Wanted sulcata tortoises and advice

1

14666

Member
Hi guys,

I'm trying to source a couple of sulcata tortoises for a petting zoo in the UK set up (a farm park with a zoo licence) we already have a variety of reptiles in our reptile house, meerkats and wallabies in the pipeline. But sulcata tortoises are our next project. Any help and guidance is much appreciated.

P.S. I'm new to zoochat.
 
Hi, welcome to Zoochat!
Young sulcatas are very widely available from most reptile shops, but i'm presuming you're looking for larger individuals. I'd check any local reptile rescues/rehoming centres, as these places will often receive larger tortoises when they need a new home.
 
I second that.I personally have taken care of a large Sulcata Tortoise before and I will say they are quite easily to be found in most private Reptile shops.Keep in mind you will need a large enclosure for them as an adult as they do get large as the one I used to look after had to carted about in a wheelbarrow!

As for what will be needed, you will need two basking heat spot lamps,UVB strip lights,large water bowl as enclosure set ups for adults.Juveniles can be kept in vivariums until they get to appropriate sizes.

Hiding caves may be necessary for juveniles but for an adult they may simply prefer a large amount of hay to bury themselves under.

When I comes to feeding,washed produce left out will be fine for them
although they are best being left to graze in a grassy enclosure if you choose to do so.

When it comes to temperament,Sulcata are generally very docile and don't mind human interaction but you may end up with one that bites and from what I have heard the bites are not that serious(I wouldn't know personally) but from an adult I would expect that a bite could at least cause broken bones.

Enrichment wise,besides human contact and grazing,the Sulcata I used to look after was provided with a football to knock about and she became quite good at it.We used to go in with her,tap the ball across to her and she would tap it back.

I hope what I have said is helpful to you.
 
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Komodo99 said:
I second that.I personally have taken care of a large Sulcata Tortoise before and I will say they are quite easily to be found in most private Reptile shops.Keep in mind you will need a large enclosure for them as an adult as they do get large as the one I used to look after had to carted about in a wheelbarrow!

As for what will be needed, you will need two basking heat spot lamps,UVB strip lights,large water bowl as enclosure set ups for adults.Juveniles can be kept in vivariums until they get to appropriate sizes.

Hiding caves may be necessary for juveniles but for an adult they may simply prefer a large amount of hay to bury themselves under.

When I comes to feeding,washed produce left out will be fine for them
although they are best being left to graze in a grassy enclosure if you choose to do so.

When it comes to temperament,Sulcata are generally very docile and don't mind human interaction but you may end up with one that bites and from what I have heard the bites are not that serious(I wouldn't know personally) but from an adult I would expect that a bite could at least cause broken bones.

Enrichment wise,besides human contact and grazing,the Sulcata I used to look after was provided with a football to knock about and she became quite good at it.We used to go in with her,tap the ball across to her and she would tap it back.

I hope what I have said is helpful to you.
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Swampy said:
Hi, welcome to Zoochat!
Young sulcatas are very widely available from most reptile shops, but i'm presuming you're looking for larger individuals. I'd check any local reptile rescues/rehoming centres, as these places will often receive larger tortoises when they need a new home.
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Thank you both. Very helpful responses.
 
Snooky said:
Thank you both. Very helpful responses.
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That's perfectly fine,I'm glad I could help.If you don't mind me asking,where are you planning on obtaining this sulcata tortoise because I do know a few places that sell them.But you did say you have a zoo license,so if possible you may be able to get in contact with Blackpool Zoo as they have plenty of Sulcata Tortoises on show at the moment.
 
Komodo99 said:
That's perfectly fine,I'm glad I could help.If you don't mind me asking,where are you planning on obtaining this sulcata tortoise because I do know a few places that sell them.But you did say you have a zoo license,so if possible you may be able to get in contact with Blackpool Zoo as they have plenty of Sulcata Tortoises on show at the moment.
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I'm open to suggestions really. I have managed to find CB16s and CB17s for sale but we are really looking for some large sulcatas. Blackpool zoo is a good shout though, I will try them. I'm fairly new in to the zoo licence so am still learning a lot. Am I correct in thinking that there is a website somewhere where surplus zoo stock is listed? Can we keep 2 sulcatas together or will they fight?
 
Snooky said:
I'm open to suggestions really. I have managed to find CB16s and CB17s for sale but we are really looking for some large sulcatas. Blackpool zoo is a good shout though, I will try them. I'm fairly new in to the zoo licence so am still learning a lot. Am I correct in thinking that there is a website somewhere where surplus zoo stock is listed? Can we keep 2 sulcatas together or will they fight?
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From what I have seen it would only be the males that fight so you could keep two females together no problem.If you wanted to breed them you could get a male and a female but it is up to you. I don't know personally about whether or not there are websites about surplus zoo stock.One thing I will mention is that young Sulcata's start out small,but they grow fast.
 
I don't recommend sulcata tortoises. Far to large for just a pet owner, as they get around 95 pounds! Hermann's tortoises and Russian tortoises are known to be easier, but any small tortoise will do
 
But if you some how have the room, go for it, as they are quite cheap for tortoises
 
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