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AnimalLady

Well-Known Member
Joined
Sep 2, 2015
Messages
1,136
What a GORGEOUS tort! My goodness, how did i miss this post?!

I get my CH from JD hopefully on Tuesday! I AM SO EXCITED!!!!!!!!!!!!

More pix! More more! GORGEOUS!
 

Lexiii

Active Member
Joined
Apr 8, 2015
Messages
204
Location (City and/or State)
CT
What a GORGEOUS tort! My goodness, how did i miss this post?!

I get my CH from JD hopefully on Tuesday! I AM SO EXCITED!!!!!!!!!!!!

More pix! More more! GORGEOUS!
Thanks! He's due for a photo shoot this weekend.
 

Mantissa3

Well-Known Member
10 Year Member!
Joined
Jul 1, 2013
Messages
236
Location (City and/or State)
San Francisco Bay Area
Thanks! I guess the paranoia is paying off!

Your paranoia, checking and re-checking all elements of husbandry including lighting types and brightness, humidity, temps at different places in his habitat (both during the day and during the night) and his diet sheet will get him growing nice and strong and consistently, and will pay off when you see him mature and develop. (Sorry- I say "he" out of being too lazy to type s/he every time, ok?)

If you want to check your elements of keeping him- everybody here is super friendly and knowleageable and when you post pictures and descriptions of your habitat and substrate and care sheets and diets, etc will help you out. Sometimes just tweaking one small thing helps tremendously as they grown.

Also, one thing I learned kind of late during the care of my first redfoot baby is that they can be fine as little ones, but as they put on weight and they get "thicker" in profile, it is very important to continue to address temperatures in the air they breathe. I use a CHE- ceramic heat emitter for my older, thicker redfoots because my under-substrate heater provides heat only about an inch or two up from the surface of the mulch they live on. For some reason, when they get a little larger, mine would rather hide under a log or brush pile than dig down into the heated substrate, as they did when they were little babies... None of mine have continued to burrow past the weight of one pound or so- then I really have to mind their air temps, especially at night time.

Just sharing for when he grows a bit- he's absolutely stunning!
Karen
 

Mantissa3

Well-Known Member
10 Year Member!
Joined
Jul 1, 2013
Messages
236
Location (City and/or State)
San Francisco Bay Area
This is him tonight. Is it just me or is he very round? I see others that grow lengthwise, but he just seems so round to me. It that normal?

S/he will grow length-wise. I trace around my redfoot's shells once per month, and then weight them in both grams and ounces. I keep the papers as flip charts to show myself that yes, they ARE growing even though I fuss and worry about each bit they put in their mouths and each bath's temps, etc, etc. You came to the right place to obssess and check in- I know from experience, and most of the people here totally get it- welcome.

BTW - by drawing around my babies' shells for many months, I'll tell you my own experience is that they have noticeably grown first in one direction then another, etc. So I see by some of my tracings that mine were round, then they grew really wide for a while, then all at once they almost looked slender from a top view because they had a "long-ness" growth spurt, etc. There are a couple of months when the outlines don't look bigger but they gained a lot of weight from one month to the next. That's because they grew "up" in height, even though their outlines (width and length) stayed almost the same.

I finally "get it" that they need consistency in their care, good leafy greens, the right kind of lighting and substrate and temps, and I've learned to recognize how they eat relative to their "tank size"... If your baby is hungry, active, hiding out in dappled light and/or sleeping in her/his hide a lot, sits with his head up a lot, and loves soaking every day in warm water, it's probably ok not to worry so much- and just relax and enjoy his baby-hood.

I know, I know, easier said than done, but you are building your tortie intuition by interacting with the experienced keepers and mentors here- it's a GREAT forum to learn from!
Karen
 

Nephelle

Well-Known Member
Joined
Sep 14, 2015
Messages
266
Location (City and/or State)
Pittsburgh, PA
S/he will grow length-wise. I trace around my redfoot's shells once per month, and then weight them in both grams and ounces. I keep the papers as flip charts to show myself that yes, they ARE growing even though I fuss and worry about each bit they put in their mouths and each bath's temps, etc, etc. You came to the right place to obssess and check in- I know from experience, and most of the people here totally get it- welcome.

BTW - by drawing around my babies' shells for many months, I'll tell you my own experience is that they have noticeably grown first in one direction then another, etc. So I see by some of my tracings that mine were round, then they grew really wide for a while, then all at once they almost looked slender from a top view because they had a "long-ness" growth spurt, etc. There are a couple of months when the outlines don't look bigger but they gained a lot of weight from one month to the next. That's because they grew "up" in height, even though their outlines (width and length) stayed almost the same.

I finally "get it" that they need consistency in their care, good leafy greens, the right kind of lighting and substrate and temps, and I've learned to recognize how they eat relative to their "tank size"... If your baby is hungry, active, hiding out in dappled light and/or sleeping in her/his hide a lot, sits with his head up a lot, and loves soaking every day in warm water, it's probably ok not to worry so much- and just relax and enjoy his baby-hood.

I know, I know, easier said than done, but you are building your tortie intuition by interacting with the experienced keepers and mentors here- it's a GREAT forum to learn from!
Karen

What a great tip about tracing around the shell to keep track of growth. If I can get my little wiggle worm to hold still long enough, I am going to give it a try! Thank you!
 

Mantissa3

Well-Known Member
10 Year Member!
Joined
Jul 1, 2013
Messages
236
Location (City and/or State)
San Francisco Bay Area
What a great tip about tracing around the shell to keep track of growth. If I can get my little wiggle worm to hold still long enough, I am going to give it a try! Thank you!

You are most welcome- it helps me reflect on their journey, and mine, since we brought them home. I bought a 50 pound postal scale to weight them on, but I have to turn them upside down to get their weight, so we only do this once per month, or once every 6 weeks, since they've grown too large to sit on the scale entirely...
 

AnimalLady

Well-Known Member
Joined
Sep 2, 2015
Messages
1,136
Hey Lexiii,

How big was Tyrion when you got him in April (more or less), also, how old was he?

I'm trying to gauge how fast a tort will grow (give or take a bit).
 

kelii

Active Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Oct 4, 2014
Messages
119
Location (City and/or State)
Georgia
beautiful! I'm jealous of the marbling. I'm hoping my CH will start getting some.
 
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