Taylor Sweet
New Member
Hello all,
So I have two RT’s. One is a juvenile named Tank. I’ve had him for about two years. Earlier this year (May) I got a hatchling tortoise named Tortellini (Tort or Lini for short). He’s going to be 1 in April. I was wondering if anyone could take a look at his shell and let me know what they think? He seems to have a bump behind his head on his carapace. I’m just worried about uneven growth or bone disease.
I’ve decided to water his terrarium down when I turn on his lamp I the morning, in the hopes that the water won’t evaporate as quickly and his shell will even out. What do you all think? Should I decrease his food as well? I really hate to do that if I don’t have to. He loves eating and always seems hungry. I just want to make sure I’m doing right by the little guy! I know how critical shell development is in the first couple of years!
Some more information:
Temps are 90. He has a 100W Powersun UVB lamp (he also has a heat lamp, but it’s never on because he doesn’t like the extra heat).
ZooMed Deep Double Dome lamp
He’s currently in a 12 gallon tub (he’ll be upgraded as he gets bigger. I tried putting him in a larger tub but it was impossible to find him!!)
I spray his tub down once a day currently, but I’m about to start “watering” the mulch once a day as well.
He’s on a mixture of aspen and cypress mulch.
He does have a water bowl (it’s the base of a small ceramic pot). However the water usually evaporated or seeps through the dish halfway through the day, so I have to refill it.
He’s primarily fed a spring mix. I like to mix a little spinach or radicchio in from time to time. I also like to give him carrots or cabbage occasionally as a treat. Recently I’ve started lightly dusting his food with calcium. I’ve never seen anything about using calcium with a baby RT, but I always use it with my juvenile, and i figured it couldn’t hurt. He just gets the size of his body in food, once a day.
So I have two RT’s. One is a juvenile named Tank. I’ve had him for about two years. Earlier this year (May) I got a hatchling tortoise named Tortellini (Tort or Lini for short). He’s going to be 1 in April. I was wondering if anyone could take a look at his shell and let me know what they think? He seems to have a bump behind his head on his carapace. I’m just worried about uneven growth or bone disease.
I’ve decided to water his terrarium down when I turn on his lamp I the morning, in the hopes that the water won’t evaporate as quickly and his shell will even out. What do you all think? Should I decrease his food as well? I really hate to do that if I don’t have to. He loves eating and always seems hungry. I just want to make sure I’m doing right by the little guy! I know how critical shell development is in the first couple of years!
Some more information:
Temps are 90. He has a 100W Powersun UVB lamp (he also has a heat lamp, but it’s never on because he doesn’t like the extra heat).
ZooMed Deep Double Dome lamp
He’s currently in a 12 gallon tub (he’ll be upgraded as he gets bigger. I tried putting him in a larger tub but it was impossible to find him!!)
I spray his tub down once a day currently, but I’m about to start “watering” the mulch once a day as well.
He’s on a mixture of aspen and cypress mulch.
He does have a water bowl (it’s the base of a small ceramic pot). However the water usually evaporated or seeps through the dish halfway through the day, so I have to refill it.
He’s primarily fed a spring mix. I like to mix a little spinach or radicchio in from time to time. I also like to give him carrots or cabbage occasionally as a treat. Recently I’ve started lightly dusting his food with calcium. I’ve never seen anything about using calcium with a baby RT, but I always use it with my juvenile, and i figured it couldn’t hurt. He just gets the size of his body in food, once a day.