I have a sulcatta tortoise, does anyone have any advise or wisdom to share about these cool pets?

Mine is 5 or 6 years old. I have had him a year.I have a sulcatta tortoise, does anyone have any advise or wisdom to share about these cool pets?
I own 4 Sulcatas and they are great! 3 of them are only a couple of years old, but the 4th is about 10 years old and he is huge.





First of all, I HIGHLY recommend that you visit sulcata-station.org. I trust them with my tortoises' lives (literally) and the site is dedicated to providing accurate information about them. I go there immediately if I have any questions or problems and I think you should, too.





One thing I can also tell you for sure is that your Sulcata will be much happier and healthier if it is allowed to be outside. If you have the space and ability to build a secure outdoor pen, please do it. If not, go outside with him for at least 20-30 minutes a day and let him enjoy the sunshine.





Also, grass and weeds are THE most important thing for your tortoise to eat. We don't treat our grass with pesticides or weed killer or anything like that, so our tortoises are safe to roam the back yard and eat as much as they want.





As far as other food items go, stay away from lettuce as much as possible. So many people use that as a staple for their tortoises even though it is not good for them at ALL. Doesn't matter what kind of lettuce it is--none of it is good for them. It's okay as a very occasional treat... Same with other fruits and vegetables. Sulcata Station has a ';diet'; page that goes into this further.





If you want yours to be tame and form a bond with you, hand-feed him as much as possible. It's amazing how quickly they become used to you and they will start following you around when you take them outside. They're truly amazing creatures.





Good luck with him!I have a sulcatta tortoise, does anyone have any advise or wisdom to share about these cool pets?
I have a Sulcata also, mine's a baby though. I like the forum they have through yahoo, the CTTC Turtle and tortoise list, and www.tortoise.org


I can tell you now, get him a calcium supplement to prevent the piramiding they may get, soak him in a tub for about 15 minutes every few days, and make sure 80% of his diet is grasses. You can join the CTTC group in Yahoo relatively easy, theyre a ton of help for me.


Good Luck!
Take a look at


http://www.harpoandfriends.com/





If you don't have a reptile vet yet, find one. Get an x-ray and blood work every two years.
They get big. Then they get huge.





They eat alot. They need lots of heat/sunlight.





They need lots of room.





They can easily out live humans.





Most die at a young age in captivity.





They are one of the poorest pet choices for a concious and ethical human being.
All I know is that they are the largest land tortoise.