Tortoises are cool!!!!!!

[Reptilian]

From the pics that loaded with my dial up, the look great. I love turts and torts. They are great creatures. Just out of curiousity Aric, how fast to Sulcata's reach the 200lbs mark? Petland in the next city over sells Sulcatas for 150 and they are tiny 2.5 inchers. People think they are cute, which they are, but don't realize how big they get. Figure what 5 - 7years for them to reach that size?

I had a friend ask why we don't hear about 200 torts running rampage around cities. It's sad cause they don't last that long, they die from lack of UV and heat, or improper foods.....

EDIT:

To add...are the turtles and torts at the zoo, were they purchased as wild caught, where they someone's high end pets, or where they purcashed as babies and hand raised. The only reason I ask is because of the pymariding. It takes some time to develop and longer to reverse....just curious.

[Aric]

From the pics that loaded with my dial up, the look great. I love turts and torts. They are great creatures. Just out of curiousity Aric, how fast to Sulcata's reach the 200lbs mark? Petland in the next city over sells Sulcatas for 150 and they are tiny 2.5 inchers. People think they are cute, which they are, but don't realize how big they get. Figure what 5 - 7years for them to reach that size?

I had a friend ask why we don't hear about 200 torts running rampage around cities. It's sad cause they don't last that long, they die from lack of UV and heat, or improper foods.....

EDIT:

To add...are the turtles and torts at the zoo, were they purchased as wild caught, where they someone's high end pets, or where they purcashed as babies and hand raised. The only reason I ask is because of the pymariding. It takes some time to develop and longer to reverse....just curious.

5-7 years sounds good, I would say no more then 11-12 years to reach that size depending on the diet.

Some of the chelonians were bought from private breeders, gotten from other zoos, and some of the Asian turtles and torts were confiscated from the Asian food market.

Article on the confiscated turtles.
http://www.avma.org/onlnews/javma/apr02/s040102f.asp

[JASBALLS]

Love them all! 4-5 years on the sulcatas at 200lb. though!

[frankykeno]

Indian Star, feeding time.

Looks just like family at Thanksgiving dinner LOL. Love the pics Aric! What a joy it must be to work with these regal creatures.

[bearhart]

I was very interested in getting one but my coworker said he had a large one and it quickly got the name "Turdy The Tortoise" because it made lots of messes. He said they were extremely filthy which was a major bummer.

But, I curious for more opinions. What kind of maintenance can you expect for a large tortoise that lives in the back yard?

[Alice]

Great pics Aric! They are amazing animals.

Can I assume from your comments that you work at the Knoxville Zoo?

BTW, is that duct tape on the Indian Stars? If so why? If not, what is it?

Thanks for sharing these magnificent animals with us.

[Aric]

But, I curious for more opinions. What kind of maintenance can you expect for a large tortoise that lives in the back yard?

Since they are inside now, cleanup is a pain. Their hay is changed several times a week. Their poop is big and lots of it, not always solid.

[Aric]

Great pics Aric! They are amazing animals.

Can I assume from your comments that you work at the Knoxville Zoo?

BTW, is that duct tape on the Indian Stars? If so why? If not, what is it?

Thanks for sharing these magnificent animals with us.

Im a volunteer in the herp dept, its basically a non-paying job. Their is a lady who is doing a study on the Indian start, theres duct tape on them for identification purposes.

[daniel1983]

Great shots of some cool torts!!

I love the pancake torts. I have them on my 'wish list' for when I have more room. Such interesting little guys.

Thanks for sharing.

[bearhart]

Since they are inside now, cleanup is a pain. Their hay is changed several times a week. Their poop is big and lots of it, not always solid.

They have some tortoises at the local exotics shop that I've been pondering. Apparently, these things will get quite large and will need to live in the back yard with a heated dog-house for winter-time. Do you think one large tortoise like that would destroy a back yard?