sulcata vs. spur thigh???

well i want a sulcata tortoise and i've seen some called sulcata's and others just spur thighed. from what i have found out the spur thighed are slightly smaller than the african spur tortoise (sulcata.) ??

what is the diff between the 2? i want the one that gets huge. what name should i look for?

People use both names for the same tortoise. I don't know which is the "correct" name, though.

Karen

There are two very different tortoises which are called spur thighs.
The Mediterranean Spur Thigh (Testudo graeca ibera) and the
African Spur Thigh (Geochelone sulcata)

The T. g. ibera reaches a size of around 8 inches while G. sulcata can reach 30 inches and weigh 100-200 pounds.
Due to the confusion of the names, as well as the extreme difference in the two, most people no longer refer to G. sulcata as spur thighs, but instead just call them sulcatas.

They are definately not a tortoise for the inexperienced. While not hard to care for initially, their immense size and need for large outdoor housing in which they will dig large tunnels, makes them much less suitable as pets for the majority of keepers.
Most people who want a sulcata see the little hatchling and have a mental picture of this awesome huge friendly tortoise. Unfortunately they often fail to consider the potential 75 year lifespan or the demands of keeping a tortoise which you cannot physically move without the use of hand trucks, and when living in the backyard will proceed to dig tunnels up to 50 feet long.