200 Lb Sulcata

[Rawbbeh]

So a couple months back I went to visit a friend of mine who breeds bearded dragons and tortoises (Leopard and Sulcatas)

Anyways, she told me about this behemoth she had and that you can't appreciate how big "Trouble" is until you meet him in person.

So I snapped a few pictures...Last time he was weighed he was at 200 lbs. He hasnt bred in many many years...because they can't find a female big enough for him.

Those 2 heads of lettuce lasted all of...maybe a minute...2 at most.


Probably noone alive can remember this wound....ok hes not THAT old. I think he is 25-30 years old...


His hand was about 2 times the size of my manly meaty fist...if not more.

[alpine]

That is a big guy! What happened to his shell though? What wound O.o I must know!

[JaGv]

i saw 1 a bit smaller than that 1 at the pet store near me those things get big compared to how small they are as babies.

[John1982]

Quite the beast there! I remember going to the alligator farm in St. Augustine some years back and they had a gigantic male sulcata that wasn't that far behind, size-wise, from their galapagos torts.

[Mike41793]

Very cool, thanks for sharing!

[Pyrate81]

Thanks for sharing. That is a big boy.

Is he the size of a 40 gallon trash can and ride-able?

[Rawbbeh]

Thanks for sharing. That is a big boy.

Is he the size of a 40 gallon trash can and ride-able?

Let me say this. I am 6'3" and about 300 lbs. When I stood over it, I looked like a cowboy that had ridden a pregnant horse my butt was inches from resting on its shell I was so bowlegged!

I could barely bend over and grab either side of its shell at the plastron as if I was going to *try* picking it up.

If I curled up on the ground next to it...(being the big guy that I am) I would have been about the same size as it.

He probably wouldnt notice a kid riding on its back... You can see in the progression on the pictures taken one after another, how quickly those heads of lettuce are disappearing (it was a snack lol, not a full meal!)

[Argentra]

NICE! Yeah, that is a big fella. Few people realize just how big those guys get...especially compared, as someone said, to how tiny they are as hatchlings.

After caring for Bolson tortoises at the zoo I worked at, I really love the big guys. Wish I lived in a place with a huge yard sometimes so I could keep a few.

[Robyn@SYR]

That is an impressive animal!