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  • IMPORTANT! PLEASE READ!! About the Google Adsense ads being displayed

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    Google Adsense ad revenue for December, 2025 was just $30 over the cost of the lease for the server running this site. So, in effect, the money providing the incentive for me to continue running this site is coming SOLELY from the paid memberships and sponsorships here. Which honestly ain't much....

Poll: Stop Breeding Sulcatas

Yes, I think there are too many sulcatas being produced and too many people buying them who have no idea what they're getting themselves into AND too many unscrupulous sellers passing them off on unsuspecting impulse buyers. Recently I was in a (chain) petstore and I heard a customer ask a salesperson ask how big will that sulcata get and the response was 'not too big'. I piped in with 'they're the third largest tortoise species, after Aldabs and Galops. You decide if that's 'not too big'.Zoos and parks won't take them any more: they're saturated.
 
Thank you for your comments Johnathon. Do you mind saying which store you were at? I didn't think there were any chains selling Sulcatas.
 
Sounds like war is on the horizon.
Slow armored division vs. drunk college population. About even odds IMO.;)
I know which side I want to win.
 

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Rescues have a lot of them because they have ridiculous adoption policies and rehoming fees. Home/yard inspections, contracts with repossession clauses, and $300-500 "adoption fees". Why would anyone agree to those terms. By contrast, when one shows up in a local animal shelter, there are literally people fighting for it. Want to see how over-populated they are and how there are no homes for them? Put an ad for a free sulcata on Craig's list and see how many calls you get the first day.

The bigger problem with this species is that almost everyone mistakenly thinks they are a desert species and starts babies way too dry and dehydrated. A large percentage of them don't survive. They hatch at the start of the hot, wet, humid, rainy, monsoon season over there. They need daily soaks, damp substrate, a humid hide, and warm humid conditions.
 
Stop breeding sulcatas

I totally agree with you. I'm a board member for the San Diego Turtle & Tortoise Society (sdturtle.org). We're a 501c3 non-profit rescue in operation since 1973. We get calls weekly and at times daily from people asking us to take in their sulcatas that they can no longer care for as we're one of the very few legitimate rescues that will take them in.
We don't lecture or judge as we understand that lifestyles and circumstances change but it can be so disappointing when we see some of these big guys come in suffering from the effects of an uneducated owner. Most pet shop clerks aren't knowledgeable about turtle/tortoise care and therefore don't let the buyers know about the tortoise's long term needs. So unfortunate.
 
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