"Cupcake"

[Alaskamike]

Greg.
Is 10% weight gain /mo in line at Cupcakes age ? I have no idea. Stats on Aldabras are hard to find. Not many keep records- or got them much older.

 

[ben awes]

Hi Mike, my Aldabra has been growing about 7% a month give or take.

 

[Alaskamike]

That's interesting Ben.
I think as more of us keep records from very young we will get a better picture of the variances and patterns in captivity.

I'm interested to see how the growth curve changes with age also. I'm assuming the 7% of gain will slow with age at some point. My cupcake is still young , about 14 months.

Some of my watching wt is curiosity , some is to catch a radical change for health check.

 

[Alaskamike]

Those who have been to the Seychelles Islands are often surprised at how bleak and difficult much of the island is for the Aldabras. There are times of the year when food is scarce.

In captivity food is never really scarce. So our charges I think will tend to outgrow the wild ones.

 

[Alaskamike]

CupCake is 2111 grams today, 4.6 lbs. A gain of 9% from last month. 17 months old. Doing good. Enjoying the heat and sunshine of summer. The grass I planted in his enclosure is all sprouting up nicely. Rainy season will be here soon and it will take off. He loves to be lazy, just hang out and chill LOL

 

[Soefianto]

Hi, just wondering how big is the baby now?
As I am planning to have the same size probably.
Thanks.

 

[Soefianto]

Sorry Mike,
I mean in inches.

 

[Alaskamike]

Cupcake is very close to 8" plastron

 

[Soefianto]

I will have to take a look for what is available next week from my friend. Hopefully he has one available.
thanks Mike.

 

[Alaskamike]

Cupcake investigated to dog bowl. And the little scamp stretched his nek in and ate a piece.

Got this shot right after. Guess now the dog bowl has to be put up. Lol

 

[ALDABRAMAN]

Cupcake investigated to dog bowl.

View attachment 129408

~ Does Cupcake ever try to eat any commercial dog foods or just interest?

 

[Alaskamike]

Both he and my Sulcata try and get into the dog dish Cupcake ate a piece and was trying to get another when I took it away.
You'd think he found candy

 

[DawnH]

What a sweet baby. So sweet she makes my heart hurt!!! PRECIOUS!

 

[Alaskamike]

What a sweet baby. So sweet she makes my heart hurt!!! PRECIOUS!

Awwwww
Thanks. 'Course I'm his adoptive Daddy. So I think so too

 

[Alaskamike]

Nice growth lines.

 

[Alaskamike]

Cupcake is 2404 grams(5.3 lbs) today, up from 2111 (4.7 lbs) a month ago. An 11% gain. I had to check my math twice to be sure this was correct, seems like a big gain, as he has been growing at about 7-9%. Guess summer agrees with him
....or he just hasn't pooped yet this morning LOL

 

[tortadise]

Cupcake is 2404 grams(5.3 lbs) today, up from 2111 (4.7 lbs) a month ago. An 11% gain. I had to check my math twice to be sure this was correct, seems like a big gain, as he has been growing at about 7-9%. Guess summer agrees with him
....or he just hasn't pooped yet this morning LOL

Sounds like your doing great. I must ask though, how often to you interact with yours? I'm beginning to think I should interacted with mine a little more. Blossom is very very skittish and runs off. I still have yet to see blossom do the neck stretch out(when I'm around and not hiding) how old is cupcake now?

 

[Alaskamike]

He is 18 mos old.

I interact with Cupcake almost daily, I take him out of his surround to my large lanai (that's why most pics are on the lanai. That is where I feed him on the paving stones. I put him in a big terra cotta plant dish first for a soak, and when he wlaks out of that I put out some cuttings of food. He doesn't run from me, but is still shy. But because I pick him up every day, he is used to that. Its routine. When I rub his back legs gently, he stands for more - I think this is instinct from birds cleaning bugs off 'em in the wild. A spray of water gets him to stand also.

I know some people say to leave them alone, that handling is stressful, but I find that routine is what animals like and need. Anything that is done regularly becomes part of their routine. If you routinely "pet" their shells they get used to it - I have no idea if they like it LOL . What I don't do is hold him, just pick him up and bring him into the lanai.

 

[Alaskamike]

BTW I have been following you "Blossom" thread, and it is absolutely amazing how fast ad large she's grown. Don't think I've ever see one that grew that fast. She's obviously very healthy - and has substantial back legs ! The genetic differences are so interesting.

 

[tortadise]

He is 18 mos old.

I interact with Cupcake almost daily, I take him out of his surround to my large lanai (that's why most pics are on the lanai. That is where I feed him on the paving stones. I put him in a big terra cotta plant dish first for a soak, and when he wlaks out of that I put out some cuttings of food. He doesn't run from me, but is still shy. But because I pick him up every day, he is used to that. Its routine. When I rub his back legs gently, he stands for more - I think this is instinct from birds cleaning bugs off 'em in the wild. A spray of water gets him to stand also.

I know some people say to leave them alone, that handling is stressful, but I find that routine is what animals like and need. Anything that is done regularly becomes part of their routine. If you routinely "pet" their shells they get used to it - I have no idea if they like it LOL . What I don't do is hold him, just pick him up and bring him into the lanai.

Excellent. I'd certainly say with mine it's for sure lack of interaction. I only pick it up when needing to move inside from cool weather or whatever. Perhaps I'll start picking it up. Of course the weight and length seems to just expedite all the time, blossom is 2 years old and 16 pounds now. Chunky butt