The Mr T Experience

[saginawhxc]

No you're not. I loved Charlie when he was small but part of the reason I got him was to watch him grow. I love having him big. I like looking back at his baby pictures and remembering how tiny he was, and how perfect all those tiny features were. He seems to interact more with me now that he is big.

Watching them grow is quite magical. He is growing faster than I really expected. My girlfriend can't wait for him to be full grown. She wants a giant. Hell, she half seriously wants an Aldabra. Me, on the other hand knows that I am the one that will be busting my butt for the life of this tortoise to take care of him. The thought of him/her growing up to be a hundred pound beast scares me a bit.

 

[Meganolvt]

When I say I want one, I mean I want one, not that I'm getting one. I know my shed idea is a bad one, lol. I'm just curious as to what someone in Michigan would do. I agree with you, there are too many sulcatas that "need a new home" because people don't think about what they're doing. Ah yes, the Birch Run reptile show. That is how I ended up with a chameleon (impulse buy) that we ended up rehoming because we weren't prepared for the whole cricket thing. When I went to the May show, there was a huge sulcata for sale in a little rubbermaid tote, I felt so bad for it. But I didn't buy it! Anyway, i'm going to enjoy watching Mr T grow up via your posts.

 

[saginawhxc]

Just be careful. We started out saying the same things. Then we saw cute little baby tortoises... And here we are. We are such suckers.

We go to almost every show and that tort is always there and always in that tub. He shell is in horrendous shape and my heart breaks for him every time. I keep thinking about trying to convince the owner to just give him up and I will try to take better care of him or at least honestly seek out a better home for him. I wouldn't even be against purchasing him to do the same thing, but I'm not paying 300 just to re-home him.

We got into the world of reptiles through getting a bearded dragon. Crickets are slightly a pain in the ***, but they really aren't that big of a deal. The girlfriend still HATES them though.

 

[BrianWI]

Just be careful. We started out saying the same things. Then we saw cute little baby tortoises... And here we are. We are such suckers.

We go to almost every show and that tort is always there and always in that tub. He shell is in horrendous shape and my heart breaks for him every time. I keep thinking about trying to convince the owner to just give him up and I will try to take better care of him or at least honestly seek out a better home for him. I wouldn't even be against purchasing him to do the same thing, but I'm not paying 300 just to re-home him.

We got into the world of reptiles through getting a bearded dragon. Crickets are slightly a pain in the ***, but they really aren't that big of a deal. The girlfriend still HATES them though.

Go roach or go home !

 

[saginawhxc]

The only place to get roaches here is from the expo once a month, and every time I go to buy them I'm told I will be walking home with them if I do. I love Steph to death, but she seems to think that animals will magically thrive with mediocre care. She wants a million animals but I'm the one that puts in the bulk of research and work. I've thought about just starting a roach colony out in the garage though and not telling her.

 

[Big Charlie]

Watching them grow is quite magical. He is growing faster than I really expected. My girlfriend can't wait for him to be full grown. She wants a giant. Hell, she half seriously wants an Aldabra. Me, on the other hand knows that I am the one that will be busting my butt for the life of this tortoise to take care of him. The thought of him/her growing up to be a hundred pound beast scares me a bit.

Honestly, I knew he was going to get big when I got him but I didn't spend any time imagining what that meant in terms of care. Luckily it isn't that difficult to provide a good home in California. I admire anyone who does everything necessary to give these guys a good home in a less than ideal climate.

The only place to get roaches here is from the expo once a month, and every time I go to buy them I'm told I will be walking home with them if I do. I love Steph to death, but she seems to think that animals will magically thrive with mediocre care. She wants a million animals but I'm the one that puts in the bulk of research and work. I've thought about just starting a roach colony out in the garage though and not telling her.

Eww. Roaches would be the worst! Be prepared for her to walk out on you. We used to have some blue bellies that we fed crickets. They were natives that we wild caught so I didn't feel bad when we just let them go. Then we got an iguana. I was happy that he could be fed fruit, but we were unprepared for the size he would get. When we moved, someone showed interest in taking him so I was more than happy to part with him. He was very difficult to handle. I prefer more docile pets.

 

[saginawhxc]

Just like our sulcata was supposed to be a Redfoot, our bearded dragon was something we ended up getting because we were looking into iguanas pretty heavily. The nine year old step daughter got it in her head she wanted an iguana, and after doing tons of research I convinced her and her mom that what she really wanted was a dragon instead. I knew in advance it would be me that was going to do the bulk of the work and iguanas just sounded like a pain. Now that I'm into reptiles a little more I might consider one again, but I would really like a monitor.

Actually the animal I want more than any other is a snapping turtle. That is the one animal Steph is dead set against me getting though. Her rule is nothing that can eat the children.

 

[Big Charlie]

Just like our sulcata was supposed to be a Redfoot, our bearded dragon was something we ended up getting because we were looking into iguanas pretty heavily. The nine year old step daughter got it in her head she wanted an iguana, and after doing tons of research I convinced her and her mom that what she really wanted was a dragon instead. I knew in advance it would be me that was going to do the bulk of the work and iguanas just sounded like a pain. Now that I'm into reptiles a little more I might consider one again, but I would really like a monitor.

Actually the animal I want more than any other is a snapping turtle. That is the one animal Steph is dead set against me getting though. Her rule is nothing that can eat the children.

Sounds like a good rule!

We got the iguana when I let each child pick out their own pet. My oldest picked out a hamster, I talked the youngest into a cockatiel, and my son picked the iguana. I think we got him around the same time we got Charlie so we had a lot of the same setup for both. His nails were really sharp so he couldn't be handled without gloves and he was so skittish. That tail is dangerous. I think you have to be able to put in the time and have the know-how to tame them, which we didn't. I think my son was relieved when we gave him away. My youngest gave up on the cockatiel but I didn't mind taking over since I like birds.

 

[saginawhxc]

I was fairly against the iguana from the start, because I could see into the future and I knew what was coming. I would have bet a years salary that I would be doing 100% of the care within a month. I don't think it took that long. I'm glad I was smart enough to talk her into a dragon instead of an iguana. Plus I've really fallen for him, and he really sucked me into the world of reptiles.

We had been looking into tortoises for a couple of years, but without the bearded dragon I'm not sure we would have actually pulled the trigger.

To anybody that ever considers getting a pet for their children to take care of... Never ever do it unless you are prepared to do all of the work yourself.

 

[saginawhxc]

We started the day off at our local Reptile Expo. Not one single turtle or tortoise this month. So disappointing. No Uro's, Tegu's or Savannah's either. Pretty much every animal that sits on my wish list that isn't a snake was absent. Oh well, I guess it helps me save money.

Mr T weighed in at 211 grams this afternoon. I've been suspecting that he has been going to town on the grass and clover inside his outside enclosure, because he has been eating noticeably less out of his dish. It was raining today so he stayed inside. He demolished the food in his dish, ate all of his mazuri pellets, and ate half of his live greens out of his tray. Holy crap that thing can eat. I'm not sure where he put all of that.

 

[saginawhxc]

Go roach or go home !

Oh and we picked up some roaches today. Stephanie is not excited.

 

[saginawhxc]

Hit 227 grams this weekend. Growing like a weed.

Took some more pictures, but I'm having computer issues. Maybe I'll post them next week.

 

[saginawhxc]

234g last weekend and 248g this week. Nice steady growth.

Still no laptop, so no new pictures to post yet.

 

[saginawhxc]

270 grams.

 

[saginawhxc]

274g. Slowest week of growth in quite some time. I think he is stressed because he thinks we replaced him. We rescued a Greek this week.

 

[saginawhxc]

I know not everyone feels a fogger is needed, but almost every time mine kicks on Mr T runs to stand underneath or near it and will stay there till it kicks off most of the time.

 

[Pearly]

View attachment 185393 I know not everyone feels a fogger is needed, but almost every time mine kicks on Mr T runs to stand underneath or near it and will stay w there till it kicks off most of the time.

I don't know how I have missed this awesome thread! Mr T is such a little beauty!!! And I've got a fogger too. Pretty early on, and LOVE IT!!!! I really think that in my case it has made a huge difference for my babies growing shells and overall health.

 

[saginawhxc]

I know that if/when mine dies I will automatically order a new one. In fact I was thinking about ordering an extra and throwing it on the pet supply shelf.

 

[saginawhxc]

I know that if/when mine dies I will automatically order a new one. In fact I was thinking about ordering an extra and throwing it on the pet supply shelf.

Fogger. Not the Sulcata. Just to clarify in case anybody found that statement a little crazy.

 

[Pearly]

I have hundreds of pictures of Mr T but this is the first time I've caught him with his mouth open. I'm pretty sure he was telling me to quit letting out all of his fog, but my anxieties tell me he is dying and this is a warning sign. Maybe he is just bored of my bull crap already and this is just a yawn. If that is the case he is a smart tortoise, it took Steph years to realize how full of it I am.

Just skipping through your pics now. Omg!!!! Mr T is precious and I love that you caught that yawn!!! I adore their pink tongues. Also love the fog rolling down!