2x4's. The horizontal 2x4 was still in place, so there was no danger of them getting out, but it made more work for me hammering the boards back onto the fence. I'm hesitant to make any permanent repairs to their fence because in a year of so the county is going to be condemning the front of my property to widen the street and I'm pretty sure that fence will be going and I'm going to have to move the tortoises to another yard.
Wow, that's 300 pounds of (REALLY ADORABLE!) muscle right there! They must eat a lot, because they are so big?
 
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Maggie Cummings

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This is just MY personal opinion, and I sure don't mean any disrespect to anyone. I may be a little incorrect here but there are 3 big tortoises that we talk about... the biggest are Aldabrans, they come from the Seychelles Islands. My sister has 2. I don't think they are teen agers yet, she says S.O. is close to 300 pounds now. In the wild they hit 600 pounds. But they are slow to move and slow to think, IMO it's kinda like keeping a dinosaur. Second largest are Galapagos, from the namesake islands and I 'think' they are 500 to 600 pounds. I'm not sure about any of those weights, but they give you an idea, before someone who really knows comes on and tells ya. Anyhow, in MY experience the Galaps are more outgoing and active then the Aldabrans. I have been in with several Galapagos at a zoo and they were all around 600 pounds and pushing and shoving to have me neck scratch'em. It was pretty impressive. I'm amazed at how soft they are...Third is Geochelone sulcata from The Sudan, Northern Africa, parts of Egypt realistically a wild tortoise would hit maybe 150 to 175. But fat a**es like my Bob are likely to hit 200 in captivity. And of course I think Sulcata have the 'potential' to be very outgoing and special animals. I have met many Sulcata that wouldn't even open their eyes to look at me, but there are a few who were socialized and taught stuff. I used to have "The Bob Cart" and I would tip it down and he'd climb in and away we'd go. It had 2 big wheels and pushed easy. He out-grew it.:( Dean S has big Sulcata with personality, and it's because he talks to them and socializes them. I can't think of her persons name but there's a female named R.V. who seems to have that out going personality...there's other's who's names escape me right now, but I think that's the end of my little lecture anyhow and my opinion. Want a big tortoise to have fun with??? Get a Sulcata...
 

Yellow Turtle01

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This is just MY personal opinion, and I sure don't mean any disrespect to anyone. I may be a little incorrect here but there are 3 big tortoises that we talk about... the biggest are Aldabrans, they come from the Seychelles Islands. My sister has 2. I don't think they are teen agers yet, she says S.O. is close to 300 pounds now. In the wild they hit 600 pounds. But they are slow to move and slow to think, IMO it's kinda like keeping a dinosaur. Second largest are Galapagos, from the namesake islands and I 'think' they are 500 to 600 pounds. I'm not sure about any of those weights, but they give you an idea, before someone who really knows comes on and tells ya. Anyhow, in MY experience the Galaps are more outgoing and active then the Aldabrans. I have been in with several Galapagos at a zoo and they were all around 600 pounds and pushing and shoving to have me neck scratch'em. It was pretty impressive. I'm amazed at how soft they are...Third is Geochelone sulcata from The Sudan, Northern Africa, parts of Egypt realistically a wild tortoise would hit maybe 150 to 175. But fat a**es like my Bob are likely to hit 200 in captivity. And of course I think Sulcata have the 'potential' to be very outgoing and special animals. I have met many Sulcata that wouldn't even open their eyes to look at me, but there are a few who were socialized and taught stuff. I used to have "The Bob Cart" and I would tip it down and he'd climb in and away we'd go. It had 2 big wheels and pushed easy. He out-grew it.:( Dean S has big Sulcata with personality, and it's because he talks to them and socializes them. I can't think of her persons name but there's a female named R.V. who seems to have that out going personality...there's other's who's names escape me right now, but I think that's the end of my little lecture anyhow and my opinion. Want a big tortoise to have fun with??? Get a Sulcata...
Oh okay, I though Galapagos were the biggest! :eek: Aldabra torts do get big, I have seen picture from ALDABRAMAN :D Well, I think with 600 pounds of bone and stuff to heave around, I'd be slow too :p! Unfortunately, I've never actually like, touched a big tort like that... but I understand sulcata's big personalities! Spirited is a good way too put it... :p:confused:
B0b is a special tort, though, he is one of a kind :) I would love to talk my sulcata for 'walks' HAHA people would be SO confused!
 

chazd1984

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I'm fairly certain the 3 biggest by size are Galapagos then Aldabras and sulcata are the 3rd largest
 
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