# Tilman the sulcata



## Jacqui (Jun 16, 2009)

Yvonne wanted to see how Tilman was doing, so....

I couldn't get a good picture of him. When I took him out to photogragh, he had a piece of green sticking out of his mouth. For those who don't know, Tilman has a beak problem, he is undershot. This means his bottom jaw sticks out further then the top. Makes him unable to bite his food correctly. We mostly feed him little pieces, but we also give him larger leaves to help him work on learning to bite and to help keep the beak trimmed (and hopefully growing out more correctly). Sometimes what happens is he will take a full leaf, move it into his mouth, but not be able to bite thru it. So he has part of the leaf inside, while the other part is still sticking out of his mouth. This what had happened just before taking this shot. After the fact I realized I should have taken a photo showing his leaf sticking out, but I wasn't thinking. Instead I gently pulled it out. Tilman then showed his displeasure by remaining in his shell the rest of the night. You can sorta see his mouth in the shot if you look closely.







A side view.





When Yvonne first showed a picture of Tilman's shell I was hooked. I think he has the most beautiful pattern. Makes him special inside and out.


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## Candy (Jun 16, 2009)

I love Tilman's shell also, very unique. I love the first picture when he's sleeping.


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## Maggie Cummings (Jun 16, 2009)

I certainly understand your problem. I have had several animals with beak problems. My most favorite was The Beakless Baby...I chopped his food up into small pieces and I put him outside on the grass, so he got used to pulling on the blades of grass...I also took him to the vet regularly and she dremmeled his jaw to make his beak more uniform. He looks like he's pretty shy...Tilman has a very different shell, you'll always be able to tell the difference...


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## tortoisenerd (Jun 16, 2009)

I too love the pattern!


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## spring pace (Jun 16, 2009)

hi jacqui, good lookin tilman, love the scute pattern, he looks healthy and strong ;o) sorry i stepped on your post, still learning to navigate this forum and im not doing a very good job of it. im having the hardest time finding a way to start a new thread. smiles, galileo & spring


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## Stazz (Jun 16, 2009)

Awww Jacqui, Tilman is lovely! His scute pattern truly does make him special! I'm sure he is a happy guy though!


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## Yvonne G (Jun 17, 2009)

spring pace said:


> hi jacqui, good lookin tilman, love the scute pattern, he looks healthy and strong ;o) sorry i stepped on your post, still learning to navigate this forum and im not doing a very good job of it. im having the hardest time finding a way to start a new thread. smiles, galileo & spring



Hi Spring:

Just go to the home page for tortoiseforum.org. Pick out the topic you want to post under...for example "sulcata Central" When that screen comes up, notice towards the top right hand side there is a box that says "new thread." Just click on that and you're good to go! Glad to see you posting here.

Yvonne


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## spring pace (Jun 17, 2009)

thanks yvonne, i found it!!!!!!!!! its good to be here, hope you and your critters are doing well. galileo & spring big smiles


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## Isa (Jun 17, 2009)

Jacqui,
Tilman is a real cutie, he is very special and very unique


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## DAC8671 (Jun 19, 2009)

Gorgeous Tort!!


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## jlyoncc1 (Jun 20, 2009)

He is a sweet thing Jacqui! I think he needs a friend real soon! hint hint


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## Yvonne G (Jul 8, 2009)

I like the irregular scute patterns too. Several years ago I was negotiating with Vic Morgan to buy a couple of Manouria hatchlings, and he mentioned he had some with irregular scute patterns. Naturally, I had to have one of them!

Tilman looks great Jacqui! He was a very special little guy, and I'm glad you are enjoying him! Is he getting pretty tame?

Yvonne


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## gummybearpoop (Jul 9, 2009)

cute sulcata jacqui!

now only if I could convince you to take pics of Derby, Kobayashi, and Pesci 

or your stars!


hahaha 8P


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## Jacqui (Jul 9, 2009)

gummybearpoop said:


> cute sulcata jacqui!
> 
> now only if I could convince you to take pics of Derby, Kobayashi, and Pesci
> 
> ...



*blushes* But Norman I did! Well sorta  The same day I did Tilman I did outside shots in the Russian and Redfoot pens. Your gang live outside in the Nursery/quarantine pen. When I got to them, they were playing hide and seek under the grass clumps. I didn't want to drag them out, so just took a few "hidden tort" pictures for you. Just I haven't sent them to you yet.


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## gummybearpoop (Jul 9, 2009)

Jacqui said:


> gummybearpoop said:
> 
> 
> > cute sulcata jacqui!
> ...




Stop teasing me! 

I want to see pics!

haha


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