SGT Fish
Active Member
Just thought I'd let you all know that Frank is doing very well. When I got him he was very active and hungry but the last owner's stories of being kept in a 12x48 aquarium and only being fed salad leftovers really saddened me. He has a lot of pyramiding but his new growth lines are flat! He hsa grown from 10.5 inches shell length to over 11.5 inches. So a FULL INCH GROWTH in a month and a half!
He is getting more exercise than ever now that he is at my house. I let him roam free all day in the back yard to graze on whatever weeds and grass he finds. I also feed him grocery store greens at night. He stays in my kitchen with a heated box and a heat pad that are in the corner. He always goes in there at night and comes out every once in a while to nibble or just see whats going on. He like to push the kitchen chairs around so it looks like my house is haunted.
His beak had the buck toothed look really badly. the overgrowth would even spear the food he was eating and be stuck there til he rubbed it off. He has no interest in cuttlebone but it turns out my dog loves them, haha. i just bought one of the "tortoise blocks" from a local store that has a very large sulcata living in it. I think I see some niblle marks on it but time will tell. Ive been feeding him on terra cotta dishes and his beak was starting to wear down very slightly but was also thinning out and becoming jagged and uneven. So I ordered a really nice stainless manicure kit on amazon for 7 bucks and had been reading a lot about trimming beaks. I was still nervous about stressing him out. But yesterday I came home from work and my girlfriend had already trimmed it perfectly. She said he was super happy afterwards, but that may have been the strawberry she used to distract him while trimming.
I supplement him with calcium and vitD powder about twice a week. He doesnt seem to notice the powder on his greens. I also started giving him the opuntia cactus pads from the plant I bought. He seems to like it but won't run for it yet. His heated/insulated night box is still in the works. I have been ordering all the electronics and supplies set it up right after its built, but havent had the time to build it yet. Hopefully next week.
I can't wait to see how much he is going to grow in the next few months. I don't want to powerfeed him cuz I have heard that it can be bad for them. And his transition to hay isnt great, but he does eat it a little. He wont touch the grassland tortoise pellets I bought, YET. If he takes to eating those then I'll order some Mazuri LS. I may order a little Mazuri original recipe to see if he'll take to eating that.
Thank you all for your help and you'll see me on here quite a bit. I love learning about these incredible creatures and I can't wait to learn more. I will upload some pictures in this thread and give more updates as things go
He is getting more exercise than ever now that he is at my house. I let him roam free all day in the back yard to graze on whatever weeds and grass he finds. I also feed him grocery store greens at night. He stays in my kitchen with a heated box and a heat pad that are in the corner. He always goes in there at night and comes out every once in a while to nibble or just see whats going on. He like to push the kitchen chairs around so it looks like my house is haunted.
His beak had the buck toothed look really badly. the overgrowth would even spear the food he was eating and be stuck there til he rubbed it off. He has no interest in cuttlebone but it turns out my dog loves them, haha. i just bought one of the "tortoise blocks" from a local store that has a very large sulcata living in it. I think I see some niblle marks on it but time will tell. Ive been feeding him on terra cotta dishes and his beak was starting to wear down very slightly but was also thinning out and becoming jagged and uneven. So I ordered a really nice stainless manicure kit on amazon for 7 bucks and had been reading a lot about trimming beaks. I was still nervous about stressing him out. But yesterday I came home from work and my girlfriend had already trimmed it perfectly. She said he was super happy afterwards, but that may have been the strawberry she used to distract him while trimming.
I supplement him with calcium and vitD powder about twice a week. He doesnt seem to notice the powder on his greens. I also started giving him the opuntia cactus pads from the plant I bought. He seems to like it but won't run for it yet. His heated/insulated night box is still in the works. I have been ordering all the electronics and supplies set it up right after its built, but havent had the time to build it yet. Hopefully next week.
I can't wait to see how much he is going to grow in the next few months. I don't want to powerfeed him cuz I have heard that it can be bad for them. And his transition to hay isnt great, but he does eat it a little. He wont touch the grassland tortoise pellets I bought, YET. If he takes to eating those then I'll order some Mazuri LS. I may order a little Mazuri original recipe to see if he'll take to eating that.
Thank you all for your help and you'll see me on here quite a bit. I love learning about these incredible creatures and I can't wait to learn more. I will upload some pictures in this thread and give more updates as things go
