Re: Adopted Tortoise - General Advice
Posted: 13 Apr 2019, 22:58
Aww, he is lovely. What is his name by the way (sorry if you've told us and I've forgot). I just wrote a long response and lost it, so I am starting over and hope I remember what I wrote before!
You are making really good progress with him, and I'm sure he will go from strength to strength now! But I can see from the photos that with his previous owner he was either fed way too much and grew too quickly, or he was fed the wrong food (perhaps too high in protein) and that has caused his shell to be bumpy (slightly deformed). Horsfields are very prone to this, as in the wild they come from areas where they have long cold winters (and they hibernate) and long, hot summers (when they aestivate, which is like hibernation but in the heat). Studies have shown that in the wild they're only awake for about 3 months a year, and during that time they eat for less than 20 hours. So they are sort of programmed to 'eat for England' in the short time available to them. But of course with us they are presented daily with lovely meals and they just pig out.
I was in exactly the same position as you when I got my Doris in 2005. She had a very bumpy shell, and this can lead to serious medical problems (particularly metabolic bone disease) later on, so I was very careful with the portions I fed her and her subsequent growth produced a smoother shell, so the original bumps are hardly noticeable now. So you want to aim for really slow and steady growth (we usually recommend an average of about 1g - 4g per month (that's just an average and some months he will grow more and some less). Just aim for slow and steady. Here is my Doris in a couple of years ago (eating a flower).
[attachment=1]Boris June 2005 00007 (Copy).JPG[/attachment]
and here is a photo of her when I got her in 2005. I hope you can see that the bulk of her shell is much smoother now, and so those original bumps didn't disappear, but they appear to comprise a much smaller percentage of her shell.
[attachment=1]Boris June 2005 00007 (Copy).JPG[/attachment]
Your little fellow does look like a lovely little fellow with lots of personality, and well done for trying to give him a better life!
Nina
You are making really good progress with him, and I'm sure he will go from strength to strength now! But I can see from the photos that with his previous owner he was either fed way too much and grew too quickly, or he was fed the wrong food (perhaps too high in protein) and that has caused his shell to be bumpy (slightly deformed). Horsfields are very prone to this, as in the wild they come from areas where they have long cold winters (and they hibernate) and long, hot summers (when they aestivate, which is like hibernation but in the heat). Studies have shown that in the wild they're only awake for about 3 months a year, and during that time they eat for less than 20 hours. So they are sort of programmed to 'eat for England' in the short time available to them. But of course with us they are presented daily with lovely meals and they just pig out.
I was in exactly the same position as you when I got my Doris in 2005. She had a very bumpy shell, and this can lead to serious medical problems (particularly metabolic bone disease) later on, so I was very careful with the portions I fed her and her subsequent growth produced a smoother shell, so the original bumps are hardly noticeable now. So you want to aim for really slow and steady growth (we usually recommend an average of about 1g - 4g per month (that's just an average and some months he will grow more and some less). Just aim for slow and steady. Here is my Doris in a couple of years ago (eating a flower).
[attachment=1]Boris June 2005 00007 (Copy).JPG[/attachment]
and here is a photo of her when I got her in 2005. I hope you can see that the bulk of her shell is much smoother now, and so those original bumps didn't disappear, but they appear to comprise a much smaller percentage of her shell.
[attachment=1]Boris June 2005 00007 (Copy).JPG[/attachment]
Your little fellow does look like a lovely little fellow with lots of personality, and well done for trying to give him a better life!
Nina