Reptile & Amphibian Forums

This is a long shot: I have a question on sulcata growth rates in the northeast of the U.S. Although I know that any living thing (humans/animals/plants) has its own growth rate, in other words, we all grow at different speeds to different heights/lenghts, how SLOW (or fast) would a captive raised sulcata grow from hatchling to adult in a cold climate region like the northeast, feeding and meeting its husbandry requirements properly? For sulcata keepers in the northeast, what has been your experience/testimony/success on this subject?
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~ gee

I live in Michigan. My female laid her first clutch last year at 6 1/2 years. The male is almost as big, but two years younger. They were both raised from hatchlings.
Sorry I don't have any measurements. I will try to post them later.
Kakes

Hey I live in Michigan too. One of my torts is going to be 9 in Decenember and is about 31 pounds. My question for the other Michigan guy is where you keep them over winter. I have always kept mine in a horse trough 8 ft by 3 ft in my basement but Im looking to build an insulated box in a unheated garage. Any suggestions?

When they were smaller, I kept them indoors in home made cages/pens. As they got bigger and they spent Memorial Day to Labor Day (give or take a couple of weeks) outside full time, I kept them in a 4' X 4' heated cage/box in an unheated garage for the winter. I am hoping this is their last winter in that box. I have plans to have an enterance into the garage for them in the summer and a heated room in the garage for the winter.

Mine came from the northeast and was 12" and 6 years old when it arrived here in south florida. I'm sure it would have grown a bit faster here outdoors on grass year round.
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-Jake

0.1 juvie L.t. annulata
1.1 adult/subadult L.g. californiae
0.2 adult Pseudemys nelsoni
1.0 sub adult Geochelone sulcata
0.1 mexican double yellowheaded amazon parrot

mine is 6 years and about 12 inches . HE (found that out this year) is just over 12 lbs 1 and a half oz... I have kept records of length and weight most of his life.. I found that the first two to three years growth was slow. once I learned more about them and got him outside during the summer he started to grow. quickly . I'll go get the records i kept and post them here.

ok keep in mind this is a home in new england so it is inside housing , at first i didn't have a scale till 2006 length only

sept. 2002 2.85 inches
feb. 2003 3.19 inches
oct. 2004 4.4 inches
then I missed a year and got a scale
april 2006 5.385 inches 605 grams
june 2006 5.955 inches 780 grams
july 2006 6.15 inches 945 grams
then back inside for the winter
feb 2007 about 7 inches 1171 grams
then in june he goes back outside..
june 2007 7.160 inches and 1768 grams/3.14 lbs
july 2007 2124 grams/4 lbs 10oz
nov. 2007 2704 grams/ 5 lbs 15.2 oz
so from june to november he about doubled in weight!!!
he still grew quite a bit last winter even thogh he had to come inside. he goes back out in summer of 2008 July he weighs in at
4458 grams/ 9 lbs 13oz almost 4 lbs gain over winter 7 months or so...
I weighed him today oct 2008 12 lbs 1.5oz.!!!
bottom line is that from last july to this july he gained 5 lbs roughly doubled his weight!! he is growing fast.. but healthy, he has a fairly smooth shell has bumps on his shell carapace scutes but not pyrimids. good muscle tone
hope someone finds this interesting.. wonder if next october i'll have a 24lb animal??