Bixi Update (size comparison with pics!) 12.12.2017

[Bixi]

Bixi is still doing well. I have been trying to interact with her more and more recently. After her illness she became very shy (probably because of receiving shots). I have been handling her, letting her go on walks, and soak in the bathtub more frequently. I am trying to associate my voice with food for her, too.

She still usually pees and poops when she is handled, so I soak her first, and let her get that out of her system. I then work with her on socialization. She always calms down and is curious about her surroundings after she has been out of her cage for a little while.

She is growing like a weed! She was growing very slow for a while after the illness. I do not have a scale, but when I pick her up, her weight has obviously increased dramatically on a monthly basis as of late.

Here is Bixi when she was a couple of months old. Notice she barely covers my fingers.

And now she covers most of my hand

Here's my girl playing in some warm water in the bath tub

And she is definitely not afraid of our cat! Heh, I don't know if they will be buddies, but Bixi does not mind him one bit. She also likes to burrow into clothes piles... so that's a thing...

All in all, I am very happy with her progress and health. I look forward to upgrading her habitats and having her as a member of the family for life. She is still pyramiding a bit, but I don't think it is enough to worry about, and her growth has been smooth. As long as she is healthy and happy, then I will be happy.

Her 1 year birthday will be in early January! I may have to make a... carrot cake? Only cake for me of course! Thanks for checking out my tort, and thank you guys for being helpful on the forums. Talk to you guys again soon.

Burke

 

[Bixi]

I wanted to edit this thread, but I was too late. I apologize for responding to my own thread.

I did want to add a side-note. If anyone knowledgeable thinks that her pyramiding is too severe, or if they see anything else to be worried about from these pics, please let me know. I can upload other pics of her underside, or any other angle that you require for a diagnosis. I want my tort to be healthy!

I know she has a bit of pyramiding, and the pyramiding seems to be slowing, but it is still there. Her new growth is still not perfectly smooth (she is also in a growth spurt). If there is something I can do besides soaking her, keeping her humid, keeping temps up, and keeping her on a high-fiber diet, then let me know. I have read all the info on these forums about Sulcata diet, housing, ect.

Thanks!

 

[Gattu N'Coco]

Do you have any enclosure for her? She really needs one

 

[Bixi]

She has a 4ftX4ft enclosure with 3-5inches of substrate and multiple warm hides. She has a large, shallow waterbowl, a mercury heat lamp, ceramic lamp for night, a uvb florecent bulb, and a large grass nest. She should be fine in that enclosure until she gets a bit bigger. I will probably have to increase the size to 8ftx4ft some time in 2018 as she grows.