Littlefoot is a 10 month old Hermann's tortoise. I've had him for 7 months and got him from Chris, so we know he was started well.
When I got him he was 1.75" and 20 grams. He's now about 2.75" and 80 grams.
I'm attaching some pictures of his shell. They aren't the best, but he wasn't in a cooperative mood today.
My concern is that when you look at his shell along the side edges of the vertebral scutes, it looks like the beginning of pyramiding...there's the depression between scutes there. However, his other scutes show fairly smooth growth. One scute has a little smushed part on a corner and has always had a slight upwards growth pattern. I don't know if that was caused by an injury or what. He likes to Geronimo off his hide. I've never seen "localized" pyramiding like this, and am wondering if that is indeed what this is?
He has been kept in a testudo-friendly version of hot and humid, though sometimes I actually struggle with excessive humidity. Right now he's in a 75 gallon tank with a plywood cover. All the temps are good, going from 76 on the cool end to basking of 100. He has access to water and has been mostly eating a mixture of mazuri and dehydrated weeds (dandelion, marshmallow, red clover, blessed thistle, violet leaf, hibiscus petals...with the occasional oat straw or Aloe Vera). I soak the mazuri and weeds with just enough water for them to soak up and rehydrate and mush it all up. He also gets the occasional produce...cucumber peelings, lettuces, very small and rare treats of canned pumpkin. Mostly over winter (it is just warming up here) it has been the mush mix. I have been attempting to grow lettuces for him but he has eaten all the sprouts, so he's had a lot of those lately. He has a cuttlebone at all times but ignores it. I supplement with repcal and herptivite once or twice a week...about 1/16th of a teaspoon each. He had a powersun for the first two months, and a flourescent uv tube after that when he moved into the tank (powersun was too hot in there)...but I was just told by another member here that it doesn't have sufficient UV output and isn't doing any good. I take him outside when I can now that it's warming up some, but he hides mostly. Overall, he is a very happy, healthy, active little thing. I guess other than the lack of UV, I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong or why his shell looks this way. I'd appreciate input.
When I got him he was 1.75" and 20 grams. He's now about 2.75" and 80 grams.
I'm attaching some pictures of his shell. They aren't the best, but he wasn't in a cooperative mood today.
My concern is that when you look at his shell along the side edges of the vertebral scutes, it looks like the beginning of pyramiding...there's the depression between scutes there. However, his other scutes show fairly smooth growth. One scute has a little smushed part on a corner and has always had a slight upwards growth pattern. I don't know if that was caused by an injury or what. He likes to Geronimo off his hide. I've never seen "localized" pyramiding like this, and am wondering if that is indeed what this is?
He has been kept in a testudo-friendly version of hot and humid, though sometimes I actually struggle with excessive humidity. Right now he's in a 75 gallon tank with a plywood cover. All the temps are good, going from 76 on the cool end to basking of 100. He has access to water and has been mostly eating a mixture of mazuri and dehydrated weeds (dandelion, marshmallow, red clover, blessed thistle, violet leaf, hibiscus petals...with the occasional oat straw or Aloe Vera). I soak the mazuri and weeds with just enough water for them to soak up and rehydrate and mush it all up. He also gets the occasional produce...cucumber peelings, lettuces, very small and rare treats of canned pumpkin. Mostly over winter (it is just warming up here) it has been the mush mix. I have been attempting to grow lettuces for him but he has eaten all the sprouts, so he's had a lot of those lately. He has a cuttlebone at all times but ignores it. I supplement with repcal and herptivite once or twice a week...about 1/16th of a teaspoon each. He had a powersun for the first two months, and a flourescent uv tube after that when he moved into the tank (powersun was too hot in there)...but I was just told by another member here that it doesn't have sufficient UV output and isn't doing any good. I take him outside when I can now that it's warming up some, but he hides mostly. Overall, he is a very happy, healthy, active little thing. I guess other than the lack of UV, I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong or why his shell looks this way. I'd appreciate input.