African Spur Thighed Tortoise?

Question

For once not a fish question........Well, a few years ago my brother got an African Spur, and we were told he would only get as big as the cage you put him in. He was reallllllly tiny so we dint think he would grow but so big, and now he's HUGE O_O... My brother gave him to me because it was such a huge responsibility, but now hes gotten so big that he needs to be put in a yard. We have the biggest cage available around here and now he's too big for it. Its hard to clean out his cage, and he's getting really dirty because of how small it is. Its starting to become really expensive and I cant afford to keep him any more. We cant put him in the yard because its too cold. Does anyone know if theres anyone who would take him/her? because im really picky about giving him away since no one around here is really good with animals........

If I knew he would get so big, I would have talked my brother out of it. I feel like the pet store guy kinda didnt tell us the whole deal. I dont know if a zoo will take hime, but I dont want to just give him/her (dunno the sex) to just anyone. I wanna know that he'll be taken care of. I live in Postmouth VA and we got him in VA Beach. I dont plan on selling him, just making sure he has a reallllllllllllly good home. I hand feed him and everything, but my mom says we have to do something because its not fair to him/her that he's stuck in such a small cage. I dont want to give him away but I think he'll be better off.... As long as he/she is veryyyyyyy well taken care of. Im kinda picky about somebody having him so :(

I understand what your saying, I feel bad for having to give him away. It was my brother who got it in the first place so I can only go by what he told me, but hes not abused or wasting away as of right now. Im only looking to give him away because if he gets any bigger we will have to get rid of the cage. While its too small, we do let him out for majority of the day. I dont really like the idea of putting him "to sleep" since im against any shelters that do that. But I will look into someone who can house him alot better than I can.

Answer 1

About your best bet would be to try to find him a home in a southern climate like Florida..
That's what the rescues around here do as for heating and housing reasons, they are prohibitively expensive to keep indoors. Any chance you guys could get him to a rescue in Florida? Any chance you may be going there for vacation in the summer?
Try contacting these people, they handle listing sulcata tortoises and may have an adopter already approved..
http://www.turtlehomes.org/usa/index.shtml
That's why you should never just trust the guy at the pet store.. Sometimes you get lucky and get someone that really knows what they're talking about, BUT, most of the time you get someone that doesn't know anything and will just make up an answer..
Never, ever get a pet without researching it completely! Of course, you know that now, I was just reiterating that for people.

Answer 2

It is tragic when pet shops sell bad pet animals to people, and worse when they lie about the cares- but it is also tragic when people buy pets 'spur of the moment' instead of doing a little research first.

Many animal and reptile rescues are financially stressed and are less able to take 'anything' as they would like to be. In fact, several rescues have stopped taking things they cannot reasonably adopt back out, and this often includes the giant reptiles (such as the African Spurred or Sulcata Tortoises- the 3rd largest living tortoise).

At least one agency I know of only takes Sulcatas if you pay a year's upkeep up front.

Then, there is the problem of transportation. Most rescues for big tortoises are in warm places, and it costs a chunk of money to transport a big animal.

Just FYI- few zoos take abandoned pets anymore. They don't have the room, money, etc. for them in most cases. Some zoos still do, some will refuse right up front (usually with a polite letter), and a few will take the animal and use it 'other' purposes.

The most successful options are:
- advertise to give it away with flyers in pet shops
- ask people in the local herpetological society for advice
- ask local universities if they want it for any purpose





Before I go to the next option, understand... I LOVE tortoises (I have 4 of my own), and I think it is tragic that the wonderful Sulcata tortoise is being abused across the US like this. They breed well and quickly, so the babies are cheap. They are also cute- so thousands of them every year end up in small, cold habitats and most die within 5 years. I want to scream at people- buyers and sellers- who are part of this problem.

However, I also understand your dilemma and the tortoise's situation. If you CANNOT get things worked out for it, consider having your vet euthanize it. It would be better for it to be euthanized than to waste away- which will surely happen of you cannot give it the cares it desperately needs.

This is not an easy option to use, and it should not be- but it is sometimes the most humane solution.

Answer 3

The state of North Carolina has a good tortoise rescue group. Look around on-line...I'm not sure if VA has one, but these folks can probably help you locate a "rescue" home for the tort.

Otherwise, try seeing if your local area has a nature center that might be interested. I used to work for one and we kept many rescue torts.

Answer 4

I would suggest to not do this, as you have seen you shouldn't be mixing any different species together. The zoo seems to not exactly be very knowledgeable, this will often happen sadly with improperly knowledged zoos, they will do these species mixes some with completely different requirements. These 2 torts have different requirements and then also the leopard will be about half the size of a Sulcata, this will cause for the Sulcata to be constantly bullying the leopard, which will make the leopard tort very stressed, will go off food, etc. I highly advise that you stick to one species per enclosure, you can possibly get a Sulcata but house it in its own enclosure if you want another tort.