Hello,
I have had what I thought was 2 sulcata torts now for about five years, from the things that ive read and the pics ive seen im beginning to wonder. The bigger of the 2 torts weighs less than 10 Ibs. I have read that after 5 years they could weigh 30 or more, but from all the pics ive seen it looks like a sulcata from the picks. Is the spur thigh and the spur 2 different types? this woud answer alot of the questions I keep having, and if anyone has picks of both if they are different that would be great thanks for the help, Darrell.

Welcome ot the HC, someone should be along shortly to answer your question.

A lot of people are having this problem, so Sulcatas are just being called Sulcatas from now on. The main difference between the two is size. Sulcatas are the third largest tortoise in the world and can weigh up to 200 pounds, where as spur thigh are a bit smaller. Thier shells are colored a bit different too. If you go to yahoo and put in the sci name for the both species, you should get pics and be able to make a decent conclusion.
Spur thighed = Testudo graeca ibera
Sulcata = Geochelone Sulcata

Just out of curiosity, what do you feed them? Are they in your backyard?

i always thought they were the same :P
several internet sites pretty much say thier the same thing :P

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i'd be better off opening my own small zoo.

The sulcata is commonly called the African Spur Thighed Tortoise.
Then there is the Mediterranean Spur Thighed Tortoise.
You can see where the confusion comes in.

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Merlin,
What's Life Without A Little Magic!

yea, the african spur theigh is what I was talking about.
diden't know thier was a mediterranean as well.

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i'd be better off opening my own small zoo.

i feed them romaine lettuce,dandilions and I mix in timothy hay, but they never seem to just eat the hay I have to bury the lettuce in with it. I also have a pen outside for them, but I live in ohio so they are in alot. I have a room just for them I built the floor up about 6 inchs and cut out slots for 2 big kitty litter trays and a water tray, filled one with all top soil and one half topsoil and half timothy hay, though I never see them in there, i know they love to borrow so I figured they be in there when the lights went out. i also have a seperate heater in there that keep temp at 76, a heat lamp and a fish tnak hood about a ft off the floor for uvb. Am I doing something worng here cant figure out why they arent bigger, or maybe they are the right size for thier age, around five yrs, the male is about 11 inches long and about 12 Ibs and the female a bit smaller, is that normal?

Wow, I always thought they were different names for the same species as well. I learnt something new today!

Well I'm not gonna tell you how to take care of your animals, but just give this site a hit.. www.sulcata-station.com
This site is VERY knowledgable, probably better than most books. My advice would be to read everything on the site.
Hope it helps!

Oh and also you could maybe shoot the people who run the site an email with pics of your torts, and I'm sure they could tell you if its a sulcata or not. They know their stuff.

3docs, ditch the romaine in favor of mustard or collard greens. Timothy hay is a great choice. Greens and hay should be about 75-80 % of their diet. The balance should be veggies... winter squash, parsnips, yams, for example. A VERY SMALL part of the diet (less than 5% can be fruit). Do you have UVB light on them? If not, get some good quality UVB from www.reptileuv.com, and give them 15 minutes a day outside until it comes, and LOTS of roam time outside in the summer.

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~~Steph

"This I believe: That the free, exploring mind of the individual human is the most valuable thing in the world." John Steinbeck