Still need to build the door/ramp and get all the wiring in place, but it turned out pretty well. Design is based off @Tom night boxes. 4x8 ft.. Its so dam heavy.
Heated night box is nearing completion.
- Thread starter mushmouth26
- Start date
looks amazing
!!!!
!!!!
I love it. I like the corner covers and the door on the end too. Very nicely done. You will have a warm happy tortoise this winter.
It does look amazing. Hopefully once you get it where it needs to be, you'll never have to move it!
Couple more pics.. Got the door done this morning.. Capped off the burrow.. Funyun seems a bit lost or stressed about her burrow.
how old is your tort?
?
Age is unknown.. She is a rescue.. Handed down thru several owners. Prior owner thought she was 4 based on what previous owner told them. She was severely malnourished when I got her 1 year ago.. She was 260 grams when I got her.. She is now 9 lbs one year later..
Wow, good for you. I would imagine she will adjust to her new wonderful hide. You may have to place her there in it every night for a week or two to help her along.
Wow, that looks so nice! She will love it ! It's nice to hear she's getting better care now
! It's nice to hear she's getting better care now
The pic is from the first day i got her last Oct. Pic on the right is comparison shot from Feb 2014. You can see that her new shell growth is much smoother. Proof that good nutrition, calcium and humidity can really make a difference. She is at least twice the size of the feb pic now. Maybe 3 times.
More recent photo.
More recent photo.
That's quite a transformation!
What a lucky tortoise to have found its way to you!
Turtle16
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- Oct 13, 2014
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Hi there, I notice your post about your rescue being malnourished. I just recently rescued one two days ago. The owners say he is 2 but to me her looks younger than 6 months because of his size. He is very pale and has trouble holding his head up. She told me that she fed him every other day; poor little guy. Curious if you had any ideas or info on how to nurse little one back to strong/happy health. He also sleeps way too much during the day and night.
I have a 9 year old that I have had since he was 3 months and he was nothing like this when I raised him from a hatchling so I feel the rescue is in great danger. Thanks for the help
For me I started with the hydration.. High humidity enclosure, twice daily soaks for the first couple weeks then once a day for 4 or 5 months. I used a bin with a lid to keep the humidity in for several minutes at a time while soaking. I believe this along with sun light, calcium has contributed greatly to her new shell growth being smooth. Funyun's diet before this was mainly Romaine lettuce. She had diarrhea when i first got her.. Getting her fiber up helped alot.
I gave as much variety to the diet as possible. Timothy hay (finely ground in a electric coffee grinder) also small chopped grass sprinkle water on the mix to make it stick to rest of the food, Spring mix /herb( this one tends not to have spinach), Clovers, dandelions, Turnip greens, kale, cactus anything I could get my hands on that was listed as edible for a sulcata. I would chop it up all together. A big bag worth that would last 2 to 3 days cause it can be a lot of work to chop it all up daily. I also supplemented with mazuri daily.. I would crush and sprinkle into the mix to help cover any nutritional deficiencies and also leave a few whole pellets. Calcium 2 times a week. Tortoise block and cuttle bone in the enclosure.. I did this because I notice her trying to eat rocks. Soon as her calcium was up she stopped trying to eat them. UV wise there is nothing better than the sun.. At least an hour a day for the first couple weeks to help her body synthesis D3.
One last thing.. Its expensive but taking her to a vet and testing for parasites and having her treated will help a great deal. I got her along with a leopard i purchased (Cheeto). The leopard had a really hard time gaining weight the first 6 months i had her. I took her to the vet and turned out she was infested with worms. I treated her along with Funyun and my other sulcata Sirracha. This has contributed greatly to growth and weight gain. Dont forget to read through @Tom threads.. This helped me get up to speed to being at least somewhat knowledgable and coming up with a game plan to get her taken care of.
I gave as much variety to the diet as possible. Timothy hay (finely ground in a electric coffee grinder) also small chopped grass sprinkle water on the mix to make it stick to rest of the food, Spring mix /herb( this one tends not to have spinach), Clovers, dandelions, Turnip greens, kale, cactus anything I could get my hands on that was listed as edible for a sulcata. I would chop it up all together. A big bag worth that would last 2 to 3 days cause it can be a lot of work to chop it all up daily. I also supplemented with mazuri daily.. I would crush and sprinkle into the mix to help cover any nutritional deficiencies and also leave a few whole pellets. Calcium 2 times a week. Tortoise block and cuttle bone in the enclosure.. I did this because I notice her trying to eat rocks. Soon as her calcium was up she stopped trying to eat them. UV wise there is nothing better than the sun.. At least an hour a day for the first couple weeks to help her body synthesis D3.
One last thing.. Its expensive but taking her to a vet and testing for parasites and having her treated will help a great deal. I got her along with a leopard i purchased (Cheeto). The leopard had a really hard time gaining weight the first 6 months i had her. I took her to the vet and turned out she was infested with worms. I treated her along with Funyun and my other sulcata Sirracha. This has contributed greatly to growth and weight gain. Dont forget to read through @Tom threads.. This helped me get up to speed to being at least somewhat knowledgable and coming up with a game plan to get her taken care of.
Turtle16
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- Oct 13, 2014
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Thank you so much for the info. My husband came up with a great idea of making a very thin puree of foods my older sulcata loves and mixing into his water for added nutrients until we can get him to eat more. May I ask how much the vet bill was??
I think the initial visit was about $120 give or take $10. $30 for a fecal test. Then $30 for the medicine de-wormer.. She intially also got a shot too, I think it was for amoeba's or something. You will have to go back weekly for the de wormer treatments.. for 3 or 4 weeks. If you feel comfortable some vets will let you do the de wormer yourself. Its not easy giving an animal who can pull his head in and protect it with armored legs medicine. You might waste the meds trying to do it yourself.. Been there done that. Least if they mess up they cant charge you for it.
They only charged for the medicine each time.. Not a full visit each time. I was doing this times 3 tortoise though. But its a responsibility I was willing to take on.
Do not take them to any old vet. You need to see a vet who is trained in exotics and reptiles. Any vet will let you bring them in but it doesn't mean you will get the same quality of treatment. I have an inlaw who went down this road and they still ended up having to go to a reptile vet. If the vet has to send the fecal test off for testing you probably are not at the right vet. Find a licensed herp. vet. I used this site initially.
http://www.herpvetconnection.com/ If you happen to live in Dallas, tx area I can give you my vets info directly.
They only charged for the medicine each time.. Not a full visit each time. I was doing this times 3 tortoise though. But its a responsibility I was willing to take on.
Do not take them to any old vet. You need to see a vet who is trained in exotics and reptiles. Any vet will let you bring them in but it doesn't mean you will get the same quality of treatment. I have an inlaw who went down this road and they still ended up having to go to a reptile vet. If the vet has to send the fecal test off for testing you probably are not at the right vet. Find a licensed herp. vet. I used this site initially.
http://www.herpvetconnection.com/ If you happen to live in Dallas, tx area I can give you my vets info directly.
This is much like the baby food soaks that have been recommended (1 jar of pureed 'orange' baby food like carrots sweet potato, or even a couple of tbsp of unsweetened canned pumpkin to the soak water. Twice per day sounds great.
You can also squirt in some liquid bird vitamins.
Alaskamike
Well-Known Member
This gives me hope. I rescued one recently that is pyramiding like yours was. Supposed to be 2 yrs old but only 2.3lbs. By following care sheets here I hope "Tiny" will turn out as well as yours is apparently doing.
Turtle16
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- Oct 13, 2014
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I just wanted to drop in and say thank you so much for the herp website with the best vets that specialize in exotics. I found one really close to my house. I took the little one this morning and he has hookworms
due to the severity of the hookworms and the critical condition the little guy is in, trying to de worm him will kill him Very sad that some people think that they are so easy to take care of, at least have some respect for the animal and become knowledgeable about what you are getting yourself into before buying one. Definitely very hard to see this little guy suffer.
I just wanted to drop in and say thank you so much for the herp website with the best vets that specialize in exotics. I found one really close to my house. I took the little one this morning and he has hookworms
So is there any hope for him? They give any advice on getting him healthy enough to go thru de-worming?
Is the shell soft?
