Is new growth looking better?

Jay Bagley

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So when I got Sheldon back in October, all he really had on his shell was pyramiding. Since then, I have been doing one to two soaks daily. Also have been misting his shell down once to twice daily. Just wanted some feedback to see if his new growth looks like it is coming in smoother or not.20180307_170452.jpg20180307_170700.jpg20180307_170604.jpg
 

Taylor T.

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You've done great! those little bumps on top from his early life will likely become completely unnoticeable soon.

I'm impressed you've managed to get that nice of a shell in an open top enclosure.
 

Jay Bagley

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You've done great! those little bumps on top will likely become completely unnoticeable soon.

I'm impressed you've managed to get that nice of a shell in an open top enclosure.
Thankyou!! The breeder we got him from raised him humid for the first three months of his life. I think that helped a lot. After my divorce, he stayed at my daughter's mom's house and I don't think he got a lot of soaks or any spraying of the shell. He came back to me prerty pyramided, and small. I'm trying to do all that I can, and hope it keeps coming in smooth. This is the enclosure he was raised in. And here is the work in progress. Thanks again for the feedback.20171029_200842.jpgIMG_20180226_152827185_BURST000_COVER_TOP1.jpg
 

Jay Bagley

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The new closed chamber is looking great!
Thankyou, I I'm not very good at building things LOL. I remember when it was time to turn in our birdhouse in shop class mine fell apart. My dad is retired, and good at working with wood and gets bored easily. So when my daughter asked him to build it, he jumped at the opportunity and has been working on it and is spare time. I've been going over there to help, it's been a fun project to work on with my dad.
 

TechnoCheese

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Thankyou, I I'm not very good at building things LOL. I remember when it was time to turn in our birdhouse in shop class mine fell apart. My dad is retired, and good at working with wood and gets bored easily. So when my daughter asked him to build it, he jumped at the opportunity and has been working on it and is spare time. I've been going over there to help, it's been a fun project to work on with my dad.

That sounds great, lol! My dad recently helped me build this-IMG_1520476500.881309.jpg
 

TechnoCheese

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We have been working on this one on and off for a while too. I like the name Curtis. I think when you own a sulcata, it's always going to be a work in progress LOL.

Of course, lol! And his name changes pretty often, but I think Curtis the turtis (or Curtsy the turtsy) will stick, lol
 

Tom

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The new growth looks great Jay. I am also surprised you were able to do that in an open topped enclosure. Its a neat experiment and we can learn from your results and pics.
 

Jay Bagley

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The new growth looks great Jay. I am also surprised you were able to do that in an open topped enclosure. Its a neat experiment and we can learn from your results and pics.
Thanks Tom, that really means a lot and thank you for your words of encouragement. I don't know if I would really call it an experiment, when my daughter said she wanted a tortoise I just did random Google searches and found some pictures very similar to the tortoise table I have now and my father build it for me. He was starting to pyramid pretty bad while in the care of my ex-wife, no wrongdoing really on her part but she's very busy when I left we were feeding him spring mix because he was a baby and she just kept doing that for the next two years and I know he wasn't soaked because his urates were solid gravel. When I got him from her, without getting any humidity or soakings the pyramiding that you see now was all that was on him. There was no smooth growth at all, I just soaked, and sprayed. The only other thing I really did was do a big Improvement on diet, and I bought a product called nature Zone shell saver and I apply that once a week. It seems to do a pretty good job of keeping the shell hydrated. But in reality, I'm really just putting a band-aid on a poor set up. I think if I would have found you guys sooner, and taken him with me when we divorced I don't think he would really have any pyramiding, as I would have been following your guys's closed chamber suggestions. It's actually quite a bit of work to try to keep his shell moistened in the open-air table we have now. I really do think that the person who bred him raising him humid for the first three months of his life really contributed to it too, as he got a good start in life. I just need to finish painting my closed chamber and hang the lights I'm hoping for smooth sailing from there.
 

Jay Bagley

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Thanks Tom, that really means a lot and thank you for your words of encouragement. I don't know if I would really call it an experiment, when my daughter said she wanted a tortoise I just did random Google searches and found some pictures very similar to the tortoise table I have now and my father build it for me. He was starting to pyramid pretty bad while in the care of my ex-wife, no wrongdoing really on her part but she's very busy when I left we were feeding him spring mix because he was a baby and she just kept doing that for the next two years and I know he wasn't soaked because his urates were solid gravel. When I got him from her, without getting any humidity or soakings the pyramiding that you see now was all that was on him. There was no smooth growth at all, I just soaked, and sprayed. The only other thing I really did was do a big Improvement on diet, and I bought a product called nature Zone shell saver and I apply that once a week. It seems to do a pretty good job of keeping the shell hydrated. But in reality, I'm really just putting a band-aid on a poor set up. I think if I would have found you guys sooner, and taken him with me when we divorced I don't think he would really have any pyramiding, as I would have been following your guys's closed chamber suggestions. It's actually quite a bit of work to try to keep his shell moistened in the open-air table we have now. I really do think that the person who bred him raising him humid for the first three months of his life really contributed to it too, as he got a good start in life. I just need to finish painting my closed chamber and hang the lights I'm hoping for smooth sailing from there.
This was Sheldon when I got him back last October, without any of the new growth. And 3 and a half pounds lighter.20171029_200953.jpg20171029_200927.jpg
 

Tom

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Thanks Tom, that really means a lot and thank you for your words of encouragement. I don't know if I would really call it an experiment, when my daughter said she wanted a tortoise I just did random Google searches and found some pictures very similar to the tortoise table I have now and my father build it for me. He was starting to pyramid pretty bad while in the care of my ex-wife, no wrongdoing really on her part but she's very busy when I left we were feeding him spring mix because he was a baby and she just kept doing that for the next two years and I know he wasn't soaked because his urates were solid gravel. When I got him from her, without getting any humidity or soakings the pyramiding that you see now was all that was on him. There was no smooth growth at all, I just soaked, and sprayed. The only other thing I really did was do a big Improvement on diet, and I bought a product called nature Zone shell saver and I apply that once a week. It seems to do a pretty good job of keeping the shell hydrated. But in reality, I'm really just putting a band-aid on a poor set up. I think if I would have found you guys sooner, and taken him with me when we divorced I don't think he would really have any pyramiding, as I would have been following your guys's closed chamber suggestions. It's actually quite a bit of work to try to keep his shell moistened in the open-air table we have now. I really do think that the person who bred him raising him humid for the first three months of his life really contributed to it too, as he got a good start in life. I just need to finish painting my closed chamber and hang the lights I'm hoping for smooth sailing from there.
I agree with your assessments here. The "Shell Saver" stuff certainly adds a new twist to the discussion too. Thanks for sharing the details and info.
 

Jay Bagley

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I agree with your assessments here. The "Shell Saver" stuff certainly adds a new twist to the discussion too. Thanks for sharing the details and info.
You are welcome, and thank you to you for for sharing all the information you have learned over the years. It's been very helpful.
 
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