Scooter, Bert and Delores

[Tom]

If you are viewing these pics, but have not been following my threads, this is what happens when you raise sulcatas on a dry substrate, in a dry climate, with no humid hide box. Their health seems to be fine. They've always had a great diet and lots of space, exercise and sunshine. These pics are two to three years old and as they've gotten bigger it actually doesn't look quite as bad. Also in the pic with my wife and daughter in the background, they are in their old, small pen at the old house. That pen was only about 1200 sq.ft. Their new pen is around 6000, and growing.

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4069/4279272878_455ccff945_b.jpg
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2659/4216262050_94b942e25b_b.jpg
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2771/4279271578_15ab0accd6_b.jpg

I welcome all feedback, positive or negative. Hope you enjoy them.

 

[egyptiandan]

You made them sound bad That's mild pyramiding at most and won't affect them in the least. They are still growing domed like they should be and all the new growth looks very good to me.

Danny

 

[Candy]

Those are awesome. How old are they now? Do they chase after your daughter? My son Noah loved them too he's 10.

 

[dreadyA]

They look great! Ive seen muuch worse :\
On your babies, you can even see where the new growth starts and hen the pyramiding begins

 

[Yvonne G]

I thought you had some really badly pyramided tortoises. Those aren't bad at all. Thanks for sharing your pictures. Looks like you've gotten the hang of it now, huh?

 

[Tom]

Those are awesome. How old are they now? Do they chase after your daughter? My son Noah loved them too he's 10.

Bert and Scooter are 12 now, hatched in 1998 at Casa De Tortuga. Delores is ten. She was hatched by a friend of mine in 2000 and lived with a different friend for her first three years. I've had her for about 7 years now.

They come running up to anyone whose near or in their pen. I train personal protection dogs as a hobby and I tell all my friends and family to be careful as they are "attack" trained tortoises. I say it with a straight face and then they look over and see three torts charging at them. Its hilarious to watch their reactions. Of course, the torts are just coming to beg for food.

Ava does love them. She proudly, shows "Her Tortoises" to everyone that comes to the ranch.

 

[Maggie Cummings]

They don't look as bad as you say, and I don't see the dip that most captive Sulcata have. My Bob looks worse then yours do...

 

[Tom]

They don't look as bad as you say, and I don't see the dip that most captive Sulcata have. My Bob looks worse then yours do...

Thanks to everyone for the kind and supportive words. Makes me feel better about it.

However, I never said they were bad. I just said they were pyramided. Its just extremely frustrating to me because of the care, time and effort that I put in to raising them "perfectly". I tried to make everything as perfect as humanly possible and because of my ignorance, I failed. This is just a hard pill for me to swallow.

This is one reason why its so important for me to really understand this problem, and never have it happen again, to anybody.

 

[ChiKat]

Beautiful torts and I love their names
And your daughter Ava is adorable!! How wonderful for her to be raised around a lot of animals.
We never really had pets growing up (although I conned my parents into letting me get a hamster, and we eventually got a dog) but somehow I still turned into a huge animal lover!

 

[Stephanie Logan]

What great photos! I know I'm beginning to sound like a broken record, but that shot of Ava and the tortoise gazing at each other was calendar material! The photography skills of TFO members are becoming mighty, indeed!

Your photo with the tortoises at "the old house" is a captivating depiction of tortoises in action...you can "see" them marching around their pen!

 

[Tom]

What great photos! I know I'm beginning to sound like a broken record, but that shot of Ava and the tortoise gazing at each other was calendar material! The photography skills of TFO members are becoming mighty, indeed!

Your photo with the tortoises at "the old house" is a captivating depiction of tortoises in action...you can "see" them marching around their pen!

They weren't marching, they were CHARGING the man with the red-leaf lettuce and the camera!

Do people like the photos with torts and kids? I've got more of those, but I din't want to annoy anyone with the cutesy kiddie photos.

 

[ChiKat]

Oh please, bring on the cutesy kiddie photos!!
I love kids and and animals (Although sometimes I wonder why I'm going into teaching instead of working with animals...but that's another story )

 

[Stephanie Logan]

They weren't marching, they were CHARGING the man with the red-leaf lettuce and the camera!

Hahaha! Point taken!

 

[vickyb]

Amazing pictures. I wish I had the ability to house my tortoise outdoors

 

[Tom]

More pics. Side views to show the degree of pyramiding.

Scooter
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4051/4317702565_38a2d78898_b.jpg

Bert
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2761/4318433252_ed97976d61_b.jpg

Delores
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4062/4318431204_3305b5d0c5_b.jpg