Growth Spirt?

[Rhyno47]

So I finally got Isaac's enclosure at the perfect temps and humidity about a month ago. Right afterward he has gotten what looks like a growth spirt. From the looks of it perfect shell growth. He has a new shiny strip of non-pyramided shell growth all around every scute. This I believe goes to prove that humidity is the cause of pyramiding. Directly after I fixed his humidity he grew, and fast. Here are some pics. You can clearly see the new growth. Also does his plastron look ok?

There is 1 heat lamp, 1 UV bulb, and 1 night heat lamp.

 

[Livingstone]

Your tortoises shell at any age should not have any ridges, just smooth growth, make sure you are feeding him greens low in protein and high in fiber like dandelion... It looks like chunks of vegetables and fruit in his dish... Those are going to compound the problem not make it better. There are more experienced member that can elaborate.

 

[tortoisenerd]

What about a hide in the warm area? I don't have enough experience to comment on the shell. I do agree I think pyramiding is primarily caused by lack of humidity in the substrate/microclimate. I don't see chunks of fruits and veggies, but rocks in a water dish. What I see as the food dish has one piece of leaf. Best wishes.

 

[chadk]

How does he feel in your hand? Solid and heavy with a hard shell and plastron? Or does he feel light and hollow and soft or delicate feeling shell and plastron?

The setup looks great to me. I would look into giving him an ramp to the top of the hide and maybe letting the CHE sit up there to make a nice warm basking spot and a warm hide. Then give him a smaller cool side hide. If he spends much time at all in the cool hide, I would bet your ambient temps are too high. Ideally, he should be out cruising around, eating, and then sleeping and napping in the warm humid hide.

 

[Rhyno47]

They are rocks in the water dish so that it isnt to deep. And all of his old growth is from hir breeder. The new growth is recent. Ive only had him for 2 months. He feels hard on his carapace, but they lighter parts of his plastron are slightly pliable. But he is very heavy.

 

[Yvonne G]

The plastron looks fine to me.

A word on feeding vegetables:

I know that most of the african tortoise groups tell you that you MUST feed your african tortoises weeds, grasses and hay. I buy a bit of everything that is sold in the produce section of the grocery store. I have ALWAYS fed all my tortoises veggies along with their greens...especially for those tortoises who don't have access to grazing. My thinking being that when they are able to graze they keep their beaks worn down smooth, but when I feed them only greens, they don't really bite them, they just "tongue" them into their mouths whole and swallow. This was causing me a bit of problems with the beaks, so I started feeding something they had to bite off. Broccoli, zucchini, all the squashes, yes, even cucumber, a bit of bok choy every so often, etc. This is probably "old school" and you all are going, "She will never learn...never come into the 21st century of tortoise keeping." But, I have raised several of my tortoises from hatchlings, and they all look pretty darned good. I don't ever feed just one thing. They always get a very wide variety of greens and veggies.

I'm not saying that everyone has to follow my lead and feed their tortoises the way I do, I'm just saying, I don't think there's anything wrong with giving a veggie to a grass-eating tortoise!

Yvonne

 

[Rhyno47]

But the lighter parts of his plastron aren't hard, not soft but not like his carapace scutes. Slightly pliable even. Is it because it is new and or he is so young?

 

[Yvonne G]

I don't see any lighter parts. Are you talking about the spaces between the scutes? If so, that would be a little more pliable than the shell material because its new growth. He's still pretty young. Just be sure he's getting all the calcium he needs for healthy shell and bones.

Yvonne

 

[Rhyno47]

THank God. Ive been thinking that was it but Chadk scared me. He gets Mazuri every day, (only 1 or 2 pellets) and calcium D3 on his luttuce once a week. Is that enough?

 

[Yvonne G]

No, new babies should be getting a very light sprinkling of calcium on every feeding. I'm assuming he's indoors, so in that case the calc. w/d3 is fine.

Yvonne

 

[Rhyno47]

Ok thanks. I will do that.

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Is to much clacium bad?

 

[Yvonne G]

If you put too much calcium on his food, chances are pretty good he won't eat that day.

This is from a site for humans, but I'm sure it plays a part in reptiles too:

" When calcium and phosphorus are not in balance, serious health problems can result:
*
High phosphorus levels in the blood can cause bones to lose calcium. This makes the bones weak and brittle.
*
The extra phosphorus and calcium join to form hard deposits in the soft tissues of the body, known as calcifications.
*
Calcifications can occur in your blood vessels and block the flow of blood.
*
Calcifications can lead to heart disease, lung disease and painful joints."

Just from reading the above, I'm guessing that too much calcium might also have something to do with kidney stones or bladder stones.

Yvonne

 

[Rhyno47]

So how much is a light sprinkling?

 

[Meg90]

so that you can see calcium powder on EVERY LEAF. Don't douse it, think of it as "salting" his food. You want some "salt" on everything to give it flavor. Do you have cuttle bone available for him???

 

[Rhyno47]

Ive tried that. He wont touch it. Ill check out getting him an actual salt shaker for the reptical.

 

[Meg90]

put it in there anyway. He should always, always, always have the option.

 

[Rhyno47]

Good visual with the salting though.

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Ok, i will.

 

[tortoisenerd]

It's my opinion that with UVB you shouldn't give D3, only pure calcium. Do the research and see what you think. Torts produce their own D3 with UVB (lights or sun), and you can over supplement it as it's a fat soluble vitamin. Calcium is water soluble and it's tough to give too much of it to a growing tort. This is my opinion and this is one of those debatable topics, but I wanted to present the other side so you can make a choice on your own. Meg-loved the salt analogy. I also love the salt shaker so my hands don't get powder all over them. Best wishes.

 

[chadk]

It's my opinion that with UVB you shouldn't give D3, only pure calcium. Do the research and see what you think. Torts produce their own D3 with UVB (lights or sun), and you can over supplement it as it's a fat soluble vitamin. Calcium is water soluble and it's tough to give too much of it to a growing tort. This is my opinion and this is one of those debatable topics, but I wanted to present the other side so you can make a choice on your own. Meg-loved the salt analogy. I also love the salt shaker so my hands don't get powder all over them. Best wishes.

+1

 

[Stazz]

Tallula never touches her cuttle bone either, but its always good to just keep it there on offer, as they'll chomp on it when they feel they need it T just walks all over hers!