Maybe I shouldn't post this all in one thread or in my introduction.
If I should do so elsewhere to get more advice I'd really appreciate it because it contains several issues.
This started before I moved home to Oklahoma last year from Las Vegas.
My next door neighbor moved in with a fully grown, 90 pound Sulcata that I fell in love with.
They never paid it any attention and it quickly bonded with me. If it would hear me out in the yard it would soon come over to the fence where I would talk to it, sing to it and give it a small piece of melon.
I truly feel like this little guy was one of the most intelligent animals I've ever met- and I'm into all kinds (never owned a reptile).
In April I ordered a Sulcata hatchling online and next day it showed up, the size of a quarter.
I immediately got all the proper equipment (heat lamps, UVB lamps, hide box, Timothy hay, calcium, etc.)
The thing I was worried about most were my 3 Dachshund rescues and as it has turned out they've all become his surrogate "moms".
I let him sleep in bed with the dogs and I the first few nights (under a big down blanket and always tucked under the fur of one of my various dog's paws) and when I finally put him back in his cage at night ( even with the lights out and us in bed beside him) he would stir up a ruckus until I would finally put him back in bed with us where he would immediately go to sleep, very satisfied.
I make sure he gets 15-20 minutes of exercise of walking the backyard with the dogs and I learned my lesson that before I do so I place those bright, little, neon adhesive "dots" on his shell since I have poor eye-sight.
I wash them off each night when I soak him.
In the past 6 months he has gotten under the bushes twice and all I have to do is ask my Doxies (thank God for Hound Dogs!), "Mia Sophie? Miggy? Where's baby Camelot?" and they sniff the yard quickly until they stand over him, tails wagging.
Well, last Saturday afternoon I let the animals wander, got pre-occupied and 10 minutes had passed before I checked on his location.
It was AWFUL.
When I asked my Doxies where he was they sniffed around and finally started digging and crying at the back fence in a spot he could have easily gotten through.
By then it was dark and I pulled into the alley, cars & flashlights shining into the 20 feet of thick shrubbery that runs along my back fence and is 3 feet deep.
I am a Christian so I didn't feel like I let Camelot down but God as well since he blessed me to care for this creation.
I placed his cage in the backyard along with several other lights- thinking he'd see the lights, hear my calls and come to me as usual.
About 4 AM the next morning I decided to go to sleep for 3 hours and come out once the sun had risen, figuring at one point he would come out and sun a bit.
I did that every hour, then would sleep an hour, then go back out an hour, then sleep an hour, etc. the next 3 days and nights.
On Wednesday night at 7 PM I finally thought, he's not coming back- a neighborhood cat probably got him in the alley.
I prayed that if that happened that God spared him any pain and also that God forgive me for being so negligent to allow him to cross under the fence.
OK. So NOW we're only on to part two. I know- I'm sorry but feel more information is better than less in this situation.
I got back onto the website to order another Sulcata only THIS time they had a special on a male and female that was only a bit more than a single hatchling.
I was able to order a larger set of a male/female ($70 extra) and did so, thinking they would be harder to "lose" being larger and kind of "teaming up".
I placed my order and got confirmation at 5 minutes before the next day's shipping deadline. It was close to dark and I decided to go out for yet another walk all around the house's perimeter.
As I was walking back to the house I noticed one of the bright neon smiley-face stickies on a blade of grass.
I was SURE I would have noticed that the past 3 days.
I looked straight ahead of me where a fence meets the garage and THERE WAS CAMELOT, very still and facing the corner (as they all like to do).
He was almost BLACK (I imagine from mud under the shrubbery he had snuck into).
The second I picked him up he quickly darted his head into his shell and clamped his arms tight- something he's NEVER done with me OR the dogs so I can only imagine how traumatized he was.
I immediately got his "soak" ready and you've never seen a happier tortoise in your life!
He began splashing water on his back- something he'd never done before but I imagine he had done so by instinct while outdoors to cool himself off the past few days.
I blotted him off with his towel and he was just NUTS wandering around the bed, dog to dog. I thought he was hungry and yet where he had been in "hiding" had dandelions, clover, etc. and I had nothing current to feed him.
But within 5 minutes he was TOTALLY sacked out from exhaustion. Even though I believe his instincts told him to tuck in his head and bolt tightly with his arms (and at SIX MONTHS!) I doubt he slept much.
I tried ALL DAY the next day to call that Internet Phone store and tell them to cancel the order but no-one would pick up.
So $358 later they arrived this morning and here is problem #3.
Actually, there are several but the main one is they have pyramiding going on.
For all I know the business pumped them up with proteins and fats, etc. and though they're 5 times the size of Camelot they may be the same age!
These guy's shells are 4 " long. Does anyone know what the typical age for that size should be?
Camelot is only 2 1/2 " at 6 months and his shell is smooth and perfect.
I also noticed that the number of toenails varies on the two new Sulcata's (front and back)
but THIS is the real Horror!!!!!!!!
I put little Camelot next to these monsters and he immediately tried to start eating their shells, scales and beaks!
It makes me wonder what they have been fed that is literally reeking out of their bodies that would make Camelot do this!
I have no idea which is male or female and they are not at ALL trusting like Camelot is.
I don't know how to attach a snapshot but will try a little later.
In the mean time has anyone heard of freshmarine.com out of Calif?
This is where they came from.
Does anyone have any idea what to do since they won't answer their phones?
Thank you for your patience.
Lynne.
PS. I am placing Camelot in a separate area than them because if they already have pyramiding they might have worms too.
And Camelot is perfectly healthy, knock on wood.
If I should do so elsewhere to get more advice I'd really appreciate it because it contains several issues.
This started before I moved home to Oklahoma last year from Las Vegas.
My next door neighbor moved in with a fully grown, 90 pound Sulcata that I fell in love with.
They never paid it any attention and it quickly bonded with me. If it would hear me out in the yard it would soon come over to the fence where I would talk to it, sing to it and give it a small piece of melon.
I truly feel like this little guy was one of the most intelligent animals I've ever met- and I'm into all kinds (never owned a reptile).
In April I ordered a Sulcata hatchling online and next day it showed up, the size of a quarter.
I immediately got all the proper equipment (heat lamps, UVB lamps, hide box, Timothy hay, calcium, etc.)
The thing I was worried about most were my 3 Dachshund rescues and as it has turned out they've all become his surrogate "moms".
I let him sleep in bed with the dogs and I the first few nights (under a big down blanket and always tucked under the fur of one of my various dog's paws) and when I finally put him back in his cage at night ( even with the lights out and us in bed beside him) he would stir up a ruckus until I would finally put him back in bed with us where he would immediately go to sleep, very satisfied.
I make sure he gets 15-20 minutes of exercise of walking the backyard with the dogs and I learned my lesson that before I do so I place those bright, little, neon adhesive "dots" on his shell since I have poor eye-sight.
I wash them off each night when I soak him.
In the past 6 months he has gotten under the bushes twice and all I have to do is ask my Doxies (thank God for Hound Dogs!), "Mia Sophie? Miggy? Where's baby Camelot?" and they sniff the yard quickly until they stand over him, tails wagging.
Well, last Saturday afternoon I let the animals wander, got pre-occupied and 10 minutes had passed before I checked on his location.
It was AWFUL.
When I asked my Doxies where he was they sniffed around and finally started digging and crying at the back fence in a spot he could have easily gotten through.
By then it was dark and I pulled into the alley, cars & flashlights shining into the 20 feet of thick shrubbery that runs along my back fence and is 3 feet deep.
I am a Christian so I didn't feel like I let Camelot down but God as well since he blessed me to care for this creation.
I placed his cage in the backyard along with several other lights- thinking he'd see the lights, hear my calls and come to me as usual.
About 4 AM the next morning I decided to go to sleep for 3 hours and come out once the sun had risen, figuring at one point he would come out and sun a bit.
I did that every hour, then would sleep an hour, then go back out an hour, then sleep an hour, etc. the next 3 days and nights.
On Wednesday night at 7 PM I finally thought, he's not coming back- a neighborhood cat probably got him in the alley.
I prayed that if that happened that God spared him any pain and also that God forgive me for being so negligent to allow him to cross under the fence.
OK. So NOW we're only on to part two. I know- I'm sorry but feel more information is better than less in this situation.
I got back onto the website to order another Sulcata only THIS time they had a special on a male and female that was only a bit more than a single hatchling.
I was able to order a larger set of a male/female ($70 extra) and did so, thinking they would be harder to "lose" being larger and kind of "teaming up".
I placed my order and got confirmation at 5 minutes before the next day's shipping deadline. It was close to dark and I decided to go out for yet another walk all around the house's perimeter.
As I was walking back to the house I noticed one of the bright neon smiley-face stickies on a blade of grass.
I was SURE I would have noticed that the past 3 days.
I looked straight ahead of me where a fence meets the garage and THERE WAS CAMELOT, very still and facing the corner (as they all like to do).
He was almost BLACK (I imagine from mud under the shrubbery he had snuck into).
The second I picked him up he quickly darted his head into his shell and clamped his arms tight- something he's NEVER done with me OR the dogs so I can only imagine how traumatized he was.
I immediately got his "soak" ready and you've never seen a happier tortoise in your life!
He began splashing water on his back- something he'd never done before but I imagine he had done so by instinct while outdoors to cool himself off the past few days.
I blotted him off with his towel and he was just NUTS wandering around the bed, dog to dog. I thought he was hungry and yet where he had been in "hiding" had dandelions, clover, etc. and I had nothing current to feed him.
But within 5 minutes he was TOTALLY sacked out from exhaustion. Even though I believe his instincts told him to tuck in his head and bolt tightly with his arms (and at SIX MONTHS!) I doubt he slept much.
I tried ALL DAY the next day to call that Internet Phone store and tell them to cancel the order but no-one would pick up.
So $358 later they arrived this morning and here is problem #3.
Actually, there are several but the main one is they have pyramiding going on.
For all I know the business pumped them up with proteins and fats, etc. and though they're 5 times the size of Camelot they may be the same age!
These guy's shells are 4 " long. Does anyone know what the typical age for that size should be?
Camelot is only 2 1/2 " at 6 months and his shell is smooth and perfect.
I also noticed that the number of toenails varies on the two new Sulcata's (front and back)
but THIS is the real Horror!!!!!!!!
I put little Camelot next to these monsters and he immediately tried to start eating their shells, scales and beaks!
It makes me wonder what they have been fed that is literally reeking out of their bodies that would make Camelot do this!
I have no idea which is male or female and they are not at ALL trusting like Camelot is.
I don't know how to attach a snapshot but will try a little later.
In the mean time has anyone heard of freshmarine.com out of Calif?
This is where they came from.
Does anyone have any idea what to do since they won't answer their phones?
Thank you for your patience.
Lynne.
PS. I am placing Camelot in a separate area than them because if they already have pyramiding they might have worms too.
And Camelot is perfectly healthy, knock on wood.
