VitaShell

[Lilithlee]

It's for birds to eat, but here a little bit about it. Premium palm oil is a certified organic red oil obtained by cold pressing the fruit of the dende palm. It provides a number of essential fatty acids including omega 3 and omega 6. Palm oil is familiar to birds in the wild as many use palm fruit as a large part of their diet. Macaws and Cockatoos as well as African Greys particularly benefit from eating palm oil. Palm oil helps put sheen into dull feathers and improves dry flaky skin and feet.

 

[Tom]

I've ended this experiment. It all went well. I had these guys in the same enclosure as last years EOP babies and they grew at almost exactly the same rate. The VitaShell made no discernible difference. In fact, the smoothest one was the one with no VitaShell. I'm a bit surprised by this as I expected it to have more of an effect. Still they were all nearly identical in smoothness to last years babies that were in this exact same set-up. With all of the enclosures and all of the babies I've been raising, I am seeing that the enclosure and its "micro-climate" has a lot to do with how the babies grow. These three are off to their new homes with a great start in life.

 

[Yvonne G]

Well, I'm sorry Tom...but this is the second thread I've read where you've said the experiment is done. You can't just say that and give your summation of the experiment without showing us pictures of the tortoises. Its not done until the fat lady sings.

 

[Tom]

The last pics are at post #93 above. Those pics are just over a week old. They still look just like that.

Is that enough singin' for ya'?

 

[DeanS]

I was at Tom's last week...and I concur. There's no 'thinking about it'...the hatchling that didn't have VitaShell was perfect...the other two not so much!

 

[l0velesly]

The third one in the pic looks the smoothest, I think. I can't tell which is which in the group pictures, except that one has a lighter color.

So Dean, are you saying the Vitashell made the shell a little worse?

 

[evlinLoutries]

How it goes Tom?

Cause VCO didn't give any differences with the one who not use it..

But on my cherry head, it is affect their bright color, especially in their head..

 

[Tom]

It did make them look a little nicer. Not so dry...

But performance-wise, I got nothing.

 

[FADE2BLACK_1973]

This thread was very interesting. I was going to buy a tub of Vitashell and start applying it on Spikes dry looking shell and skin. I soak him once every other day and still dry. From what I take it as, pretty much a lotion so I guess it would not hurt and that it does not block any UVB or UVA. From what I seen from your experiment with baby sulcata's. I wonder it would work better on older juvi or older adults with dried out shell and skin? Btw, I use to Spray Four Paws Vita Spray on my Iguanas many many years ago to see what it would do for their skin and shedding problems. Well believe it or not after I started spraying them daily, it really brought out their colors and shedding improved. Might had been a lotion like spray, can't remember.


I was amazed at another member's adult sulcata's shell. So I asked him what was his secret? One of the things he told me, he applied VitaShell to his sulcata's shell every once in awhile. Good enough for me. So I guess I will finally go ahead and try some Vitashell once aweek and see for myself.

 

[evlinLoutries]

It did make them look a little nicer. Not so dry...

But performance-wise, I got nothing.

same as what I got, only appearances that gets nicer..

 

[Sammy]

My tor's shell is so dry looking, I spray her lots + humidity. Brought a tub of this, will apply once a week after her soak & apply on damp shell, hope it helps to seal a bit of moisture in. maybe like our face cream I guess. Let me try.

 

[pam]

I im very interested in your results

 

[yagyujubei]

I use this occasionally on my big female leopard. Her shell is worn and faded in places. In my opinion, it did improve the look of the shell. dirt didn't seem to adhere to the shell as much after, and would wash off easier. Even if it's only cosmetic,I really don't have a problem with that. I haven't seen any reason to discontinue. I think an older tortoise might benefit more than a hatchling.

 

[LParkey]

As always, and interesting thread Tom. I've used VitaShell on my Sully for over a year, and I can honestly say her shell looks amazing. I'm curious as to the long-term effects tho?

 

[jojodesca]

Awesome!!! I had just asked about this..I have the same stuff, but have not used it yet...I wanted to try it but was a bit Leary since i don't want to harm my baby!!!..i will be very interested to know how it works!

Thank you

Jojo

 

[LParkey]

The newest addition to our family, Chomper, is approx 2 years old and lived in a dry enclosure his whole life, until us! His shell was SO dry! I've used VitaShell on him twice now and can see a drastic change in the beauty of his shell! While I don't believe it helps with pyramiding, I do believe its a great conditioner for a shinier more vibrant looking shell!

 

[Zamric]

My only endorsment to this product is that WalkingRock was brought up on this product. For his 1st 5 years he got it weekly but now he gets it only during growth cycles. As soon as his cuticles turn white he gets a coat on only his cuticles (his shell is WAY TOO BIG for a total coat everytime!) It should be noted that WalkingRock was raise with no knowledge about humididy or tempeture controled enviroment.... just in a classroom full of kids!

The Outcome speaks for itself 11 years later