Turnip, the Sulcata

[orasteele]

I figured my first post should be me sharing my baby, Turnip. I got him at 10 days old & 39.7grams, February 20th at Repticon Houston. This was taken with my cell phone when we got home and I was able to give him some outside time.

The 2nd day he wasn't eating. Thanks to this forum and all the advice I read I was able to up his temp/humitidy, get him soaking in carrot baby food, and finally get an appetite going. I am happy to say Turnip is doing great! In the 3 weeks (nearly 4) since then he's gained weight and size and is now coming in at 51grams!

We did have an accident 3 days ago with our mini dachshund. Luckily she knows the command drop it and has a tiny mouth. A small hole was punched in the skirting above his head when she picked him up, but that was all the damage that was done. Cleaned it with betadine solution, and applied triple antibiotic to the site. After three days the skirting is nearly healed. Needless to say the dogs are now crated when Turnip is having his outside time. I won't risk something happening again. I'll take some more photos soon.

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi, and welcome to the Forum!

 

[Speedy-1]

Hi and welcome !

 

[orasteele]

Well turnip is doing quite well! He's nearly completely recovered from the dog incident (you can see the new growth where the chip was up there by his head). Yesterday it was sunny and warm enough to spend some time outside enjoying the sunshine and exploring the area around the crepe myrtle for wild mustard (which he found and devoured)! He's coming in at 52.4 grams, not a huge jump, but I'm fine with slow and steady growth. As soon as that weed was well and truly devoured it was off to see what else he could find!

 

[Speedy-1]

It looks like Turnip is doing great , nice pic's thanks for sharing !

 

[orasteele]

Thanks Speedy! I'm trying to do my best by him!

 

[Pokeymeg]

Love the name! Very cute tort It's a lucky thing that you've learned this hard lesson about dogs/torts early on and with minimal damage!

 

[Rue]

I gotta say...I like the name too.

I had considered some veggie names when I was picking one out for my baby...but then the weed names called to me!

 

[orasteele]

Well Turnip is growing quite well thanks to all of the advice I have read on this forum! Humidity in Houston is at it's peek thanks to all the rain we've been getting so outside time is perfect for him, and not so much for me. I realized that the last time I posted anything about him was back in March! Since his last photo he has doubled in weight and if he keeps growing at this rate (which I know he will) I'll be looking to upgrade the enclosure by the end of the year. But for not (s)he's happy, healthy and enjoying life. The chip in his shell is his battle scar, it's all healed up from the incident back in March, but he will always have a notch. What I thought was 'healing' was just superficial and the scab flaked off after it healed completely.

 

[Rue]

He looks great! Nice to get an update!

Does that notch have sharp edges?

 

[orasteele]

He looks great! Nice to get an update!

Does that notch have sharp edges?

It looks sharper than it actually is. I took an emory board to it to smooth it out a bit after the scab fell off as I didn't want him to cut himself on it if he got startled.

 

[Rue]

Good idea! I guess you will just have to check it periodically as his shell grows. I suppose eventually it will be duller...

 

[orasteele]

Greetings everyone! Well summer is in full swing here in Houston! Turnip's been enjoying the warm weather and high humidity in the outdoors! I saw that it had been quite some time since I posted anything on him, so I figured we were past due for a growth update! As you can see the notch has grown out quite nicely too! He is fast approaching 4lbs!

 

[xirxes]

Keep up the excellent work! This sulcata is a testament that you can grow a tortoise fast and healthy while keeping the shell exceptionally smoothe!

Kudos and keep up with measurements and photos, as there are very few that claim this success.

 

[orasteele]

Keep up the excellent work! This sulcata is a testament that you can grow a tortoise fast and healthy while keeping the shell exceptionally smoothe!

Kudos and keep up with measurements and photos, as there are very few that claim this success.

Thank you so much! I'm glad to hear that I'm doing right by my Turnip!

 

[orasteele]

It has been nearly two years since I posted anything on Turnip. Shame on me. Turnip is doing well and here is the most recent photo I have of him enjoying the yard.

 

[Yvonne G]

Nice. I love this type of thread. Thanks for keeping it current.

 

[katieandiggy]

Wow, what does he weight now?