Are the really big tortoises that people keep as pets hard to come by?

There is more than one kind varying in how easy to get. Check out PNWTurtleworks.com. The black tortoises are awesome. Sulcatas are much easier to get because they are being over bred. They are beginning to appear in rescues regularly because they not only get large, but they are powerful, and difficult to contain. They are burrowers and can go right under almost any fence that wasn't designed specifically to contain them. They are desert tortoises and are not as easy to keep in the cooler temperate climates of the U.S.. If you are in a cooler climate where there is more moisture and humidity, I recommend a Mountain Tortoise instead. The Asian Black Mountain Tortoise still gets impressively large (70 lb for females, 50lb(?) for males) but they are less destructive, less likely to escape and available online. They are social and friendly when raised by people. Our oldest adults were wild caught many years ago and likely were very traumatized at the hands of humans, yet in our care they are thriving, run (well, when they walk a little bit faster we call it running, lol) toward us begging for food and attention. They seem aware of our positive intentions and respond accordingly. They are more active and seem to enjoy cool drizzly weather as much as basking on a nice sunny day. I believe both defyingdesting.com and PNWTurtleworks.com, have breeding colonies that are registerred in the studbook.

Also there is an ethical consideration. Sulcatas are not in danger of extinction. They are everywhere. There are too many of them for the number potential keepers. Wild populations are stable.

Asian Blacks are struggling. Poaching for the chinese food markets has decimated their wild populations. This species will disappear off the face of the earth if people don't help. There aren't enough zoos on the planet to save all of the declining tortoise species on earth. If you want a tortoise you can feel really good about keeping because you will be a participant in conserving a species...consider a mountain tortoise.

There are many tortoises that get very large, but the species you are probably thinking of is the sulcata tortoise, also known as the spur thigh tortoise.

Here's a photo of a sulcata.

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_qmLOexsvi3I/SLBvtIcnFVI/...

Like the previous poster said, http://market.kingsnake.com/index.php?cat=50 is probably the best place to find a captive bred one.

Remember these tortoises take a very long time to reach these sizes and can live for many decades. It's a huge commitment... That's a lot of fresh greens and vegetables to feed every day.

If you look on kingsnake .com you will find some big tortoises on there! When you look in the classifieds they have a tortoiselook under that the best place I can tell you to look for one at! I found what I wanted when I was looking for some of the tortoises I got!