My babies will be 3 yrs on Feb...time sure does fly by quickly. They are now in a 150 gal and transitioning outside permanently soon... will show pics from hatchling until now. Life has taken me in several directions since I joined TFO...just wanted to share updates with you all.
My M&M's are growing =D
- Thread starter MORTYtheTORTY
- Start date
amazing!!!!! my almost 3 year year one is only 8 inches
why are yours so big
The big one in my photo is 9" and the other one is roughly 7" (maybe a little more). I still don't know the sex but they are from the same clutch..crazy how one grew bigger than the other and the other is trying to keep up so his shell looks a little pyramided but I'm sure it will smooth out later. =D
Well what do you feed yours? I bought mine from AZsulcata and they were so healthy, I don't know if that has anything to do with it? I feed them green leaf the majority of the time, use Mazuri 1-3 times a week but lately I have been giving it to them every other day for a few weeks now. I feed them spring mix sometimes (no spinach), I rarely give them fruits, but I have fed them watermelons 3x's this summer. They have cuttlebone at all times, I used to sprinkle TNT supplements on their greens 3x's a week but I haven't done that in a long time. They eat weeds and grass outside but I have kept them mainly indoors and have been busy with life so they have stayed indoors for a while. I did have them outside at one point but freaked out because I thought someone was going to steal them and I have too many stray cats. I have more free time on my hands so I am building something outdoors or maybe after winter is over then I can proceed. I take good care of mine but IDK, I honestly didn't think they were that big....why are yours so big
my sulcata is mostly on a variety of grass diet with calcium block in his enclosure he lives out side grazes all day and have never fed him fruit. i think he has some pyramenting is cuz i didn't soak him as much as i should have as a baby.
My one year old is 8" .... I think that if you are housing these two together that you need much more room. Everything I have seen and read says not to house in pairs. Just my opinion but guessing one is smaller because he is being bullied by the dominate one. This is normally what happens.
Wow your one year old is 8 inches!!!!!! Post a pic please.
Thats Crazy dude how he grew that fast.
I used this care sheet and followed it closely.
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/how-to-raise-a-healthy-sulcata-or-leopard-version-2-0.79895/
They are in a tank where I monitor them all the time. I haven't noticed any bullying at all UNLESS they communicate using body language maybe but I have never seen them act aggressively at all even with body language. When I did have them outside the Bigger one escaped somehow for a few days and the little one didn't eat at all until the big one came back so that was quite obvious that they had some kind of relationship. Once the big one came back, I haven't put them outside since and that was the beginning of this year. Any Tortoise would run off, being that I live next to a HUGE field, but for some reason it came back so I feel happy about that, at least he knows where home is! Since they have been big and since I switched to the 150 gal I did notice their behavior start to change recently...when I feed them they act like jealous dogs towards eachother...anyone that has more than one dog will know what I mean by this. It is only towards feeding time. The rest of the time they sleep together and bask together so I don't know. I still haven't seen any genitals so I don't know if they are males or not. They have always been diff in size since hatchling and one was always slightly bigger than the other but over time it seems the big one has tripled in size. they have their own area to eat so there is no bullying unless I put mazuri then they start acting like jealous dogs. The little one is so outgoing and carefree but the bigger one is more reserved and shy.
I looked at your link there too and your tort grew fast! I followed the same chart but the only thing I didn't use was a hidebox (humid). Are all those pics taken at diff times because the second pic where the ruler is, it is smaller than the first in the clay saucer. If they are at the same time then that is not considered 8" as the head measurement does not count. If you flip them upside down then you measure from each plastron (starting at where their collar bone would be) to where their shell stops by the tail. If I measured my torts head then it would def be greater than 9".
There are two diff size saucers. And yes, I meassured plastron. The ruler starts at the inch mark a bit from the top so the shell is on the inch not the head. Bulling does not have to be visable. Torts are territoral and the little one stays little because it is trying to not be in the way. Also 150 g is not big enough for one tort. An easy solution would be to build each their own wooden box. There are a ton of post on here about bulling, scary stuff. Seems its more than likely when ever two are kept together. Perhaps others will chime in and give more opinions. This is just mine.
Yes Tom has mentioned in the past not to keep two together but I had already purchased two at the time. The little one doesn't eat unless the big one is around so I keep them together. I still have a 55 gal for the little one (their old tank). Maybe I will have to separate them again and see if there is any progression this time. They are going outside in their own enclosures once the winter is over.
