My Tortoises

[TylerStewart]

I spent the afternoon yesterday getting newer photos of some of our tortoises here.... The pics turned out pretty nice, and most of these are from yesterday. I love these guys!

Greek Tortoises:

Hermanns Tortoises:

Leopard Tortoises:

New addition from a member of ChamForum:

Pancake Tortoises:

Redfoot Tortoises:

Star Tortoise:

 

[TylerStewart]

Few More Pics

Sulcata Tortoises:
130 Pounder

Elongated Tortoises (older photos):

 

[draetish]

Very cool! How many acres do you need for all those torts?

 

[hondataeg6]

Dude, how old is that Sulcata Tortoise???

 

[TylerStewart]

Very cool! How many acres do you need for all those torts?

LOL... That's our struggle right now! We keep them at 2 places, but we just got 2.5 acres that a lot of it will be moving to soon... Not sure when, but right now we are pretty congested. We juggle them around quite a bit with the seasons. Egg laying needs to be at my house, but they lay in different seasons, so we try to make it work.

I don't have the exact age on that male, but he's probably in his 20s. His size is big and makes you think old, but you can kinda tell by his shell that he's not that old. The old ones change color a bit and show the years of wear and tear on their shells. This one still has a pretty "young" looking shell, and is probably just a fast grower. Large tortoises are usually hard to get a full history on since they typically have changed hands a few times before I get them. I only really know exact ages on a pretty small percentage of what I have, but you can tell which ones are old or young. The orange female in the last sulcata photo (with the mud puddle behind her) is probably in her 30s based on wear and tear she has. It's all pretty hard to see in the photos.

 

[draetish]

Makes sense, so do you rescue/adopt unwanted ones? How much would that big male sale for? If one had the room, that would be an honor to have that majestic guy walking around.

 

[chams1]

Fantastic pics, Tyler!

 

[TylerStewart]

Makes sense, so do you rescue/adopt unwanted ones? How much would that big male sale for? If one had the room, that would be an honor to have that majestic guy walking around.

They're only "majestic" until they dig a hole in the middle of your grass, then they're a pain in the ass!

I don't openly "adopt" them in, and pretty much have never had one just handed to me, but I could probably find a home for them if it happened. Most of the ones you see for adoption are free (or cheap) for a reason, usually just unattractive (messed up shells, etc). I've pretty much got rid of the less pretty ones I used to have, and don't buy anything that isn't pretty anymore - even if it's productive. It drives me too crazy on a daily basis to see oddball tortoises when I have them around. To me, it's almost a collecting hobby more than a business. I have plenty of them here that aren't (yet) productive, but I still keep certain ones just because I like them. I think the chameleons made me cosmetically anal.

As far as a value, females are usually worth a lot more, but I've seen similar males sell for pretty good money ($500-1,000) just because they were big. I wouldn't sell this male for $1,000 just because I like him and his name is Buddah (a name my mom gave him since he spends most of his time over there). There are occasional big males given out for adoption at almost no cost, though, so you just have to be at the right place at the right time. I've never got any for free.

Edit: Thanks Julie!

 

[Monkeykungphu]

Fantastic pictures Tyler! Really happy looking tortoises!

I imagine you go through TONS of salad with your tortoise herd!

 

[Redeye]

Might be getting baby Radiated this year not gonna let wifey know what thats gonna cost

 

[beeze]

Very nice collection! Wish I had the place for just a couple of those.