A single concern.

[Elohi]

I normally soak a few zoomed grassland tortoise pellets a couple of times a week and sprinkle the wet crumbles over the various vegetation I feed my Leo hatchlings. Today I decided to do an experiment to see who is learning to eat the grass pellets and who isn't. I added a decent sized clump of soaked pellets and It became very clear, very quickly that Beans and Watson will eat them, but Freckles sniffed the moist food that B and W were eating and then started quickly pacing around them and the dish. Obviously agitated by the fact that there was eating going on but nothing that she wanted. Should I be concerned at her disinterest in them still? She is older yet smaller I always keep food in there with them, the pellets and mazuri I just do 2-3 times a week. Keep plugging along like I'm doing and hope she catches on by accidentally eating it with her other food? Or??

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Also, she still seems to struggle with piercing the flesh of leaves. She has to do a lot more pulling and tearing than Beans and Watson. They take perfect little tortoise mouth shaped bites, freckles...not so much.

 

[Cowboy_Ken]

I'm not sure it's anything to concern yourself with, in regard to the pellets. Little Ricky, my 18 monthish sulcata tore into the soaked ones at first introduction. My large sulcatas just walk over them.
Concerning the eat difficulty, is the beak the same shape and tight fit as the others?

 

[Elohi]

I'm not sure. I'll get her out here shortly and examine it and maybe take some pictures. But now I have another concern with her
I had her out and was letting her eat alone while I observed her since she seemed so agitated when the others were eating pellets that she wanted nothing to do with. And while I had her out I noticed a tiny ticking sound when she was breathing. I watched her tiny nostrils for bubbles and didn't see anything note worthy. But I did take a video for y'all to hear. I'll post that link shortly.

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Ok. Here is the link. It's most noticeable in the second half of the clip.

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http://youtu.be/YbEa_OrzKH4

 

[Cowboy_Ken]

I have zero experience with this type thing. I'm lucky. Sorry. But I'm going to assume you have proper temps, right? My concern would be all three housed together. This one could be the low man on the totem pole so to speak, and could be being bullied out of the prime basking spot and the best warm places. Also, I would suspect bullying to be the reason for the smaller weight gain and overall slower growth.
But as I've said, in regard to the breathing clicks, I've no idea. Sorry.

 

[Elohi]

I have zero experience with this type thing. I'm lucky. Sorry. But I'm going to assume you have proper temps, right? My concern would be all three housed together. This one could be the low man on the totem pole so to speak, and could be being bullied out of the prime basking spot and the best warm places. Also, I would suspect bullying to be the reason for the smaller weight gain and overall slower growth.
But as I've said, in regard to the breathing clicks, I've no idea. Sorry.

Thanks.
Well if I would assume similar except Freckles actually tends to be the bossier of the bunch. She will walk over the others. She is very quick to the dish. I watch them a lot (very relaxing for me) and aside from walking over each other, I've never seen anything that even remotely looks like bullying from any of them. Freckles came to me tiny. Her sibling was more than twice her size. She remains petite but is growing.

My temps are always between 80-93F.
Humidity 80-99%. It does occasionally drop below 80 but a quick mist or the humidifier fixes it quickly.

If the clicking ends up having an RI, will I need to separate her?

 

[Cowboy_Ken]

Yes. But more importantly you will need to discover the cause. But we should wait for someone with more experience in these matters.

 

[Elohi]

Bumping for some expert advice. I'm worried about Freckles. That sound makes me worry that she may be getting sick and if she is I may need to separate her.

 

[wellington]

No expert, but will ask a few questions. What are you using to read the temps? Is it a reliable gauge? Not a disc type from the pet store. Also, do you have a temp gun? Make sure to temp the enclosure at night and in the hide/s. I would bump the heat too 85 at the lowest for a week or so. I'm thinking it's not an RI, some clicking noise is fairly common from what I have seen over the couple years on tfo. Just for the incase though, bump the heat and double check temps with reliable equipment.

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Oh, and keep a close eye on her for any change.

 

[Elohi]

This is the gage


I also have a probe digital thermometer inside their large humid hide. It reads between 80-82F all the time. They don't hang out in that hide much. They prefer the smaller planters or nestled in moss.

I don't have a temp gun but I may go ahead and get one later this evening.

The grey "rock" in this picture is the large humid hide that they don't use much.

Sort of a picture of their enclosure. It's actually a picture of my cat but the enclosure is in the picture.

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Ok, I got her out. She was nice and warm. And so was her pee...
Lol she peed all over me [FLUSHED FACE]
Pictures of her beak.


Her nostrils look totally clear and dry. I may be paranoid.

 

[Levi the Leopard]

I think your paranoid.. Hey, your words not mine

But seriously..you do very well by your leopards. Don't worry that freckles won't eat zoo med pellets alone but the others do.
Also, don't compare her growth to Greg's babies. For a few reasons..

Just keep on with your care and all 3 will do just fine. Regardless of their individual growth speeds.

 

[Elohi]

I think your paranoid.. Hey, your words not mine

But seriously..you do very well by your leopards. Don't worry that freckles won't eat zoo med pellets alone but the others do.
Also, don't compare her growth to Greg's babies. For a few reasons..

Just keep on with your care and all 3 will do just fine. Regardless of their individual growth speeds.

LOL!
Thank you


The last picture cracked me up this morning. It's almost like she is looking at me like. .....seriously human....get that thing out of my face and let me tortle around in my enclosure with my buddies. You're paranoid and I'm fine...
Lololol

 

[Elohi]

Well, I got a temp gun. What a wonderful tool to have!! I pointed it at various spots in the enclosure and the shell of each hatchling. VERY INTERESTING! The lowest temp was 80 The warmest temp was 103. The flat rock under the MVB was 103. The lowest temp was in the furthest corner from the MVB...at 80. Each torts carapace was between 88-91. I checked temps this morning before I turned the MVB on and the torts has maintained their temps but the enclosure was over all cooler, still with the lowest temp being exactly 80. This is all pretty good right? Flat rock temp isn't too high? I was surprised by that temp snice it feels slightly warm to the touch. This tool will be great for temp checking outside. I'll be able to tell when their body temps start to drop and when to bring them in. THANK YOU ALL FOR THE SUGGESTIONS AND ADVICE OVER THESE LAST FEW MONTHS.. I deeply appreciate it!!

 

[Cowboy_Ken]

I needed a thermometer, I wasn't feeling up to normal Cowboy. All the thermometers that I could find were in pet supply drawers indicating to me that they had likely been in one of our mammals butt. So I took my laser and first pointed it at my forehead but the reading indicated I was likely in a coma. So I opened up an raised my tongue, and yup, had me a bit of a fever. Just wait for summertime. You'll have all kinds of fun with it.

 

[Elohi]

I needed a thermometer, I wasn't feeling up to normal Cowboy. All the thermometers that I could find were in pet supply drawers indicating to me that they had likely been in one of our mammals butt. So I took my laser and first pointed it at my forehead but the reading indicated I was likely in a coma. So I opened up an raised my tongue, and yup, had me a bit of a fever. Just wait for summertime. You'll have all kinds of fun with it.

Clever!

I wanted to make sure it was accurate so I had my husband point it at the side of my neck. 98.2 lol. Pretty accurate!

 

[Cowboy_Ken]

The big thing is to pay attention to the distance circumference adjustments you need to use for an accurate reading. Mine has the guide printed on the side. It projects in a cone, from the unit, and varies from 3" to 12".