Lenne's first weigh in!

[myssie]

Lenne is a busting 39g and 5 1/2cm. She seems to be doing well, enjoying her daily soaks, eating lots and enjoys her outdoor pen more than indoors. She sleeps while she is inside but is on the move the whole time she is outside. She is always looking for her chance to escape but I am always right there to set her straight again. Yes the obsession has begun!!!!!!

 

[Greg T]

That's great! Keep tracking her growth. I can't even remember when mine were that small. I weighed by smallest one yesterday and it is now pushing 2 pounds.

It definitely is an obsession!

 

[Tom]

Very cool. It will be a lot of fun to track her growth over the next few years. Lenne is about the same size as my hatchling sulcatas. Same length, but 41 grams. We can compare notes! I do have one complaint, however. Where are the pics!?! Ha Ha. More pics please.

 

[terracolson]

pics please

 

[myssie]

I am very happy with her/he I will keep monitoring her/his progress. One question tho, when she is in her pen inside she just seems to sleep. But out doors she is just a going concern. Little miss busy body, go go go. Why would that be??

I am sorry for no pics, I have been trying to add them but it won't let me. I will try again, wish me luck.


nope still nothing, I must be doing something wrong. hmmmm but that is her/him in my profile pic.

 

[Traveller]

Check out this link on posting pics, it may help you out.
I'd love to see some more pics too.


http://tortoiseforum.org/thread-1408.html?highlight=posting+pics

Our little leopard also does the go go when he's outside. Our older gal doesn't anymore, she' quite comfortable now outside.
I'm pretty sure it's normal for babies or hatchlings since they are still prey and are afraid of being snatched and eaten.
Just think how you would feel being taken from your little habitat and put in another place, scared at first but if you keep doing it they eventually get to know that they are safe.
Well that's my theory anyway.
Maybe the more experienced will comment.
Cheers

 

[terracolson]

he does seem a little light, might be from being a busy body outside.. maybe he is stressed out there?
he should be sleeping more..

a 5 1/2 mine were 49 grams and 51 grams ( i have 3 leopard torts)

if you email me a pic, i will post it for you

[email protected]

 

[myssie]

he does seem a little light, might be from being a busy body outside.. maybe he is stressed out there?
he should be sleeping more..

a 5 1/2 mine were 49 grams and 51 grams ( i have 3 leopard torts)

if you email me a pic, i will post it for you

[email protected]

Should I limit his outdoor adventures then?? I don't want to stress the little guy out to much. Just until his weight is up a bit?? Thanks for everything.

 

[Tom]

The sleeping indoors is normal and good. The activity outdoors could be one of two things or a combo of both. Sue is right about the fear factor, but the other factor is that the sun is like a reptile supercharger. You'll see this really obviously with some lizards. Indoors they are calm and easy to handle, but if you take them out in the sun they quickly become a hissy, gaping mouthed, vicious monster.

I usually limit sunning time to under an hour a day for babies. They only need 20 minutes two or three times a week to do the UV job. And in the wild babies don't spend much time above ground, out in the open. You might try adding some hiding places to the outdoor enclosure to make Lenne feel a bit more comfy. Don't worry about the UV when he hides in the shade, as they still get some, because all that UV from the sun bounces around quite a bit. A UV meter in the shade in the tropics will show a similar amount of UV to one in full sun in a more Northern or Southern latitude. They will get used to it and settle down in time. Does Lenne eat out side? If so, then he's not THAT stressed and is probably just feeling good from all that UV.

---

Oh yeah. Try http://tinypic.com/ for posting your pics. Its really easy and you don't have to sign up or give them any info. Just click upload and choose your pic. It automatically resizes and does everything for you. All you have to do is copy/paste the IMG code into your forum post when its done uploading. Its really easy.

 

[terracolson]

My leos go outside and they basically hide just like inside.

Try taking him outside and make sure he has lots of shade... so he can find the sun and relax in it.
Or
as Tom says limit his time (Tom does have more experience than me)

Tempi was very hyper active and after putting on 20 grams with me, she dropped it all over 3 months. She was very active and i thought it was ok.
Once i put her in her own enclosure and she started resting 80% of the day. she put her weight back on in a week!

 

[myssie]

Yes, you are right Tom about the sun supercharging them. As soon as she is outside wham!! she is on the go before I even get her out of my hand. lol. I do have to cut back her outdoor time. I was giving her 2 - 2 1/2 hours per day, thinking more was better for her. She does have many 2 hides out there, and her pen although was not purposely set up this way gets half sun - half shade part of the day and then flips to the opposite sides the other half of the day. Like I said it was not planned this way.

Yes, she is a very very good eater while she is outside. She has tried everything in her pen and anything I put in there for her. She is just soo funny out there, tasting everything in her path including dirt and stones.

Sue - I will try more shelters and shady spots for her and limit her time and see where that takes us. I just weighed her again this morning and she is now 41g. 2g in two days, lets hope it keeps going up.

---

 

[terracolson]

What are you feeding her this week? I am hoping you know a balanced diet, but it would be nice to know what she is eating right now...

 

[Tom]

I just want to clarify. 20 minutes two or three times a week is all they NEED. A minimum. More is better, but if it were stressing her out to the point of weight loss, then I'd cut her back some. If she's eating good out there, then stress probably isn't a factor. 2-2 1/2 hours should be fine for a baby normally. I would temporarily cut back some until I saw some more weight gain in your case. Maybe an hour a day, and see how it goes.

Also want to clarify, the shade inside a sideways flower pot doesn't count as shade. The sun will heat that ceramic pot up and cook her. You need full over head shade, like from a tree, a building or something you made that sits well above the enclosure. I like to have a minimum of half the enclosure shaded at all times during hot weather. Summer is coming (its 100 at my place today) and its time to start emphasizing safety for all these beautiful little babies running around.

I recommend everyone who suns their torts have a wireless remote thermometer AND an infared heat gun for checking surface temps. Not so critical on a 75 degree Spring day, much more so on a 95 degree summer day.

 

[terracolson]

yes i have been worrying about it getting to hot.

I have lots of shade, and i water the area first thing in the am, so its not bone dry...but its my first summer with hatch lings....

i am thinking moving the pen under the porch cause the top of it is that special shade cloth... like home depot uses in there outside area

 

[myssie]

Her outdoor pen is half shade from the house, half sun for the first part of the day. Then it flips to the opposite sides of half sun, half shade from the trees and fencing for the rest of the day. It was not planned out this way but it is working. She has two pots tipped on thier sides, and also 3 rose bushes, a forsythia bush, flowering maple, chicks and hens, sedam. a small strawberry patch, ( that are much taller than herself and she will rest at the base of them) That worries me only for the fact I can't see her there and check repeatedly to make sure all is well for her.

What I have been feeding is a good mix of sedam,dandilions,plantago,english daisies,roses,clover,grass,chicks and hens,flowering maple,forsythia,daylillies,rose of sharon. Mix varies from feeding to feeding as it is never the same twice. I add carrot or squash 2-3 times a week to her mix and I suppliment with calcium with d3 once every two weeks ( today was her first adding that) and just plain calcium twice a week. I put out fresh stuff three times a day and she seems great with grazing on it. She has a cuttle bone always available to her as well. I am waiting on my TNT and Immno Boost and will be adding that to her diet as well.

Please let me know if I am what is best for her. Any advise is greatly appriciated. Thank you so much Terra and Tom!!!!!!!!

 

[terracolson]

i provide calcium and d3 3 every day.

not alot, but i put about 3 pinches on the complete package of spring mix.

 

[myssie]

I was told that d3 throughout the summer months wasn't needed. To bump it up to 3 - 4 times per week through the winter months? Is that still ok?

 

[terracolson]

Get a calcium that doesnt have D3, like the cuttle stone and scrape it with a butter knife.

 

[Tom]

Her outdoor pen is half shade from the house, half sun for the first part of the day. Then it flips to the opposite sides of half sun, half shade from the trees and fencing for the rest of the day. It was not planned out this way but it is working. She has two pots tipped on thier sides, and also 3 rose bushes, a forsythia bush, flowering maple, chicks and hens, sedam. a small strawberry patch, ( that are much taller than herself and she will rest at the base of them) That worries me only for the fact I can't see her there and check repeatedly to make sure all is well for her.

What I have been feeding is a good mix of sedam,dandilions,plantago,english daisies,roses,clover,grass,chicks and hens,flowering maple,forsythia,daylillies,rose of sharon. Mix varies from feeding to feeding as it is never the same twice. I add carrot or squash 2-3 times a week to her mix and I suppliment with calcium with d3 once every two weeks ( today was her first adding that) and just plain calcium twice a week. I put out fresh stuff three times a day and she seems great with grazing on it. She has a cuttle bone always available to her as well. I am waiting on my TNT and Immno Boost and will be adding that to her diet as well.

Please let me know if I am what is best for her. Any advise is greatly appriciated. Thank you so much Terra and Tom!!!!!!!!

I'm not familiar with some of those plants, but it sounds like you've got a great variety going on there. It sounds like you've got the general idea down pat. The tweaks and fine tuning we are talking about now move us into the realm of personal preference and opinion. I'd cut out the squash and carrot, or reduce it greatly. The only supplements I use are a vitamin once a week or so and plain Calcium carbonate twice a week or so. Less as they get older. I'm not familiar with TNT or Immno Boost, so I can only tell you that I don't use them and my torts are all healthy.

To a degree, you just have to try out some different stuff and techniques and see what works for you and your situation. In all honesty, your tortoise will probably be fine, whichever way you choose to go on these finer points. Good luck and keep us posted.

 

[terracolson]

i second tom