An ocean and thousands of miles separate Western Pennsylvania and Saharan Africa, but surprisingly, they share a resident — the sulcata tortoise.
In recent years, sulcatas have crowded reptile rescues across the country, including ones here. Pittsburgh City Council in March banned alligators, crocodiles and red-eared slider turtles, but not sulcatas. Maybe they should have.
What often begins as an impulse purchase can quickly become a major headache as 4-inch-long babies grow 10 pounds per year, sometimes reaching 100 pounds or more and tearing holes in a home’s walls with spurred feet.
At Nate’s Reptile Rescue in South Park, 10 sulcatas currently roam a dusty dirt pen, waiting for new owners who can handle the world’s third-largest tortoise.
“They’re sold at expos and online,” said Nathan Lysaght, founder of Nate’s Reptile Rescue. “People buy them because they’re so cheap and they don’t realize. Nobody’s educating the people that are buying these animals. That’s the big issue.”
Mr. Lysaght started the rescue with a single snake when he was 13 years old. In addition to the 10 sulcatas, 50 Russian tortoises, seven alligators and a 10-foot boa constrictor now live in a warehouse he has outfitted for them.
“We’re some of the only people that accept certain reptiles just because a lot of people turn them away,” Mr. Lysaght said. “We’ve kind of designed ours around taking in animals other people can’t care for.”
He said at least 16 sulcata tortoises have passed through the rescue over the years. Some arrive as cruelty cases and in one instance, an owner drilled a hole in the reptile’s shell to tether it in the backyard.
According to Mr. Lysaght, most of the tortoises’ former owners aren’t abusive. They simply didn’t know what they were signing up for.
“The truth is, they’re just enormous animals,” he said, noting that full-grown sulcatas’ shells can reach 24 inches and they can weigh up to 200 pounds. In captivity, they can live up to 80 years.
The largest sulcata that’s passed through Nate’s was 180 pounds, rescued from a family in Arizona that said the tortoise was knocking holes through their walls and destroying their home.
The tortoises dig holes to keep cool in hot weather, Mr. Lysaght said. But when winter comes to Pennsylvania, owners bring their tortoises inside — and the destruction begins.
“As far as Pennsylvania goes, they’re gonna be inside most of the year, which is not the best health-wise for them,” he said. “Obviously space is the main concern.”
Experts at American Tortoise Rescue in California say this problem has been brewing for years. Executive director Susan Tellem said dealers at reptile expos across the country regularly sell sulcatas to buyers without any education. Now some pet stores are selling them, too.
“Pet stores will say, ‘They’ll never get bigger than the tank. Oh no, you can keep it in the house.’ They don’t tell them that this is the third largest tortoise in the world,” said Ms. Tellem.
“I get emails every day, in fact, one this morning. ... They usually call or email me when the animal is about 10 years old because that’s when they get their hormones and they destroy everything.”
Ms. Tellem said owners can safely keep sulcatas if they understand the animals’ behavior. She said she built separate enclosures for her two male tortoises after they began to fight over a female, biting each other and drawing blood.
Sulcatas are usually bred in southern states and brought here in traveling reptile expos. One of the largest is the Pittsburgh Mega Reptile Expo at the Monroeville Convention Center. Held twice a year, the expo features over 400 tables and dealers selling snakes, bearded dragons and other lizards, turtles and tortoises.
“Reptile expos as a whole are controversial just because nobody’s educating,” Mr. Lysaght said. “They’re just there to make a profit. They don’t care about the animals.”
According to Mr. Lysaght, baby sulcatas sell for around $100, though adults can fetch $1,000 or more.
Ms. Tellem attends expos, but doesn’t sell sulcatas. At her booth, she tries to educate people on why they shouldn’t purchase these tortoises. If they really want one, she tells them to adopt from crowded shelters.
Humane Animal Rescue in Pittsburgh recently received a large number of red-eared sliders, turtles that are now illegal under the city’s ban. Like tortoises, these turtles require very specific temperatures to survive.
According to the rescue’s CEO, Dan Rossi, some owners release red-eared sliders into local rivers and lakes, where most will die from the cold.
“Everyone has their likes and dislikes, and we respect that,” he said. “All we ask is that people that are getting any pet — a dog, a cat, a turtle, a snake — do your research, make sure that you understand the commitment related to the animal you’re looking to bring into your home, and be prepared to support that commitment.”
Jesse Bunch: jbunch@post-gazette.com.
First Published: July 12, 2021, 10:00 a.m.
