Tortimer Sully Wade Brag Post and a Question

OliveW

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Jul 4, 2022
Messages
286
Location (City and/or State)
Branford, FL
Happy for you Olive. Hmm. Good ole Tortimer is going to be HUGE then!! Stump is 6 1/4" and 2lb today 908grams @ 9 months. Should be 4-5lb @ 1 year. Going to Florida for 3 weeks in January. Stump's going to love the sunshine! I'm hoping for a female at this point for a more reasonable size but... Stump seems to be on the state pumpkin path which probably is a male too.

Yes, I'm very proud of him! He's a tough little dude that has made himself strong and healthy. He can get as big as he wants, the bigger the better! We have plenty of space and love for him.

We made his house "night box" big enough to accommodate him for a lifetime. We enlarged his enclosure to 24' x 44', but have plenty of space to make it larger when he needs it.
 

AmandaF

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Jul 22, 2022
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161
Location (City and/or State)
Congresbury
View attachment 347534

Tortimer has been a member of our family 3 weeks today. He's not a beautiful little baby star, he's a very bumpy rough looking big dude, but we couldn't love him any more than we do! He is perfect for us!

Anyway, he has gained exactly half a pound in this short time. I was so shocked that I weighed him three times. He was 5.2 lbs when we got him, he is 5.7 lbs now. His shell is still exactly 10". Same scale, and I waited until after he pooped to weigh him today. He usually poops during his walks or in his soak. Today, it was on his walk because he found a bunch of our little pea sized grapes that blew down in a storm, and was gobbling them up before I could move him. He's quite smart, he knew I would move him from that area quickly. He got so excited that he pooped.

Tortimer spends a LOT of time walking. My husband is an early riser, and he is usually out of his burrow walking around his enclosure, so he takes him out and follows him around the property for an hour or so. I do the same every evening. I know this is going to be hard to believe, but I'll video tape it one day - Tortimer comes out of his burrow for me. I call him like I do the cats, with "Kitty, kitty, kitty, kitty." and he comes out. 😂

My question is, can I wash his shell in any way? He is a mega burrow digger, and always looks rough and dirty. I'm going to use a gentle nail brush on it today, while he's in his soak, with just water. If there is more I can do to help his shell, please let me know.
I believe we always get the correct animals as part of our famil. He is gorgeous. Amanda & Ernie the tortoise
 

zolasmum

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5 Year Member
Joined
May 19, 2015
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2,001
I believe we always get the correct animals as part of our famil. He is gorgeous. Amanda & Ernie the tortoise
I agree with Amanda - certainly we couldn't love Zola more, and he has brought so much joy and friendship into our lives - he has transformed them - yet we never even thought of getting a tortoise until we met him. Because of him, we can't go on holiday abroad- to visit my brother in France, for example, so I will probably never see him again - but things like that become less important than keeping our little boy happy and healthy.
Angie
 

Levi the Leopard

IXOYE
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Oct 1, 2012
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Location (City and/or State)
Southern Oregon
Yes, you can use things to wash your tortoise :)

I have a soft bristle dish scrub brush and toothbrush dedicated for tortoise use. When I soak Levi, I will use the brushes as needed to scrub his shell. In his case, the top doesn't get very dirty. Rather, it's the underside and rear leg cavities that do.

Occasionally, I rub coconut oil on his shell but I quickly wipe away all the excess with a towel. I fear that coconut oil will attract ants and they'll eat him. ???

I have started using a spray bottle with a few drops of extra virgin olive oil in the water to spray his face and legs when he's looking a bit dry. It seems to hydrate his skin nicely and works better than trying to rub coconut oil on his face with my fingers. That was always a challenge.

I'm glad you love your tortoise so much. It's wonderful the way you talk about him. He's going to have a long, happy life with you.
 

LeoTheWaywardTortoise

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Dec 12, 2021
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Location (City and/or State)
Maricopa, AZ
I have started using a spray bottle with a few drops of extra virgin olive oil in the water to spray his face and legs when he's looking a bit dry. It seems to hydrate his skin nicely and works better than trying to rub coconut oil on his face with my fingers. That was always a challenge.
Wow, I'll have to try this. Thanks for the tip! :)
 

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