I am not sure if it is early signs of pyramiding, or normal growth. He is 3 months old now. I also soak him 30 mins every day.Saleama said:Mine are doing the same thing. I keep all at high humidity and soak regularly and there is still a bit of that in three of the nine. I don't get it.
mitchsulcata said:The front three are being raised usually by high protein or to much soaking. If the poop is wet then your soaking to much. if the poop is not grassy its to much protein. the raise of the chutes will pull the chutes in the back of the shell and will cause a saddle look. My brother in law saved one like this from a bad environment.
I see a lot on soaking that is mixed research, so I take a more natural approach and let the tortoise decide. i keep a shallow dish in my tank and if the tortoise is dehydrated he will drink.
mitchsulcata said:The front three are being raised usually by high protein or to much soaking. If the poop is wet then your soaking to much. if the poop is not grassy its to much protein. the raise of the chutes will pull the chutes in the back of the shell and will cause a saddle look. My brother in law saved one like this from a bad environment.
I see a lot on soaking that is mixed research, so I take a more natural approach and let the tortoise decide. i keep a shallow dish in my tank and if the tortoise is dehydrated he will drink.
Well, it can not be from High protein, Milo only gets spring mix, dandelions, grass, and other greens with occasional mazuri. I soak him daily, however. His poops by the way are firm, and grassy. Can you post a picture of your sully? NOW, I am REALLY confused.mitchsulcata said:The front three are being raised usually by high protein or to much soaking. If the poop is wet then your soaking to much. if the poop is not grassy its to much protein. the raise of the chutes will pull the chutes in the back of the shell and will cause a saddle look. My brother in law saved one like this from a bad environment.
I see a lot on soaking that is mixed research, so I take a more natural approach and let the tortoise decide. i keep a shallow dish in my tank and if the tortoise is dehydrated he will drink.
Scm133 said:Thanks for the compliments! I give all the credit for a smooth shell to this forum...he has been raised warm, with 80% humidity. However, I do see the top three sections, looking more raised. What do you think?
Thanks...will do!!Dizisdalife said:Scm133 said:Thanks for the compliments! I give all the credit for a smooth shell to this forum...he has been raised warm, with 80% humidity. However, I do see the top three sections, looking more raised. What do you think?
From my experience, these are the scutes that are most likely to get overheated and dried out from the basking light (or other overhead heat source). The humidity in your enclosure may be 90%, but near the heat sources it could be much less. Check your temps under the light at a level that would be the same as the top of your tortoises shell. You may need to spray the shell with water several times a day to mitigate the drying effects. Some members have used automatic misters or foggers in their enclosure with pretty good success. Keep soaking and keep the humidity up.
I am glad you weren't offended. We are all still learning. There is some concern that soaking a tortoise too much might interfere with proper digestion. I have read that too. Personally, I have not seen it. And I am one that soaked my tortoise every day. Sometimes twice a day. Between soaking my baby sulcata would hang out in his water dish, soaking himself for hours. I have seen wet, runny, and mushy poop. Generally it happened when I was first introducing him to opuntia cactus. Or, even today if I over feed him opuntia. Also, when I was feeding a lot of re-hydrated timothy hay pellets. In that case I believe it was just too much moisture in his food. Fruit in the diet can also cause loose stools. I try to avoid feeding fruit.mitchsulcata said:Well I was reading about soaking and general hydration and it was talking about people over hydrating their animal and it would let the food go through the digestive system to quickly. This wouldn't allow the tortoise to absorb the nutrients. That is why I asked if the poop was wet and mushy. I am new to this hobby and forum so I am definitely still learning.