Funyun update

[mushmouth26]

Funyun hit the 1000 gram milestone this week. She is growing super fast. Im assuming by end of summer she will need to stay out side year around. Going to start working on a outdoor heated shelter soon.

This is my post on Feb 11 at 790 grams.
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/thread-87284.html

 

[wellington]

How big is he in length? He is becoming an eating, growing machine it seems

 

[mushmouth26]

About 7 inches in length. right now. What is the minimum size they should be before being in an fulltime outdoor enclosure?

How big is he in length? He is becoming an eating, growing machine it seems

 

[mushmouth26]

Funyun (aka Lumpy Space Princess) is growing so fast. She is now averaging 300 to 400 grams a month. Currently at over 6.5 pounds. She was only 261 grams when i got her last October. She was dehydrated and malnourished and also infested with worms. All her new shell growth is nice and smooth. Her irregular scutes make her look extra special.

 

[wellington]

Loving the different scutes.

 

[Yellow Turtle01]

Wow, I love that shell. Really pretty scute 'pattern' Funyun is adorable! Outside, in the hot sun all day? I would wait until he is 10'' or more... wouldn't want to bake him!

 

[mushmouth26]

I have been keeping her outside all day since summer began.. It is heavily shaded and she also has a nice deep burrow she chills in. Second to that the pin has a sprinkler head that comes on 4 times a day to cool down and keep the humidity up as well as it fills her concrete pond area. Should I still be concerned or is this sufficient?

 

[christinaland128]

She is uniquely adorable!

 

[Evy]

Looks great! Thank you for sharing!



London my lovely Sulcata tortoise :0))

 

[Tom]

You've done a great job with her. Looking at the early picture, I would never have guessed you would get such a nice looking outcome. Good for you!

If possible, I would try to keep her in an indoor enclosure over winter (Outside on nice days, of course.) and wait to move her out full time in the spring. A 4x8' enclosure should last her over the winter for just one more year, especially if she's going outside a lot on nice winter days.

 

[mushmouth26]

You've done a great job with her. Looking at the early picture, I would never have guessed you would get such a nice looking outcome. Good for you!

If possible, I would try to keep her in an indoor enclosure over winter (Outside on nice days, of course.) and wait to move her out full time in the spring. A 4x8' enclosure should last her over the winter for just one more year, especially if she's going outside a lot on nice winter days.

Hey Tom, Thanks for the reply. Whats your concern with leaving her out door this winter? Is she still to small you think? What is the proper weight or size before I should do that? I was planning on building a 4x8 heated shed based off your build in the next month or so, And also close off her burrow once the temps start to drop. She is gaining a pound a month right now so Im guessing she will be between 8 and 9 lbs by late Oct or early Nov. Im in Dallas, Tx if location matters.

 

[Tom]

My concern is the weather in Dallas over winter. You guys some some serious cold stuff and I think your tortoise would spend most of its days locked in its box. Your tortoise is right on the edge. If it were mine, I'd slow down the food and try to make it through winter primarily indoors.

For some reason that I'm not yet able to figure out, the move outside full time is a big deal to our tortoises. They can be outside all day every day, but still sleep inside and they seem to do fine. But as soon as they start sleeping outside something happens. Even when temps and humidity don't change. Mine all slow way down on the growth for a while and seem to take months to adjust to the new routine. After that they are fine. In my experience, it is best to not make this major life change at the start of winter. An older, larger tortoise will make this change faster and smoother. Our tortoises just do better indoors when they are young, even though they are capable of surviving outside.

 

[mushmouth26]

My concern is the weather in Dallas over winter. You guys some some serious cold stuff and I think your tortoise would spend most of its days locked in its box. Your tortoise is right on the edge. If it were mine, I'd slow down the food and try to make it through winter primarily indoors.

For some reason that I'm not yet able to figure out, the move outside full time is a big deal to our tortoises. They can be outside all day every day, but still sleep inside and they seem to do fine. But as soon as they start sleeping outside something happens. Even when temps and humidity don't change. Mine all slow way down on the growth for a while and seem to take months to adjust to the new routine. After that they are fine. In my experience, it is best to not make this major life change at the start of winter. An older, larger tortoise will make this change faster and smoother. Our tortoises just do better indoors when they are young, even though they are capable of surviving outside.

Thanks for the reply and info.