Mocha and Our Sulcata Tortoise Breeders

by Dennis M.

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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Harvesting Sulcata Eggs

Date: Apr 4, 2021

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Timelapse Video of Sulcata Eggs

Date: Mar 11, 2021

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Sulcata Tortoise Growth Rate

Date: Oct 10, 2015

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.

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Teasing Mocha with an Okra

Date: Apr 20, 2014

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

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Introducing Mocha

Date: Nov 8, 2009

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.

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Mocha and the Gang

Date: May 1, 2009

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.