YF Not Growing

[Yvonne G]

Two years ago in May I hatched out several YF eggs. One had aberrant scutes so I kept it. It has been with 4 other tortoises of the same size, and in the past two years hasn't really grown much. So this a.m. I set it up in my kitchen by itself. I'm going to pour the Mazuri to it along with the greens, etc. and see if I can't get the poor little thing to start growing.

 

[MysticCaribou]

Poor little thing. Good luck with this. Keep us posted.

 

[enzot91]

I'd love to see how this progress... very well, hopefully! Do you have any pictures of the others for comparison?

 

[Yvonne G]

Phew! I used an old piece of plastic I found laying around outside and the cats must've pee'd on it. Everytime I walk into the kitchen I'm hit in the face with cat pee smell!

 

[Yvonne G]

I'd love to see how this progress... very well, hopefully! Do you have any pictures of the others for comparison?

No, I sold the rest of the clutch. He wasn't being kept with clutchmates.

 

[tortdad]

Send him to me, I'll grow the little bugger. You know what they say, everything is bigger in Texas

 

[Fredkas]

Keep us posted will ya?

 

[teresaf]

Send him to me, I'll grow the little bugger. You know what they say, everything is bigger in Texas

Wishfull thinking.....hahahaha

 

[Link]

Every species has their outliers in genetics. Maybe he is just a dwarf and will stay small and cute

 

[Yvonne G]

Every species has their outliers in genetics. Maybe he is just a dwarf and will stay small and cute

I've always wanted the giant YFs, but wouldn't be too upset if it was exceptionally small.

 

[Kapidolo Farms]

@Jacqui might you be prompted to share images of the lemon drops of the same approximate age?

 

[Jacqui]

@Jacqui might you be prompted to share images of the lemon drops of the same approximate age?

Yvonne and I already compared notes. Mine are pretty much the same size as hers.

 

[Bee62]

Hi,

this thread is very interesting for me, because I own such a "will not grow" YF too.
He or she is 2 years old and I got it from craiglist. I don`t know exactly how he was kept by his previous owner, but it seems very dry to me.
The little one lives in a glass tank with high humidity and warmth. He is eating but not really growing. Sometimes I believe that there is something wrong with his eyes, that he could not see, and sometimes he held his head to one side.
This is the little one:

 

[Anyfoot]

I think there is an underlying genetic disorder, I have a redfoot coming up to 12 months old. My 2 month old hatchlings are not far off the same size. Mine also has no colored scales on the the limbs, it's just not right, is the lack of pigmentation a visual sign of something being wrong in my case. Mine seems to not be growing but still stacking on the new keratin growth. It's the most active and greediest of the whole group too. If I walk up to the enclosure he's usually the first to the feeding slate. He's a character that's for sure, feeds out of our hand and his bite is very strong, it hurts.
I've just made the enclosure bigger so more exercise is available, let's see if that changes anything.
@Yvonne, try feeding worms,slugs and woodlice type creatures a bit more. If you can, put it outside in a large open space so he has to walk a lot to look for cover(under your watch of course). Maybe exercise and natural insect protein will stimulate growth.
Are you soaking him regularly?

 

[Anyfoot]

These 2 are from the same clutch. 3 yrs old this month. 5.5" and 8" SCL. There's another about 7.5" SCL also from the same clutch.
The smallest one has aberrant scutes.

 

[richosullivan]

Two years ago in May I hatched out several YF eggs. One had aberrant scutes so I kept it. It has been with 4 other tortoises of the same size, and in the past two years hasn't really grown much. So this a.m. I set it up in my kitchen by itself. I'm going to pour the Mazuri to it along with the greens, etc. and see if I can't get the poor little thing to start growing.

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My yellowfoot has been very slow to grow as well, to the point that i was worried about it.

 

[Yvonne G]

Jacqui says hers are slow growing too. Maybe its just a YF thing. I'm going to stop worrying about him, however, I do now have him set up in his own habitat, all by himself, and I put him in front of the food everytime I walk by the habitat. I see him eating. I made a tracing of his outline when I set him up by himself, and I'm going to make an overlay tracing about every two months to see if there's any growth.

 

[TammyJ]

Are these unusually small guys either male or female? Can you tell after 2 years what sex it is?

 

[Pearly]

Two years ago in May I hatched out several YF eggs. One had aberrant scutes so I kept it. It has been with 4 other tortoises of the same size, and in the past two years hasn't really grown much. So this a.m. I set it up in my kitchen by itself. I'm going to pour the Mazuri to it along with the greens, etc. and see if I can't get the poor little thing to start growing.

View attachment 208486 View attachment 208487 View attachment 208488

Awwww, what a little cutie!!!! From reading this thread and posts about other YFs it sounds like it just maybe their growth curve, slower than RFs. Now one thing I just want to throw out there. Remember how worried I was about my little Tucker? I am pretty convinced now he has some type of mouth neuro impediment bcs i to this day watch him eat and Shellie goes fir the bite, grabs it in her mouth, then one or two more head and toungue movements to position that piece if food in her mouth and then swallow. Simple! Tucker though many times takes 2-3 tries to even get the food in his mouth no matter what consistency. It's like he goes for it... pecks..., NOTHING! Pecks again.... , NOTHING! And pecks one more time- finally ending up with food in his mouth. This is the reason I to this day chop the food to pretty fine consistency. Serve it along with whole leaves and big pieces for them to graze on I used to use blender when he was a tiny baby mix in some soaked Mazuri or other brand pellets. Yvonne you were the one who taught me to do that. I will forever be grateful. I really believe that my little Tucker would wither away. Your little YF may just be the way they grow. I wouldn't compare to the RF too much

 

[Pearly]

Phew! I used an old piece of plastic I found laying around outside and the cats must've pee'd on it. Everytime I walk into the kitchen I'm hit in the face with cat pee smell!

I know that smell all too well! Last few months has been first time in years where I don't have to smell it. There has always been either elderly/ sick or neurotic cat in my house now I only have Maxi and no pee smells.., you know what? In retrospect, I'd rather go back to dealing with cat pee, but having all if my sweet kitties back. I can imagine your face though when you discovered your "surprise"