Introducing Baby Runt

[sibi]

Baby Runt was rescued by TRF that started here at this forum. I believe he was one of their first rescues along with his 3 siblings. I received him in Florida overnight from Arizona and I was shocked that he was three years old and weighed just under 4 oz. View attachment 32005 He looks so tiny next to my one year old sully, Beasty Boy. He eats and poops very little. I am feeding him a variety of greens, flowers, weeds, and Orchard hay along with a cuttlebone. He's getting about an hour of Florida sunshine, and lots of love. Today I weighed him and he just reached 4 ounces.View attachment 32004 I will be posting monthly updates on his health and growth. For now, I think Baby Runt is getting use to his enclosure and he's beginning to blink his eyes with me

 

[LuckysGirl007]

Awe! He's lookin' good!

 

[biochemnerd808]

Wow, your big guy looks wonderful, nice smooth shell and such pretty coloring! Baby Runt is a cutie - hopefully good healthy food and lots of TLC from you will help his shell harden up and growth to normalize. Who knows, he might end up bigger than you think!
Congrats on the family addition!

Baby Runt was rescued by TRF that started here at this forum. I believe he was one of their first rescues along with his 3 siblings. I received him in Florida overnight from Arizona and I was shocked that he was three years old and weighed just under 4 oz. He looks so tiny next to my one year old sully, Beasty Boy. He eats and poops very little. I am feeding him a variety of greens, flowers, weeds, and Orchard hay along with a cuttlebone. He's getting about an hour of Florida sunshine, and lots of love. Today I weighed him and he just reached 4 ounces. I will be posting monthly updates on his health and growth. For now, I think Baby Runt is getting use to his enclosure and he's beginning to blink his eyes with me

 

[sibi]

Thanks guys. Baby Runt amazed me today. He ate some kale and cactus.

 

[LuckysGirl007]

Yea Baby! He will eat pretty much everything.

 

[mainey34]

Oh, I'm so glad he is doing so good for you. Progress...keep us posted..

 

[blafiriravt]

Looks like he is in great hands now! .)

 

[sibi]

I am so excited!!! Baby Runt weighted in at 6 ozs! Even though it may not help his pyramiding, I still soak him daily and keep his enclosure humid (around 80%). He eats a whole lot more than when I first got him. He wouldn't eat mazuri even though I gave it to him everyday. But just this week he started to take nips of it, and he's eating more of it day by day. He even feels a little heavier. Check out the new pics. Do you realize that he has gained half of his weight in less than two months what took him 3 years to gain.

 

[sibi]

Update on Baby Runt!

 

[sibi]

I had to rescue him when he got stuck in his drinking cup. He's actually growing spurs Look at those beautiful eyesHis first taste of mazuri 6 oz!!!

Baby Runt is King of his castle! He doesn't have to compete for food, or fight to get the warmest spot. He has the best food and is now becoming a bit picky, only wanting very fresh greens, particularly turnip greens and kale. Those are his favorites. I get the organic, home grown greens for him and it's beginning to show. He gained 2 oz in the first six weeks that I got him. He now weights 6 oz. Do you realize that in six weeks, the two ounces gained represent HALF of his whole body weight over the last three years! He looks so adorable with those two round eyes and baby-looking face. I just love him, or course, with my other two babies Beasty Boy and Honey Girl (both a year old now). Baby Runt is now eating mazuri. He didn't like it at first, but I kept putting in his dish, and one day, he just started chomping down on the stuff. Next update is in one month.

 

[african cake queen]

you go baby runt. you have more love and care now. keep us posted.

 

[Spn785]

That is AWESOME!!! I can't wait to hear more good news!

 

[leonardo the tmnt]

Great job!! Can't wait to see how much he has grown when you post updates

 

[sibi]

Oh, he has grown already. Maybe it's not that evident in the pics, but he's rounded out. It even appears that the dents are leveling out a bit. If you compare the first pics of him in my weight scale and the latest one on the weight scale, you may be able to see a slight growth.

Great job!! Can't wait to see how much he has grown when you post updates

 

[Baoh]

I am glad to see this one is doing well.

 

[Zabbi0]

Baby Runt was rescued by TRF that started here at this forum. I believe he was one of their first rescues along with his 3 siblings. I received him in Florida overnight from Arizona and I was shocked that he was three years old and weighed just under 4 oz. He looks so tiny next to my one year old sully, Beasty Boy. He eats and poops very little. I am feeding him a variety of greens, flowers, weeds, and Orchard hay along with a cuttlebone. He's getting about an hour of Florida sunshine, and lots of love. Today I weighed him and he just reached 4 ounces. I will be posting monthly updates on his health and growth. For now, I think Baby Runt is getting use to his enclosure and he's beginning to blink his eyes with me

Jeez. Your 1 yr old makes it evident that I didn't take care of my Sami correctly for way too long (unawaringly). She's 3-4yrs and barely that size.

So neat about Baby Runt!! How did you get involved in rescuers? That's so neat.

 

[LuckysGirl007]

I can TOTALLY see a difference in his pictures! He's looking REALLY good! Just brighter, and smoother, personality coming out! LOVE IT! Great work, Sylvia!

 

[sibi]

I am a compassionate person by nature, and when I found this forum, I started to read about members who struggled with their tortoises like I was. My Beasty Boy, who was always the biggest and strongest, was eating rocks. He got compacted, but that wasn't the worst of his problems. He had a bladder stone 1" in diameter and couldn't pass it. He was only 8 months old! After that episode, I started to really straighten things out. Then, I started to hear of poor sulcatas on CL that were in such bad shape, it angered me because even if I made mistakes, the moment I realized something wasn't right, I did research and found this forum. People who realize something is wrong with their animals but do nothing about it--that's what angers me the most. When the idea was started on a post I was responding to, a rescue fund was sent up and potential foster parents were needed as well as adoptions. I heard of a 4-some that needed homes, and the one that was the smallest was labeled baby runt. I immediately wanted to nurture this one. So, I got him and the rest is history.

Baby Runt was rescued by TRF that started here at this forum. I believe he was one of their first rescues along with his 3 siblings. I received him in Florida overnight from Arizona and I was shocked that he was three years old and weighed just under 4 oz. He looks so tiny next to my one year old sully, Beasty Boy. He eats and poops very little. I am feeding him a variety of greens, flowers, weeds, and Orchard hay along with a cuttlebone. He's getting about an hour of Florida sunshine, and lots of love. Today I weighed him and he just reached 4 ounces. I will be posting monthly updates on his health and growth. For now, I think Baby Runt is getting use to his enclosure and he's beginning to blink his eyes with me

Jeez. Your 1 yr old makes it evident that I didn't take care of my Sami correctly for way too long (unawaringly). She's 3-4yrs and barely that size.

So neat about Baby Runt!! How did you get involved in rescuers? That's so neat.

 

[Zabbi0]

That's so so neat. I want to be able to do that one day too. Not in the near future but maybe in another year or so once I've had some time with my first little one. I've been thinking about that and breeding but right now I'm still in college and only have a part time job so it's going to be a bit.
Very neat though. Congrats on your new baby

 

[animalfreak]

I have loved reptiles for a long time and never thought of a tortoise. I was always hooked on lizards. I found some cheap sulcatas and wanted one because of price. I saved up and bought one! (Not so cheap btw). But I am so glad I did because when I get older I'm going to have LOTS of pets. I want to have big tortoises sitting by me and rescuing little ones and getting to watch them hatch. I'm so excited and happy I got into tortoises and big thanks to the people who have helped me as my own little Molly was not feeling well. Thanks! <3