Healthy Shell?
- Thread starter joeyjars
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Hi joeyjars:
Welcome to the Tortoise Forum!!
Your little sulcata looks great. They should be smooth, just as your is. Bumps in not harmful, usually merely cosmetic, but smooth is the way to go.
The only thing is, to me in the picture, the shell looks quite dry. Are you using sand in the habitat? Sand is quite drying and really not a good substrate.
What would you like us to call you?
...and may we know appx. where in the world you are?
Welcome to the Tortoise Forum!!
Your little sulcata looks great. They should be smooth, just as your is. Bumps in not harmful, usually merely cosmetic, but smooth is the way to go.
The only thing is, to me in the picture, the shell looks quite dry. Are you using sand in the habitat? Sand is quite drying and really not a good substrate.
What would you like us to call you?
...and may we know appx. where in the world you are?
Joe is fine... i use 50/50 peat moss and sand, it is fairly dry, i mist fairly frequently. i live in Portland, OR so the air is pretty humid as is, so i try not to go too crazy. He gets regular baths once a week at the least. Food gets misted quite thoroughly so he can absorb water through his food as well. I don't always keep his water bowl in with him as he just fills it with substrate also. Appetite is good and he seems healthy. One thing i noticed is he has a bit of a attitude though, occasionally lunging at my hand, is this typical? It is pretty far and few between lunges though.
Hello and welcome to the forum...
If you see his water getting dirty, that means that he is using it. Clean it, refill it, and replace it.
He looks good, but your set up could be better. There are some links in my signature that you might find helpful. I also think sand is not a good substrate for them.
The hand ramming is a normal reaction for a sulcata when something gets right in front of them. They feel threatened and their reaction is to tuck and ram to get "the scary thing" out of their face. Whatever the reason for putting your hand in there, try doing it a little farther away from his face and you will probably stop seeing this behavior.
The hand ramming is a normal reaction for a sulcata when something gets right in front of them. They feel threatened and their reaction is to tuck and ram to get "the scary thing" out of their face. Whatever the reason for putting your hand in there, try doing it a little farther away from his face and you will probably stop seeing this behavior.
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