At the end of this past monsoon season, southern Arizona animal rescues saw a rise in the number of Sulcata tortoises, also known as African spurred tortoises, being found in yards and in the wild.
Sulcatas are native to the southern Sahara region of Africa – not Arizona. Reptile conservation groups say the growing number of unwanted and escaped tortoises is putting pressure on already crowded shelter facilities and raising concerns about the animals’ potential impact on native species.
Cody Shockley, manager of Southern Arizona Reptile Rescue, said the lack of restrictions surrounding the sale and breeding of the animals is contributing to the population explosion.
“They are unregulated because there's not a set number of breeders. There's also no way they're not enforcing any sort of identifiers for the owners,” Shockley said. “So, you can actually put ID tags onto Sulcatas. And they're not enforcing that. They're also not enforcing who can sell Sulcatas.”
Shockley said Reptile Rescue responded to a recent call in Marana involving a Sulcata that had escaped from its home. After it was found, the owner told the rescue they no longer wanted the pet.
Escapes can become an ongoing problem because Sulcatas are capable of reproducing even after being separated from a mate.
“Unless you have a very secure place, they're very easily able to escape,” Shockley said. “Since there's accidental breeding going on, a female Sulcata can actually retain sperm from a male for up to five years.”
Females can produce dozens of eggs in a year, with hatchlings emerging around the end of the summer and following monsoon rains.
That seasonal increase has become a challenge for local rescue organizations.
Shockley said Southern Arizona Reptile Rescue reached capacity during this past summer's hatching season and had to work with other rescues that were also running low on space.
Teri Boyungs, who operates Eclecteri Tortoise and Reptile Rescue and Sanctuary in Casa Grande, said her rescue typically sees its annual Sulcata numbers increase beginning in September, taking in an average of 300-500 hatchlings between August and October and a total of about 1,200 each year.
Boyungs said the rescue receives an average of 100 calls a day regarding Sulcata surrenders, lost and found animals and adoption requests. Other local rescues are seeing a similar pattern.
Cressi Brown, founder of Southern Arizona Reptile Rescue, said that in 2026, of the 464 total reptile surrenders, 128 were Sulcata tortoises, with September being the peak month.
Despite the seasonal influx, Shockley said the demand for Sulcatas has been meeting supply: in the span of one week in September, the Reptile Rescue facility went from full capacity to only having eight tortoises available for adoption.
#A growing pet trade# While rescues deal with rehoming tortoises, sellers continue to participate in a market that remains largely unregulated.
John – an independent seller who asked that only his first name be used because he fears retaliation from customers – said he previously sold tortoises at the Tucson Reptile and Amphibian Show. Years ago, thieves broke into his home and attempted to steal his animals. This year, instead of selling at the show, he wrote signs on Budweiser boxes and placed them around north Tucson to advertise the sale of baby African tortoises.
The signs described the animals as “quiet and long-living.”
“Well, I just figured that's the only thing I could do. It's kind of like having a yard sale, you know,” John said. “You could put it online but with signs people see it, and they stop.”
John currently has 20 baby Sulcatas. He sells them for $35 individually or $60 for a pair.
At less than a pound, the hatchlings can fit in the palm of a hand. But they can eventually grow to between 150 and 200 pounds.
Shockley said some buyers do not realize how large the animals become or how much care they require.
John said he tries to explain those needs to potential buyers.
“If people want to trade me something I would trade it. I don't care. I don't care about the money,” John said. “ I tell everybody what they need – an extra terrarium, and I got the lighting fixtures.”
Pet stores are also selling Sulcatas. A clerk at Tropical Kingdom in Tucson said the store currently gets its tortoises from local breeders and tries to make sure customers understand the animals' needs, including proper food, lighting and enclosures.
Shockley said he has also seen more Sulcata listings appear online recently, which he believes could be connected to the upcoming Tucson Reptile and Amphibian Show and Sale on Oct. 2.
“They could sell them for $25 a piece on Craigslist or a rehoming group on Facebook Marketplace or even just by word of mouth, and they won't do any checking to make sure that these don’t go to an inappropriate owner,” Shockley said.
But sellers say demand has changed.
“It has died down. In the past – I'd say five, seven years ago – I'd have the whole batch gone in less than 30 days. But now everybody's got them,” John said.
#Concerns for Arizona's native tortoises#
As the number of Sulcatas in the region grows, rescue operators are concerned about what could happen if more escape or are released into the wild.
Shockley said Sulcatas are not currently considered an invasive species in Arizona but believes they could become a larger environmental problem if their population continues to grow unchecked.
“What's really going to end up happening is it is going to start becoming an epidemic. There are going to be more and more strays,” he said. “The environment is going to start getting disturbed by them and by that point it's going to be too late.”
Sulcatas are larger than the native Sonoran Desert Tortoise and can be territorial, Shockley said. Mark Frieberg with Arizona Game and Fish said the concern is primarily what the non-native tortoises could do to native wildlife and their resources.
“I think more of a concern is disease transfer than any hybridization between the two species,” Frieberg said. “But the Sulcatas can displace desert tortoises out of the native wildlife and also consume a lot more food in place of them, and have resource competition for both habitat and foraging pressure.”
Boyungs, of Eclecteri Reptile Rescue, said the potential effects on native species could be significant.
“Sulcata’s in the wild will wipe out much needed resources from our native desert species and they will breed uncontrollably,” she said. “Licensing, microchipping and penalties for breeding would help the regulation tremendously.”
Frieberg said Arizona Game and Fish does not regulate the pet trade because the agency's focus is protecting native species. When the agency receives calls about Sulcatas, he said, they refer people to local rescues.
That leaves rescues like Southern Arizona Reptile Rescue pushing for additional restrictions. Shockley and Brown want Sulcatas to be more heavily regulated or potentially banned from the pet trade. Brown said the organization plans to meet with AZ Game and Fish in 2027 to discuss a five-year plan addressing the spread of non-native species.
“What we're doing right now is trying to preempt and prevent any environmental destruction from them,” Shockley said. “Sulcatas are very cool tortoises. We love our Sulcatas, but they do not make great pets.”
_If you want to adopt a tortoise or call in for a stray found in the wild, here are the service pages for Southern Arizona Reptile Rescue and Eclecteri Reptile Rescue_
