Playing or panicking?

[mkaykay]

Hi everyone. Turbo is our Hermann tort who is almost a year old. He's still really small, not sure if that's normal. He has only gotten taller.
He gets a bath at least every other day and loves his warm water and usually just sits and soaks in it.
This morning I put his warm water on our bright window sill to give him a bath and he started going nuts. He was going in circles extremely fast and running around like crazy. I have never seen him move this fast. It's a small Tupperware dish so I can't tell if he was panicking and trying to get out or if he was playing.
This was in the morning and I usually have him out in the evenings after dinner so maybe he had more energy?
Thoughts?? Thanks!!
Michaela
I can't post a video... Only pictures...?

 

[Jodie]

What was the temperature? Too hot, and they will do that. Just the change in the routine could have caused it though. It's not playing, but stress. As long as temp ok though, not going to hurt. Some do it for every soak, no matter what.

 

[mkaykay]

Thank you!

 

[jockma]

They may also panic if the water level is too high. They should be able to keep their head above water without any effort.

 

[dmmj]

did you move the tourist while in the bowl?

 

[Kori5]

Your baby is gorgeous . You may wanna change the bowl into something opaque.

 

[Linhdan Nguyen]

He's small for almost a year. How are you caring for him ? Have you looked at our care sheets?
To post videos, its a little complicated. when you click on the film icon next to the picture icon, it will ask you to paste the URL to your video, and below it will say :
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[mkaykay]

He's small for almost a year. How are you caring for him ? Have you looked at our care sheets?
To post videos, its a little complicated. when you click on the film icon next to the picture icon, it will ask you to paste the URL to your video, and below it will say :
You may embed media from the following sites:

• Dailymotion
• Facebook
• Liveleak
• Metacafe
• Vimeo
• YouTube

So you have to post the video on one of those sites, then paste the url and then your video will post..

Yes I lived off the care sheets when I first got him. I bought seeds that were recommended so he gets a good mix. Has all the right lighting. He has growth rings on his shell but isn't growing much!

 

[mkaykay]

did you move the tourist while in the bowl?

No

 

[Linhdan Nguyen]

Hmm thats strange. Would you like to go through your care you have with him to see if we can confirm everything is correct?
If not, i would take him to the vet in a few months if he stays that size.
I was thinking he might have worms but if you bought him as a hatchling, thats very unlikely.

 

[mkaykay]

He does have an extra scute (top and bottom) on his left side. Maybe he has some weird genetics that are keeping him small? He'll be two at the beginning of September.

 

[Linhdan Nguyen]

Th extra scutes shouldnt affect his growth. And i believe even with "small" parents he should be bigger at 1.5 yrs old. Could you take pictures of his enclosure and run through his care?
Maybe @Tom or @Yvonne G has ideas?

Hes still active and eats plenty though ?

 

[mkaykay]

Hmm thats strange. Would you like to go through your care you have with him to see if we can confirm everything is correct?
If not, i would take him to the vet in a few months if he stays that size.
I was thinking he might have worms but if you bought him as a hatchling, thats very unlikely.

Hmm thats strange. Would you like to go through your care you have with him to see if we can confirm everything is correct?
If not, i would take him to the vet in a few months if he stays that size.
I was thinking he might have worms but if you bought him as a hatchling, thats very unlikely.

Sure! He gets a mix of food every day. He always has an appetite. His poops are good. He has organic dirt in his box. I did mix it with sand at first like some recommend but got nervous about him eating it so it's just dirt now.
There's two lamps. One is a 10uvb bulb and the other is a 150w basking light. They are both on the same end and his log and hide-a-ways are on the other side.
Bath almost every day.

 

[mkaykay]

 

[mkaykay]

I still can't tell if he's eastern or western. From the top he looks eastern, not a bright yellow. From the bottom he definitely looks western.

 

[Kori5]

I think he is a Dalmatian. But let @HermanniChris help you. He is a Hermanni expert here . Maybe he can help you with size concerns. For what I know, they grow at different rates and at long he is active and eating, everything is right.

 

[HermanniChris]

I would need clearer shots of the plastron to be able to tell if it's eastern or Dalmatian but there's no way it's western, that's for sure.

 

[mkaykay]

I would need clearer shots of the plastron to be able to tell if it's eastern or Dalmatian but there's no way it's western, that's for sure.

It looks dirty to me but I can't get it clean. I noticed that color when he started growing taller...?

 

[HermanniChris]

It's a Dalmatian.
Have you tried taking a toothbrush to it to clean it?

 

[mkaykay]

Nope! I will give that a try!