Baby RT shell questions

Taylor Sweet

New Member
Joined
Jul 26, 2015
Messages
20
Location (City and/or State)
Indiana, USA
Hello all,

So I have two RT’s. One is a juvenile named Tank. I’ve had him for about two years. Earlier this year (May) I got a hatchling tortoise named Tortellini (Tort or Lini for short). He’s going to be 1 in April. I was wondering if anyone could take a look at his shell and let me know what they think? He seems to have a bump behind his head on his carapace. I’m just worried about uneven growth or bone disease.

I’ve decided to water his terrarium down when I turn on his lamp I the morning, in the hopes that the water won’t evaporate as quickly and his shell will even out. What do you all think? Should I decrease his food as well? I really hate to do that if I don’t have to. He loves eating and always seems hungry. I just want to make sure I’m doing right by the little guy! I know how critical shell development is in the first couple of years!

Some more information:

Temps are 90. He has a 100W Powersun UVB lamp (he also has a heat lamp, but it’s never on because he doesn’t like the extra heat).

ZooMed Deep Double Dome lamp

He’s currently in a 12 gallon tub (he’ll be upgraded as he gets bigger. I tried putting him in a larger tub but it was impossible to find him!!)

I spray his tub down once a day currently, but I’m about to start “watering” the mulch once a day as well.

He’s on a mixture of aspen and cypress mulch.

He does have a water bowl (it’s the base of a small ceramic pot). However the water usually evaporated or seeps through the dish halfway through the day, so I have to refill it.

He’s primarily fed a spring mix. I like to mix a little spinach or radicchio in from time to time. I also like to give him carrots or cabbage occasionally as a treat. Recently I’ve started lightly dusting his food with calcium. I’ve never seen anything about using calcium with a baby RT, but I always use it with my juvenile, and i figured it couldn’t hurt. He just gets the size of his body in food, once a day.

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crimson_lotus

Well-Known Member
10 Year Member!
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Dec 28, 2013
Messages
1,385
Location (City and/or State)
Massachusetts
I wouldn't worry, his wrinkliness is probably due to hatching from his egg. Looks quite normal.

I would suggest getting a bigger bin and feeding more variety . Do you feed Mazuri? It's great for fiber.
 

Taylor Sweet

New Member
Joined
Jul 26, 2015
Messages
20
Location (City and/or State)
Indiana, USA
I wouldn't worry, his wrinkliness is probably due to hatching from his egg. Looks quite normal.

I would suggest getting a bigger bin and feeding more variety . Do you feed Mazuri? It's great for fiber.

He will have a bigger bin as he gets bigger. It’s just too hard to find him in a larger tub. I placed him in my other tortoise’s bin to see if I could find him and it took me 45 minutes to locate him lol. I thought he had escaped haha. I haven’t tried mazuri yet. Im thinking of getting some but the pet stores near me don’t sell it. I may have to go online to get some. He does sometimes eat Timothy Hay. And he poops a lot so I don’t think there are any blockages haha.
 

ScStange891

Member
Joined
Dec 5, 2017
Messages
52
Location (City and/or State)
Pennsylvania
I just wanted to point out that my baby RT is named Tortellini (Lini for short) too!!! I also call it the "Torteloony-Tune" when it's acting silly.

I love the yellow on yours. Mine is an olive green (which I also love), but the variation in RTs is quite intriguing and wonderful.

Anyways- I'm a newbie, so please take any advice with a grain of salt, but from reading other posts, I definitely think a bigger bin would be a good thing. My little guy is maybe 2 inches long (still teenie), but has an enclosure thats 2x3ft, and is quite happy in that space. There are sterilite containers that are 4 to 5 sq feet that you can get quite cheaply at like Walmart or Target as well.

Also, is there a any type of hide that you have for your tort? It could be that the picture about doesn't have all the "decorations", and I'm just missing it, but if you don't have one, I would recommend it.

I'd also definitely order some Mazuri online. My little one LOVES it. I hand feed it.
 
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