M.e. phayrei Forelimb Scales

[Alena]

Would anyone know what causes some forelimb scales to curve upward ? We have had Hotcake since October 2017. We were told Hotcake was 4 years old. A few forelimb scales are curved upwards. They have been that way since we had her. I want to give her the best care. Any advice on this would be greatly appreciated.

Hotcake has a great appetite. Eats grass, digs for bugs or worms. Not big on any fruit . Figs seem to be a favorite but won't eat much of it. Mixed organic greens/foods liked are (Kale, Turnip greens, zucchini, yellow squash , collard greens, tomatoes , spring mix, mushrooms, carrots, pumpkin, corn on the cob) sprinkled with calcium from Rep- Cal and TNT from carolina pet supply. Not a fan of masuri diet (spits it out everytime ) ! Gets warm soaks 3 times a week. Sits in outside waterer when needed. Growing very fast since October.( October 2017 weight 3lbs , was 7 inches length, today 8-2-2018 weighed 8lbs and is 11 inches in length. Very friendly...always hungry. Nips at my toes and fingers when I'm refreshing waterer.

Outside during the day, inside enclosure at night until we get a predator proof enclosure built. Coyotes, raccoons are a threat. (South Louisiana)

Pictures of Hotcake will be sent. I am not able to send them for some strange reason. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you all in advance~ Alena

 

[Alena]

Would anyone know what causes some forelimb scales to curve upward ? We have had Hotcake since October 2017. We were told Hotcake was 4 years old. A few forelimb scales are curved upwards. They have been that way since we had her. I want to give her the best care. Any advice on this would be greatly appreciated.

Hotcake has a great appetite. Eats grass, digs for bugs or worms. Not big on any fruit . Figs seem to be a favorite but won't eat much of it. Mixed organic greens/foods liked are (Kale, Turnip greens, zucchini, yellow squash , collard greens, tomatoes , spring mix, mushrooms, carrots, pumpkin, corn on the cob) sprinkled with calcium from Rep- Cal and TNT from carolina pet supply. Not a fan of masuri diet (spits it out everytime ) ! Gets warm soaks 3 times a week. Sits in outside waterer when needed. Growing very fast since October.( October 2017 weight 3lbs , was 7 inches length, today 8-2-2018 weighed 8lbs and is 11 inches in length. Very friendly...always hungry. Nips at my toes and fingers when I'm refreshing waterer.

Outside during the day, inside enclosure at night until we get a predator proof enclosure built. Coyotes, raccoons are a threat. (South Louisiana)

Pictures of Hotcake will be sent. I am not able to send them for some strange reason. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you all in advance~ Alena

Hotcake pictures!

 

[Yvonne G]

Is she kept in a very moist and humid environment?

 

[Yvonne G]

This is Phae, a captive bred and raised Mep. She's kept in a rainforest environment and her leg scales are smooth to the leg. Now, her beak. . . that's a whole other story!

 

[Alena]

This is Phae, a captive bred and raised Mep. She's kept in a rainforest environment and her leg scales are smooth to the leg. Now, her beak. . . that's a whole other story!


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I am not sure how the setup was before. For now we are always humid here. We get rain but not like a rainforest. Should I use sprinklers? Would this correct that issue?

 

[Alena]

This is Phae, a captive bred and raised Mep. She's kept in a rainforest environment and her leg scales are smooth to the leg. Now, her beak. . . that's a whole other story!


View attachment 246982

OMG! Beautiful!

 

[MichaelaW]

I have a group of four, all raised together. Two of them have scales like that, while the other two do not. I raised them inside a greenhouse with a humidifier.

 

[Alena]

I have a group of four, all raised together. Two of them have scales like that, while the other two do not. I raised them inside a greenhouse with a humidifier.

That is very interesting. I have a humidifier in the inside enclosure room . We are looking into adding something outside that will provide a fine mist to the enclosure. How long have you had your group together in the greenhouse with the humidifier? Is your greenhouse set up to resemble a rainforest?

 

[MichaelaW]

That is very interesting. I have a humidifier in the inside enclosure room . We are looking into adding something outside that will provide a fine mist to the enclosure. How long have you had your group together in the greenhouse with the humidifier? Is your greenhouse set up to resemble a rainforest?

I kept them in the greenhouse for the first two years of their lives, then the past two years they have been permanently outdoors since I live in Southern Texas right by South Padre island. The weather is nearly perfect for year-round outdoor housing. Here are photos of their old greenhouse.

 

[Alena]

I kept them in the greenhouse for the first two years of their lives, then the past two years they have been permanently outdoors since I live in Southern Texas right by South Padre island. The weather is nearly perfect for year-round outdoor housing. Here are photos of their old greenhouse.

Very nice setup. Thank you for sharing all the information with me. I am not far from you. I am in South Louisiana. It is humid here, however; very hot. The winters have been very cold the last couple of years. We had snow a few times which is not normal. I saw post of plans on building an outside house with insulation. That might be our next project as Hotcake is growing very fast . We have a problem with coyotes and raccoons. Is your outside enclosure predator proof? We will have to build a predator proof enclosure before leaving Hotcake outside overnight.

 

[MichaelaW]

Very nice setup. Thank you for sharing all the information with me. I am not far from you. I am in South Louisiana. It is humid here, however; very hot. The winters have been very cold the last couple of years. We had snow a few times which is not normal. I saw post of plans on building an outside house with insulation. That might be our next project as Hotcake is growing very fast . We have a problem with coyotes and raccoons. Is your outside enclosure predator proof? We will have to build a predator proof enclosure before leaving Hotcake outside overnight.

Here is their current predator-proof setup with an insulated nightbox. Thanks to @Tom for the nightbox inspiration!

 

[Alena]

Here is their current predator-proof setup with an insulated nightbox. Thanks to @Tom for the nightbox inspiration!

Thank you very much for sharing all of this information. This was very helpful .

 

[MichaelaW]

Thank you very much for sharing all of this information. This was very helpful .

No problem! Always excited to discuss Manouria.

 

[teresaf]

Oh! That's great! Finally another manouria emy phareri keeper! I've got two. Looking for more since we're not supposed to keep torts in pairs but no one seems to want to let their MEPS go... : ( Mine have the scales that stick out a bit. I wonder if it's just hereditary? I'm in SW Florida. Plenty of humidity.... here's pics of my enclosure. The white fence is the plastic type so slippery to predators. The wood fence goes into my back yard where there are dogs periodically so no predators(except them). Looking at the pictures now. I can't believe how quickly it became overgrown. I have to watch my footing now when feeding time. It is cool watching them come "running" when they hear me call them. They're about the same size as yours so make noise in the brush "rushing" out of their hidey holes....which mazuri are you using? If they don't like it it's probably the LS(rabbit pellet shaped) version. If so try the nugget shaped original type pictured below.

 

[Alena]

Oh! That's great! Finally another manouria emy phareri keeper! I've got two. Looking for more since we're not supposed to keep torts in pairs but no one seems to want to let their MEPS go... : ( Mine have the scales that stick out a bit. I wonder if it's just hereditary? I'm in SW Florida. Plenty of humidity.... here's pics of my enclosure. The white fence is the plastic type so slippery to predators. The wood fence goes into my back yard where there are dogs periodically so no predators(except them). Looking at the pictures now. I can't believe how quickly it became overgrown. I have to watch my footing now when feeding time. It is cool watching them come "running" when they hear me call them. They're about the same size as yours so make noise in the brush "rushing" out of their hidey holes....which mazuri are you using? If they don't like it it's probably the LS(rabbit pellet shaped) version. If so try the nugget shaped original type pictured below.

Thank you for the pictures and advice. I appreciate all the pointers as we are constantly reading post for information.

Yes, you guessed it. The LS is the type we use. Our M.e.E. loves it. Our Russian tortoise hates it. Our M.e.P hates it. I believe my baby cherry headed red foot eats everything and would eat it if I offered it. I had her from 1 month old. She is a trooper ( will be 2 in January2019).

We called the company and they suggested we use the LS for the Brown Mountain tortoise. It is time to reorder ...maybe we should change it up. We were told the one you are suggesting is sweeter. Our M.e.E. came to us already eating Masuri.

I worry as Hotcake is always hungry. It may just be normal as we are newbies to M.e.P. . Maybe the other type of Masuri will help fill H otcake up. Brownie, our M.e.E. eats Masuri once or twice a week. Brownie doesn't appear to be starving , so to speak. Hotcake is always eating, grass, bugs, nios at my toes, plates, everything in sight.
That may be normal as the M.e.P. is a larger Tortoise. Hotcake takes a bite of everything in sight, wood, metal, everything .

Each one has a unique personality. I can see why no one parts with their tortoises. I'm so attached.

The rain has been going around us until tonight. We actually had a few hours of light drizzle. The M.e.E and cherry headed red foot were out in the rain. The M. e.P. is afraid of everything but is getting better. This makes me believe Hotcake, the M.e.P. is younger (not 4)than Brownie , the M.e.E. j(4 years old).

Pictures of Maui (cherry head) and Brownie (M.e.E.) enjoying the light rain tonight are attached. Hotcake (M.e P.) was afraid of the thunder ..hiding ! The Russian was buried in his inside enclosure. He wasn't into the rainy event . I adopted Kodiak ( Russian Tortoise).

We are working to get the outside predator proof enclosure planned correctly as I can't image them outside in danger. The Russian and Cherry Head will be inside at night for a long while.

 

[Yvonne G]

Oh! That's great! Finally another manouria emy phareri keeper! I've got two. Looking for more since we're not supposed to keep torts in pairs but no one seems to want to let their MEPS go... : ( Mine have the scales that stick out a bit. I wonder if it's just hereditary? I'm in SW Florida. Plenty of humidity.... here's pics of my enclosure. The white fence is the plastic type so slippery to predators. The wood fence goes into my back yard where there are dogs periodically so no predators(except them). Looking at the pictures now. I can't believe how quickly it became overgrown. I have to watch my footing now when feeding time. It is cool watching them come "running" when they hear me call them. They're about the same size as yours so make noise in the brush "rushing" out of their hidey holes....which mazuri are you using? If they don't like it it's probably the LS(rabbit pellet shaped) version. If so try the nugget shaped original type pictured below.

@Will may have some for sale.

 

[teresaf]

Thanks Yvonne. I was wanting juveniles. Mine are about 9 pounds now and i don't want to mess with HATCHLINGS again. Closed Chambers are a hassle...

I bought three leopard tortoises off of him for @Peliroja32 . They were very well started. They're doing great. Nice and smoooooth.

 

[teresaf]

Thank you for the pictures and advice. I appreciate all the pointers as we are constantly reading post for information.

Yes, you guessed it. The LS is the type we use. Our M.e.E. loves it. Our Russian tortoise hates it. Our M.e.P hates it. I believe my baby cherry headed red foot eats everything and would eat it if I offered it. I had her from 1 month old. She is a trooper ( will be 2 in January2019).

We called the company and they suggested we use the LS for the Brown Mountain tortoise. It is time to reorder ...maybe we should change it up. We were told the one you are suggesting is sweeter. Our M.e.E. came to us already eating Masuri.

I worry as Hotcake is always hungry. It may just be normal as we are newbies to M.e.P. . Maybe the other type of Masuri will help fill H otcake up. Brownie, our M.e.E. eats Masuri once or twice a week. Brownie doesn't appear to be starving , so to speak. Hotcake is always eating, grass, bugs, nios at my toes, plates, everything in sight.
That may be normal as the M.e.P. is a larger Tortoise. Hotcake takes a bite of everything in sight, wood, metal, everything .

Each one has a unique personality. I can see why no one parts with their tortoises. I'm so attached.

The rain has been going around us until tonight. We actually had a few hours of light drizzle. The M.e.E and cherry headed red foot were out in the rain. The M. e.P. is afraid of everything but is getting better. This makes me believe Hotcake, the M.e.P. is younger (not 4)than Brownie , the M.e.E. j(4 years old).

Pictures of Maui (cherry head) and Brownie (M.e.E.) enjoying the light rain tonight are attached. Hotcake (M.e P.) was afraid of the thunder ..hiding ! The Russian was buried in his inside enclosure. He wasn't into the rainy event . I adopted Kodiak ( Russian Tortoise).

We are working to get the outside predator proof enclosure planned correctly as I can't image them outside in danger. The Russian and Cherry Head will be inside at night for a long while.
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I definitely recommend the original mazuri. I tried the LS also but mine didn't like it. They actually stopped eating after a couple bites. If a MEP don't like it...wow...must taste baaaad. MEPs are voracious eaters! Watch your food bill go way up! LOL. You are welcome to 'follow' me for more on what mine are up to. I follow everyone with a MEP! Yes @Yvonne G. Especially you!

 

[Yvonne G]

Thanks Yvonne. I was wanting juveniles. Mine are about 9 pounds now and i don't want to mess with HATCHLINGS again. Closed Chambers are a hassle...

I bought three leopard tortoises off of him for @Peliroja32 . They were very well started. They're doing great. Nice and smoooooth.

He's got some that he held back. They may be (memory's not what it used to be) about 3 or 4 years old???

 

[Maro2Bear]

Here is their current predator-proof setup with an insulated nightbox. Thanks to @Tom for the nightbox inspiration!

Really nice looking enclosure and night box. You have a pig blanket and RHP? I see the mini radiator. All looking good.