Mocha and Our Sulcata Tortoise Breeders

Mocha is our first Sulcata tortoise ever. We got him in 2007 along with three 2.5-inch baby Sulcatas from a DENR WFP permitee. We didn't know he'd turn out to be a male. Looking back, we wish we didn't give him such a girly name.

Mocha is an African spurred tortoise (Centrochelys sulcata), also called Sulcata tortoise. Sullies are a species of tortoise that inhabit the southern edge of the Sahara desert in northern Africa. They are the most commonly kept pet tortoise in the country. They can grow from cute 2-inch hatchlings to huge 33-inch adults which make them the the 3rd largest species of tortoises in the world next to Galapagos and Aldabra tortoises.

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Sulcata Babies with Soda, The Radiata

Harvesting Sulcata Eggs

Timelapse Video of Sulcata Eggs

Progress of Our Sulcata Eggs

Sulcata Tortoise Growth Rate

Below are photos of Mocha that show his growth over the years, May 2007. In just 3 years, he grew from 2.5 inches to more than 12 inches!

Since 1999, I've always kept an Excel file chart for all my tortoises. Everytime I have time, I measure their length and weight. So I'm sharing some of Mocha's data along with some pictures.

sulcata tortoise growth

sulcata april 2007

April 2007

sulcata may 2007

May 2007

sulcata august 2007

August 2007

sulcata april 2008

April 2008

sulcata may 2008

May 2008

sulcata aug 2008

August 2008

sulcata march 2009

March 2009

sulcata may 2009

May 2009

sulcata Nov 2009

November 2009

sulcata feb 2010

February 2010


Teasing Mocha with an Okra

Mocha loves food so much! He is always hungry. His cuteness is beyond words. I'll let the photos do the talking.

Mocha the Sulcata Tortoise

Mocha the Sulcata Tortoise

Mocha the Sulcata Tortoise

Mocha the Sulcata Tortoise

Mocha the Sulcata Tortoise

Mocha the Sulcata Tortoise

Mocha the Sulcata Tortoise

Mocha the Sulcata Tortoise

Mocha the Sulcata Tortoise


Introducing Mocha

This is our male Sulcata tortoise named Mocha. We got him in 2007 along with three 2.5-inch baby Sulcatas from a DENR NCR WFP-holder. We didn't know he'd turn out to be a male. Looking back, we wish we didn't give him such a girly name. Mocha started out the smallest but had the smoothest shell growth. After a year, he outgrew all other Sulcatas and still maintained his unpyramided shell which is difficult to achieve in Sulcatas kept in captivity. It's strange because all his housemates had slightly bumpy shells even if they had the same diet, environment, routine, etc.

Below are some of Mocha's best pictures which I took on November of 2009.

sulcata mocha

sulcata mocha

sulcata mocha

sulcata mocha

sulcata eating

sulcata eating

sulcata eating

sulcata redfoot

sulcata eating

sulcata


Mocha and the Gang

Here are pictures of Mocha (my favorite Sulcata) along with other Sulcatas in the same batch. As you can see, Mocha has the smoothest shell of all. It's strange because all of them have the same diet, environment and routine. As you know, there are a lot of heated debates about causes of pyramiding especially on Sulcatas. I guess from Mocha's example, pyramiding is not only dependent on diet or environment but on their genes as well. It seems that some tortoises are less prone to pyramiding than others.

sulcata group

sulcata group

sulcata group

sulcata group

sulcata group

sulcata group

sulcata group

sulcata group

sulcata group

sulcata group

sulcata group

sulcata group


About Us

Soda's Tortoise Garden is a private tortoise breeding facility that is accredited by DENR and BAI (Bureau of Animal Industry) located in Metro Manila, Philippines. We don't have a physical shop but you may coordinate with us via our Facebook page. Be sure to follow our page for our latest posts and stories. Learn More

Our first TV appearance at "Rise & Shine Pilipinas" by PTV 4.

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