Thanks Seamus, for at least giving me different info than I've been able to find. I knew they were diggers, but I had no idea it was to that extent.
That is big adults but... they get there eventually.
What about when I prep the area, if I put down some type of fencing (hog wire, etc) on the bottom & sides of a dug out area? Do you think that would be a good or bad idea?
I'm not entirely comfortable answering that. The one enclosure I helped build for adults, we went with the cinderblocks. It was fairly labor intensive to sink a wall down five feet (and then build it up by three, for an eight foot wall total) but it provided a solid rock-like barrier. I'm honestly not sure how they would react to buried wire; they might regard it as a barrier, they might dig at it until it breaks, they might dig at it until they manage to hook something on it and injure themselves. Someone who had tried that method would be much better suited to answer it.
I would say that it is important to give them someplace to dig. That behavior is instinctive and tied in with most everything else they do at that size. The plural of anecdote isn't data... but I am aware of a couple independent examples which were kept on concrete (where they could not dig) and it had some negative impacts on the behavior. And their toenails.
As far as space, I'm on almost 2 acres, so that isn't a problem...nor, I don't think, would the rain as long as it has someplace covered & dry, right? The area I'm thinking of putting it in is well-drained and slopes a little. I was thinking of using a large igloo dog house, but am still researching the housing options.
If it's well drained, you're probably right. They aren't exactly desert dwellers and they do spend some time underground where the available moisture is- but they aren't regularly wet, which I'm given to understand some parts of Florida might be. An area capable of draining or at least with dry portions in it- coupled with keeping a slightly closer eye on their respiration and skin would probably do it. Just keep a regular eye on the folds of skin, especially around the legs and neck where it's thinner and prone to fold, to make sure no infections settle in.
There are some theories... you may run into them, although they have been largely discredited as nonsense, so I mention them only because they did make their way into some older books and probably a few websites... that a humidity and moisture intake beyond the amounts they encounter in the wild are causes of pyramiding. It's pretty well a load of crap, although diet certainly plays a strong role in shell formation issues.
As for males being sex fiends...does that mean that I have to worry about having one hump my leg while I'm in the enclosure or just that if I have females that it will stress them out?! I'm not wanting to breed (having enough stress of my own with my balls), so I was actually thinking about getting a small female. Are there any particular reasons one sex is more easily kept than the other?
They might try... really, anything too slow to get away that provides a good angle at the right time of year risks a thin, slick coating of tortoise love. Other tortoises obviously... of either gender and not always aimed in a proper fashion... rocks, piles of driftwood... I've personally witnessed one who was in a pet shop go after the bottom row of shelves, rubbermaid tubs from a rat rack that were drying upsidedown and forty pound bags of dog food.
It can definitely be a stress on females in a mixed group. A necessary one
if one wanted baby tortoises, but in the wild they can wander away between rounds and in captivity they're usually introduced in controlled measured bursts.
Gender differences... males can get bigger and will- although that's not so easily seen in the first decade or so when the growth rates are pretty similar. The males have the breeding season behavior which can be... well, it's interesting. Females there's the same sorts of egg binding risks and dietary concerns that are present with most female reptiles, bred or not.
They're extremely difficult to sex until they're a few years old though, the external characteristics aren't readily apparent until they get some size to them. If you're starting with a little one on a tortoise table, it's a bit of a craps shoot.
What types of predators would I have to worry about?
That'd depend on how big they were when you wanted to put them outside. Pretty much none past twenty-thirty pounds or so but prior to that they can be snagged by a few predatory birds (including some that aren't raptors), dogs, cats when they're very small, fox, skunk, possum... I have no idea if you have any coyotes down there (but they're not exactly restricted to the deserts of the southwest)... In theory a good sized gator could certainly crack one open, although that seems like a fairly remote possibility for contact.
The potential predators become scarcer and scarcer as they get bigger of course. At thirty pounds, sulcattas are built to be kicked by rhinos, there's not much that'll mess with them- although I'd still be a little wary of dogs, which might (given time and a real need for food) take a leg off.
As for "caring for them can be pricey," what exactly is pricey about them? Are we talking vet bills if they get sick? I have a savings account set up just for my animals...if you're talking other than average vet-bill care, please elaborate.
Enclosure costs just because of the size of the things needed to house them adequately.
Food can potentially add up depending on the local availability of dried grasses/hays and fresher greens. I certainly wouldn't want to feed one by buying hays from a Petsmart and greens from the produce section of a supermarket if I could avoid it... feed and grain stores can definitely mitigate the cost of the grasses portion of the diet and getting in good with the local produce managers for anything that's just a little wilted around the edges (not rotten, but not quite the bright crispness they might want on display) at a big discount can help with the leafy stuff.
Vet care is just a question of finding someone who knows reptiles... and then because of the larger than average mass,
if you ever need to medicate, expect to have a higher cost there, since they'd be using more of it- but that's more an emergency cost than a maintenance cost.
As to the "anything else" stuff... um... Know what a pig blanket is? And... how much can you- and those living with you- lift if it becomes necessary?
