Quick Peek Please..

[TommyZ]

Hello all,

I got my tour in March and as far as I know he was about 2 months old so born in January. This is my first tort really been trying to keep up with all the requirements and make sure I'm doing things right. I'm hoping you guys would mind just taking a look at some pics of his shell to let me know if the shell is growing in correctly and as it should (no pyramyding, other issues). Also in the last pic I find this little crawlies in his food dish everyday I know many times everybody said to not worry about bugs in the tank but just in case I figured I would post this to see if these little bugs are okay. Thank you in advance for any help.

Tom

 

[wellington]

Your tortoise looks fantastic, nice and smooth, great job, keep it up. As for the bugs, pics are too blurry. I have never had bugs in my leopards water, so have no clue if they are okay.

 

[TommyZ]

Thanks Barb, im still not too sure exactly what "good growth" looks like, lol. Thank you for checking for me, glad to see all the research i did is paying off. I think im finally ready to expand

Heres a couple more of him outside in the playpen.

 

[wellington]

Because each tortoise grows at its own pace, as long as s/he is healthy, eating, pooping, etc and growing, and growing smooth, you have good growth. A nice plant or two, edible ones, but bigger to hide under would be nice for him/her in the outside area. Glad to see an outside area for those nice days.

 

[LLLReptile]

Yep, tortoise looks good! Very pretty little guy!

The bugs are likely drowned spring tails, and they're normal for a really moist tank. You can let the cage dry out for a couple days to help control the population somewhat.

-Jen

 

[immayo]

Very nice!
I am pretty sure I have the same bugs as you, they are tiny and white. They jump in the water and die... they get crazy when I drench the soil below my MVB and jump everywhere!

 

[TommyZ]

Thanks gang, im glad my little one is growing correctly. Its a really cool process to see how much s/he has grown in so little time. The lines of the scutes seem higher then the center, sorta reverse pyramyding, I was beginning to question myself, lol.

As for the bugs, ill be changing to soil as substrate now, i think im ready to make the plunge away from mulch. Ill put some pill bugs in and see how we do. Too bad i cant find cypress mulch in NJ.

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[mikeh]

Your tort and the shell looks fantastic. The "reversed pyramiding" in your case, I believe, from the research I've done, means your tort is getting great amount of continuous external hydration/moisture. I THINK the moisture actually gets in between the new growth of scutes and "swells" it upward. As the new growth comes in on top it should cascade the previous growth downward eventually making it flat permanently and that's what you want for that perfect shell. I am getting the same effect with emys emys in their humid/moist chamber. (Interestingly, when I take them outside for couple days with less humid conditions the "upward swelling" goes down flat. Great work!


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[immayo]

Looks like you're ready to take on a hypo!

 

[TommyZ]

Re: RE: Quick Peek Please..

Your tort and the shell looks fantastic. The "reversed pyramiding" in your case, I believe, from the research I've done, means your tort is getting great amount of continuous external hydration/moisture. I THINK the moisture actually gets in between the new growth of scutes and "swells" it upward. As the new growth comes in on top it should cascade the previous growth downward eventually making it flat permanently and that's what you want for that perfect shell. I am getting the same effect with emys emys in their humid/moist chamber. (Interestingly, when I take them outside for couple days with less humid conditions the "upward swelling" goes down flat. Great work!


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Thats really awesome to know. I saw how it was sorta crater like, the "reverse pyramyding" and i was getting concerned thinking "omg what did i do to this poor lil thing", lmao. Very relieved to see that ive been doing things right.

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Looks like you're ready to take on a hypo!

HEHE, Yes im definatly ready to expand. I dont know if ill go the hypo route yet, but for sure im looking to get two more torts very soon.

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[TommyZ]

I went and told the tort that we were talking about her, i showed her all the nice things you all said about her shell, shes all smiles!

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[sissyofone]

I think she looks great. Nice and Smooth