Babies eating too much?

GIJohnny

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Hi All,

Sorry, long time no post, we've been quite busy. Our babies are now 3 months old and my youngest thinks we are overfeeding them, so I wanted to get some expert opinion here.

First a little background. After almost an entire month of them showing zero interest in food, the hatchlings eat with gusto. The first we found and what used to be the smallest, Bagel, has taken over the food dish and cuttle bone and chases off the other 2. This doesn't present too big of an issue, because when he/she burrows in to sleep off pigging out, the other two come out and eat.

It is adorable watching them eat, as they wind up so deliberately and grab the pellets like hungry hungry hippos. The also seem to enjoy light stroking on their shells and top of their head. But I digress.

Since scaring us with not eating for their first month we have been filling the habitat with food and they can eat whenever they feel like it. Bagel and Croissant both stick to turtle pellets and cuttle bone, Baguette has taken an interest to cantaloupe and shoves it in with both feet as fast as he/she can. The other two think cantaloupe is something to stand on to bask.

Where our worry comes in is Bagel seems to be getting really fat and bursting out of his/her shell. I'm posting here pictures of Bagel and Baguette for comparison. Is Bagel getting too fat and what do we do about it?

Below are 4 photos of Bagel followed by 4 of Baguette for comparison:

Bagel 1.jpg Bagel 2.jpg Bagel 3.jpg Bagel 4.jpg Baguette 1.jpg
Baguette 2.jpg Baguette 3.jpg Baguette 4.jpg
 

teresaf

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There's absolutely no way of overfeeding a tortoise baby. I can't see any of your pictures for some reason but if one looks like he's busting out of his shell that could be fluid retention which is bad. I'm tagging @Yvonne G because she's seen what I'm talking about and can help you better. The only help I can give *** to say that you are not over feeding them.
 

Bibbit

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I agree that overfeeding is unlikely. The same happened with mine a year ago. I thought for sure they were going to starve, then they started eating and have been voracious since. The pictures look normal to me. Cuties.
 

GIJohnny

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Thanks, they truly are cuties. I guess we worry his/her shell is too small for her/his body. Bagel is the most human friendly of the 3 and used to only eat out of our hands. When he/she is out for a soak, he/she just lets it all hang out. I tried a close up below to show what I mean. None of them have ever been threatened so we've never seen them pull into their shell, the most they withdraw is their head halfway in when they first wake up. Should so much of his/her body be out of the shell like below?

He/she eats plenty, drinks plenty, always pees and poops when out for his/her daily soak, so seems perfectly healthy. Maybe he/she just likes letting it all hang out.

Bagel Letting it all hang out.jpg
 

Bibbit

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Sorry, I've been away for a bit. Yes, that's fine. When they are that small, it's physically impossible for them to completely withdraw into the shell. The hinge is not even developed yet. The shells get bigger in comparison to the body as they grow. My babies are a year old and the shell has extended, but they still can't pull their heads in all the way.
 

lisa127

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Sorry, I've been away for a bit. Yes, that's fine. When they are that small, it's physically impossible for them to completely withdraw into the shell. The hinge is not even developed yet. The shells get bigger in comparison to the body as they grow. My babies are a year old and the shell has extended, but they still can't pull their heads in all the way.
With the occasional exception. 9 months old in this photo.
image2-1.jpg
 

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Bibbit

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That's a big one. I'm sure it varies a bit by species and such. Mine aren't quite that big at a bit over a year.
 
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