Worn shell

[DoctorCosmonaut]

I think I already know the answer, but the completely smooth, almost dulled look, of most wild-caught/wild redfoots (and yellowfoots) is the result of wear from branches and rubbing against rocks and/or tumbling on their back?

 

[Maggie Cummings]

duh no...it's from all the good care they get from the forest faeries and the Redfoot gnomes...They have little redcoat washes like our car washes and the fairies shine up their carapaces with fairy wax...

 

[DoctorCosmonaut]

Yeah, I really don't know why I asked lol

 

[bettinge]

Tortoises vivid colors seem to fade in general with age, and they tend to grow smoother in wild than in capativity! Add boroughs, branches, and rocks and you get smoother, duller shells.

Thats my guess anyway!

 

[matt41gb]

Wild red foots spend a lot of their time hiding under bushes, fallen logs, ect.... Naturally they'll have a smooth shell, but natural erosion will keep it slick.

-Matt

 

[Stephanie Logan]

Do Captive Born tortoise shells also smooth out with age?

I'm thinking of Kelly's Algerians.

"duh no...it's from all the good care they get from the forest faeries and the Redfoot gnomes...They have little redcoat washes like our car washes and the fairies shine up their carapaces with fairy wax... "

Can I quote you on that? Very funny!

 

[DoctorCosmonaut]

Do Captive Born tortoise shells also smooth out with age?

I'm thinking of Kelly's Algerians.

"duh no...it's from all the good care they get from the forest faeries and the Redfoot gnomes...They have little redcoat washes like our car washes and the fairies shine up their carapaces with fairy wax... "

Can I quote you on that? Very funny!

In my understanding, not if they have experienced pyramiding and are not exposed to an environment that would wear it down.

 

[matt41gb]

Do Captive Born tortoise shells also smooth out with age?

I'm thinking of Kelly's Algerians.

"duh no...it's from all the good care they get from the forest faeries and the Redfoot gnomes...They have little redcoat washes like our car washes and the fairies shine up their carapaces with fairy wax... "

Can I quote you on that? Very funny!

In my understanding, not if they have experienced pyramiding and are not exposed to an environment that would wear it down.

W.C. red foots won't experience pyramiding naturally, and probably won't after they reach adult hood. In my opinion; I can't imagine a fully grown adult red foot reverting to carapace pyramiding after being kept in perfect natural conditions.

If you took a C.B. red foot that was pyramided at a young age, and released it into it's natural habitat. I would guess in so many years natural wear, humidity, and diet would return the carapace to it's natural form.

-Matt

 

[Madkins007]

W.C. red foots won't experience pyramiding naturally, and probably won't after they reach adult hood. In my opinion; I can't imagine a fully grown adult red foot reverting to carapace pyramiding after being kept in perfect natural conditions.

If you took a C.B. red foot that was pyramided at a young age, and released it into it's natural habitat. I would guess in so many years natural wear, humidity, and diet would return the carapace to it's natural form.

-Matt

Wild Red-foots can be found with pyramiding, per Carl May. They are usually island forms that may or may not be natural populations, but they apparently have also been found in other drier habitats throughout their range.

On the other hand, most forms of true metabolic bone disorders seem very rare in the wild

 

[matt41gb]

W.C. red foots won't experience pyramiding naturally, and probably won't after they reach adult hood. In my opinion; I can't imagine a fully grown adult red foot reverting to carapace pyramiding after being kept in perfect natural conditions.

If you took a C.B. red foot that was pyramided at a young age, and released it into it's natural habitat. I would guess in so many years natural wear, humidity, and diet would return the carapace to it's natural form.

-Matt

Wild Red-foots can be found with pyramiding, per Carl May. They are usually island forms that may or may not be natural populations, but they apparently have also been found in other drier habitats throughout their range.

On the other hand, most forms of true metabolic bone disorders seem very rare in the wild

Interesting, so you're saying some of them could have been re-introduced back into a wild population after being kept in captivity? Are they passing this trait onto their offspring, or is that even possible? Is this what Carl May is getting at? Please elaborate.

 

[t_mclellan]

[/quote]

Interesting, so you're saying some of them could have been re-introduced back into a wild population after being kept in captivity? Are they passing this trait onto their offspring, or is that even possible? Is this what Carl May is getting at? Please elaborate.
[/quote]

I think the reference is to the populations found on the Caribbean islands.
Redfoots are found on some of the islands but they are thought to have been introduced by humans as a food source. These animals therefore would not be living in "They're" natural environment & are suffering from some of the same conditions found in captive animals.
Redfoots found with pyramiding in dryer parts of they're natural range ore living on rhe fringe of the range & do not have "Prime" habitat. The results are the same.