Pyramiding in young tortoises
Posted: 31 Jul 2020, 22:26
Hi everyone (again).
So the new tortoises arrived! Yay!
The lady that bred them couldn’t take care of a “litter” of Hermann’s tortoises so she decided to hand some of them out. I got two of them (still waiting for Jeff to come back... ugh).
She said they were newborn, but when I picked them up they seemed a LOT older, like a year or probably more (I’m no expert, but there are several growth rings so they are not newborn for sure). Anyhow, it was too late to complain and I took them with me anyway.
Unfortunately, due to diet problems (I believe she fed them a lot of fruit and salad, especially tomatoes) the two tortoises, which I want to call Rigel for the darker one and Bamboo for the lighter one, developed a form of pyramiding on their shell.
I just wanted to know... as they grow with the proper diet, will the pyramiding fade away or will it still be visible when they reach max size?
I will link a picture of them...
Rigel on left. I think she has the worst pyramiding in the two of them.
Bamboo on right (I believe Bamboo is a male because he has a super long tail). As you can see he is kinda ok but the scutes are separate pretty good on the lower part of the body, last three scutes.
Thank in advance.
P.S.: I just bought an hibiscus plant. I tried feed them plantain, clover and other greens but the only thing they will go for are tomatoes due to their previous diet. I believe the red of the hibiscus flower will attract them more than dandelions leaves, even though they went for a dandelion flower. I still have to try the cucumber trick. I’ll let you know.
Lucre
So the new tortoises arrived! Yay!
The lady that bred them couldn’t take care of a “litter” of Hermann’s tortoises so she decided to hand some of them out. I got two of them (still waiting for Jeff to come back... ugh).
She said they were newborn, but when I picked them up they seemed a LOT older, like a year or probably more (I’m no expert, but there are several growth rings so they are not newborn for sure). Anyhow, it was too late to complain and I took them with me anyway.
Unfortunately, due to diet problems (I believe she fed them a lot of fruit and salad, especially tomatoes) the two tortoises, which I want to call Rigel for the darker one and Bamboo for the lighter one, developed a form of pyramiding on their shell.
I just wanted to know... as they grow with the proper diet, will the pyramiding fade away or will it still be visible when they reach max size?
I will link a picture of them...
Rigel on left. I think she has the worst pyramiding in the two of them.
Bamboo on right (I believe Bamboo is a male because he has a super long tail). As you can see he is kinda ok but the scutes are separate pretty good on the lower part of the body, last three scutes.
Thank in advance.
P.S.: I just bought an hibiscus plant. I tried feed them plantain, clover and other greens but the only thing they will go for are tomatoes due to their previous diet. I believe the red of the hibiscus flower will attract them more than dandelions leaves, even though they went for a dandelion flower. I still have to try the cucumber trick. I’ll let you know.
Lucre