Are you wondering how big do sulcata tortoises get? It’s important to know how big a tortoise will get because you have to know how to properly take care of it, and what kind of tank you are going to need. Today, I am going to help you answer that question about how big do sulcata tortoises get.
How big do sulcata tortoises get? Sulcata tortoises can reach sizes between 30 and 35 inches in length and can weigh between 110 and 150 pounds. There are a lot of factors that will determine how big a tortoise will get, here is a list of the most important factors:
- Age
- The Diet
- Gender
- UV light
- Habitat
The size and the weight of a sulcata tortoise can drastically differ from individual to individual, based on the factors that I just mentioned. So let’s take a closer look at how those factors will influence how big a sulcata tortoise will get.
Age
All sulcata tortoises start their lives as eggs. Those eggs are very small, and they are usually between 1 and 1.5 inches in length. So baby sulcata tortoises are not very big either. But this will change very soon.
Compared to other tortoises, sulcata tortoises have a very disorganized growth rate, they can grow 10 inches in 2 or 3 years, or they could grow 10 inches in 10 years. But like all tortoises, they grow a lot more when they are young.
During the first years of their lives, sulcata tortoises will grow very fast. This rapid growth will last for 5 or 8 years and then it will considerably start to slow down.
You can expect that a juvenile sulcata tortoise will get from 2 to 5 inches in a very short period of time. But as your tortoise gets older, it can take anywhere from 12 to 18 months for it to grow another inch.
In the wild age plays another important role. The older a tortoise is, the bigger it will get to be. When a tortoise gets bigger, there will be fewer animals that can hurt it. This basically means that the bigger a tortoise is, the bigger it will get to be. I know it sounds strange, but let me give you an example to clarify things.
The Galapagos tortoises are some of the biggest tortoises in the world. And one of the reasons why they get to be so big is that after they reach a certain size there are no predators around that can hurt them. So after a certain size, they are able to grow even bigger without any effort, because there is basically nothing that can hurt them. So they can easily search for food without having to worry that something will attack them. They don’t have to look for a safe place to sleep, they can sleep anywhere because nothing can hurt them. The same principle also applies to the sulcata tortoise to some extent.
As sulcata tortoises get bigger, there are fewer animals that can hurt them, and this allows them to survive and grow even bigger.
The diet of a tortoise is also very different based on age, younger sulcata tortoises prefer to eat a lot more meat than adult sulcata tortoises. A diet that contains more proteins usually helps tortoises grow faster, but sometimes a diet that contains a lot of proteins can do more bad than good for the tortoise.
The Diet of Sulcata Tortoises
The diet represents one of the most important factors that influence the growth of a sulcata tortoise.
Sulcata tortoises are omnivorous, which means that they will eat meat, as well as plants. In general, the diet of a sulcata tortoise consists of:
- Berries
- Fruits
- Vegetables
- Insects
- Worms
- Fish
- Meat
- Turtle pellets
Berries, fruits, vegetables, and other plants, contain a lot of vitamins and nutrients that help them remain healthy, but in general, they don’t offer too many things that help with the growth directly.
On the other hand, meat contains a lot of protein, and protein is directly responsible for the growth of the tortoise. In general, the more meat the tortoise eats, the bigger and faster it will grow. This is one of the reasons why baby and juvenile tortoises, who prefer meat over other types of food, grow faster than adults.
But too much protein can also be a bad thing. If a tortoise eats too much protein, it will start pyramiding. When a tortoise is pyramiding, individual scutes will begin to rise above the normal dome shape of the shell to form what appear to be pyramids.
In general, pyramiding is not very dangerous, the only time it can be considered dangerous is when the bumps become too pronounced. If your tortoise already shows signs of pyramiding you shouldn’t worry too much about its health, because it shouldn’t be affected in any way at this point. But you should definitely reconsider your diet.
Pyramiding is usually more common in pet tortoises, but it can still happen to wild tortoises as well.
If a tortoise doesn’t eat, it will start to lose weight and its growth will be halted until it finds a proper food source.
If a tortoise doesn’t have a proper diet, it can still grow, just not at a normal rate. By proper diet, I mean a good balance of meat, which contains proteins, fruits, and vegetables, that contain vitamins and various nutrients, and pellets, which usually contain a mix of everything a tortoise needs.
Difference Between Male and Female Sulcata Tortoises
In general female tortoises tend to be a little bigger than male tortoises. The size difference is not always very significant, but females are usually bigger by at least half, or 1 inch, and even bigger in some cases.
Tortoises don’t have a very flexible body. So when a female tortoise is pregnant, it’s impossible for her belly to get bigger. They need to keep the eggs inside them, so they need a little more space than males do. This is why they are a little bigger than the males of their species.
UVB Light
UVB light is a light spectrum of the UV light that plays a very important role in the life of most reptiles, and that also includes tortoises. UVB light plays a vital role in the production of Vitamin D3 which is essential for the calcium in the body. Without UVB light tortoises wouldn’t be able to get the proper amount of calcium which can lead to improper bone and shell growth.
Tortoises get UVB light by basking. When tortoises bask they try to find a place where the sun rays are very powerful, so they usually climb on big rocks or any place that is closer to the sun. When they find the best spot, they simply lay in the sun for hours. During this time they are exposed to UVB rays.
Pet tortoises have basking areas that are equipped with a UVB Bulb, that replicates the effects of the UVB rays that come from the sun.
A tortoise that doesn’t have access to UVB will have much slower growth or none at all. In the wild, there are places that are more exposed to the sun than others, but tortoises will usually search until they are able to find a place that offers a good amount of UVB light. So in the wild tortoises don’t usually have problems with the UVB light.
Pet tortoises are almost entirely reliant on UVB Bulbs. In general, most UVB bulbs will get the job done, but if you want to know more details about, and the different types that are available, then you should read my article: Guide for Lighting and Heating a Turtle Tank and Basking Area, there you will find a lot more information on this subject.
Now let’s talk about the differences between pet and wild tortoises, and how their habitat can influence their growth.
Difference Between Pet and Wild Sulcata Tortoises
In general pet, tortoises tend to be bigger than wild tortoises. This is because they have access to better conditions.
If you are properly taking care of a sulcata tortoise, then it should definitely get bigger than a wild one. This is because wild tortoises don’t always have access to enough food, the weather doesn’t always help them with the UVB rays and they are under a constant threat from predators.
And there is also one other major factor that wild tortoises have to deal with, and pet tortoises don’t the winter. During the winter tortoises hibernate. When they hibernate they are basically just sleeping until the bad weather passes.
During the time that they are hibernating, they use a lot of energy, vitamins, calcium, and proteins, to survive. If they didn’t have to hibernate they would have used them to grow, and not to survive the winter.
While tortoises hibernate they also don’t have the chance to gather any kind of nutrients, and they don’t have access to any UVB rays. So basically every year pet tortoises have 12 months at their disposal to grow, while wild tortoises only have 7 to 9 months.
If you want to know how turtles and tortoises hibernate, and how they use the nutrients stored to survive, you should check out this article: How to Help Your Turtle Hibernate.
So no matter how you look at it, pet tortoises have a bigger chance of growing bigger than most wild tortoises.
Related Questions
How do I keep my turtle small? You can’t keep a turtle small, any attempt to do so will only affect its health. If you want a small turtle then you should get a turtle species that stay small, here you can find a list of turtles that stay small and don’t grow: Best Pet Turtles That Stay Small and Don’t Grow.
How can I make my tortoise grow faster? The only way that you can make a tortoise grow faster is to ensure that it has everything that it needs, a proper diet, a proper tank, and a proper basking area.
Do tortoises grow to the size of their tank? No, how big a tortoise will grow depends on its species and the living conditions. If you have a very small tank, there is a good chance that your tortoise will outgrow it.
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