Chief

This 5-yr-old sulcata is in Bertram. Chief is a juvenile sulcata. She is very healthy and well cared for. She was a gift for the son's birthday. The family had no idea she was a sulcata until she started growing. They do not have the room for her to continue to grow. She is a very friendly tortoise. She is very aware and alert. She loves romaine lettuce and to bathe in the sun. This is a juvenile sulcata tortoise. You will be required to let it live outdoors when temperatures are above 60. You MUST provide an enclosure of at least 200 square feet in size to adopt this baby. The enclosure needs to be planted with tortoise safe vegetation and should have places for hiding/sheltering. The enclosure should be constructed so that it can grow with the animal, and in the next five years or so (as the animal reaches 10 inches) you must agree to let it have the run of at least 6,000 square feet of your fenced yard. Therefore, you must show that you have 6000 square feet available at the time of your application. In order to adopt a sulcata or leopard tortoise allow them to always live outdoors where it can enjoy natural sunlight, lots of shady spots for hot summers, lots of plants and other hiding places, a warm shelter that it can freely go into when temperatures drop below 60 degrees, clean fresh water, and plentiful natural graze just like it would have in the wild. That means grasses, weeds, and cactus, but a little snack of store-bought produce is okay once in a while but not as a regular diet. Please do not feed your sulcata or leopard tortoise fruit or produce that is high in oxalates, such as spinach or carrots, as these can cause bladder stones which may be fatal. Do your homework. They must have at least 6,000 square feet to roam that it will NOT be sharing with another tortoise, so it doesn't have to worry about fighting or mating. In the wild, these animals have home ranges that are measured in miles, not feet. We've already taken them from their habitat, the least we can do is try and emulate it in captivity as best as possible. You may NOT adopt more than one sulcata or leopard, unless you have multiple 6000-square-foot enclosures, even the cute harmless little babies. It is dangerous for the animal as it grows, they do NOT need a companion, and we will NOT approve the adoption of more than one sulcata per enclosure. TEMPS NEED to BE KEPT ABOVE 60 DEGREES (this means you might have to bring your animal into your home during an historic freeze event). DO NOT BOTHER APPLYING if you aren't willing to do WHATEVER IT TAKES to keep this animal alive. You MUST have a way to monitor the temperature inside of the tortoise's outdoor house (buy a Bluetooth thermometer) and you should be willing to purchase a good generator, and/or bring the tortoise inside your house if the power goes out and you can't keep the temps in your tortoise's house above 60. If you are not in good physical shape to lift and carry a heavy sulcata or leopard tortoise in an extreme cold weather event don't apply to adopt. Please understand that these animals can live for 150 years and can reach 200 lbs. You'll need to have a plan in place for both of these eventualities. If you submit photos of your sulcata or leopard tortoise habitat (aka: your yard) with a piece of paper with your name on it or some other form of authentication in the same frame as the habitat then we will review your application, otherwise your application will expire in 30 days without being reviewed. Pictures should be e-mailed to [email protected] (this is the only way to submit your photos - please don't text them to me or send them over Facebook). Photos should show sturdy walls or fence of the enclosure, hides, water source, heated house (or explain your plans for this) Once your application has been reviewed and approved, we'll send you an e-mail that has a link to our calendar or contact information for a foster home so that you can schedule the pick up at a time that is convenient for you. The adoption fee for a sulcata or leopard tortoise is $150, payable through the adoption link I will text you once you are approved. You can pay using the link anytime before picking up the tortoise. You may pay cash at the time when you pick up the animal only at our Bandera, Pflugerville, and Bertram locations. Foster homes will not take cash.