Do Sulcatas have teeth? What would happen if Fred accidentally bit me? I'm wondering if it would be painful. Not that I'm planning to put my finger in his mouth any time soon. Just wondering.
A sulcata bite is like having 2 opposing razor blades clamp down on you momentarily. Their beak extends across both jawlines and resemble a breadknife blade. Last year, my (then) 8-year-old daughter was feeding Mortimer...who was 40 pounds at the time...she lost her focus on him (she's a daydreamer) and he bit her thumb...right at the cuticle on one side and the ball on the other...it looked like two tiny razor slits...I immediately applied betadine and hydrogen peroxide. The next day...no marks at all.
Bob has accidentally bitten me also. Their jaw is serrated and believe me it hurt like holy heck and I bled for a long time. It took several days for my bite to heal and it has made me stop hand feeding him. He has bitten my hair also and he can really hold on to it, their jaws are really something.
When I fed that organ pipe cactus the other day, there was one piece that was kind of "woody". It was very thick and had been laying on the ground and was starting to take root. It was about as big around as my forearm and I considered not feeding it to them as it was so tough and fibrous. I gave it a try, but watched carefully. Scooter just munched right through it. He only weighs around 40 pounds, so he's not even a big one. He bit right through the middle of it, swallowing chunks the whole way, and then finished off the sides too. I wouldn't want to get bit by one.
Yeah! That 'woody' part in the middle is condensed fiber and that's what bursts out of the cactus to root...PURE CALCIUM! And it's funny to see how they adjust their biting power according to what they're eating.
If you want to hand feed, I would use tongs so the tort doesn't associate your fingers with food. That is what I think causes torts to bite fingers--they associate your fingers with food. When they are little it is cute, but when they are big it is painful! They use their sharp jaw to rip the food, and then their tongue to push it to their throat, no teeth (they are herbivores so this is common).
RV has never knowingly taken a bite of anything other than food. Once we looked away when offering a romaine leaf and got clipped. No bleeding, but surprise/shock/ how could she???
I've a good picture (but not here at work) I'll try to post: it shows the serration of the lower jaw.
teri
Here is the pic of RV enjoying carrot, a cactus berry, broccoli stem and lettuce leaf. if you look at the lower jaw, you can see the serration.. Very strong.
that is some serious leg Armour! how fun.. And that carrot.. like our finger,, and hes making it dissappear!
she is sweet... very personable, and yes, makes the carrot dissapear! she is interested in toes, but i don't polish my nails... mom-in-law came over and RV just chased her all over the yard. convinced the red nail polish was dessert! LMAO..