Sulcata torts

Whats some of the longest lifespans your Sulcatas have had? I might be getting a 19-year-old male. any mistakes NOT to make? Any funny stories?

Once heard a story where someone kept a tortoise in a separate room and then one day the tortoise went full kool-aid man and busted through the wall. Personally haven to owned tortoises and don’t reallt plan too

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I know male torts of all types tend to…uh…try and mate with everything. So don’t be surprised if you have to clean up after it. :joy: To my knowledge they average around 70-80 years so they will out live you most likely. They are also huge. They easily reach 200 pounds and are not the easiest to care for due to how hard it is to keep them from escaping/destroying whatever they are kept in. They also eat a lot due to their size. I don’t recommend starting with a sulcata if this is your first tort. I especially don’t recommend an older male, as you never know what kind of care it truly had before you getting it. On top of that, starting with a big horny mobile tank that will find everything (especially round things) attractive might be a bit much since it will bulldoze everything to get to what it wants.

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this would be my third tort after having two (also male) russian torts. we have a large well fenced yard with plenty of weeds and stuff but thanks a lot for the rest of the info…

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I have read that their lifespan is 80 to 150 years. They eat a lot of grass, some veggies, and a lot of grass hay. Even a big sulcata doesn’t cost that much to feed. I keep my sulcata outside in a round pen made of cinder blocks, fence posts, and cement during the warm months and inside during the winter. (I live in southern Alabama, not much winter here) I have my husband’s God kids lined up to give her a home after she outlives me.

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I live in Redding Ca. We have cold winters and hot summers. The cinder block idea works great with russian torts. We have a smaller house so I’m planning on heating one of the unused stalls in our large barn for winter and when he is not in our yard.

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Friend of has his grandfather’s tort that he brought from Africa around the end of WW2. He’s roughly 150 pounds and a bulldozer. He has on various occasions destroyed lawns, flower beds and any edible plant.

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