Bortis the Tortoise Intro

[Penny7]

Hi!
Just got our first tortoise, its a Sulcata, about three inches across.
His/her name is Bortis but also Bean and also Tortilla. He really likes Kale but will not even touch the alfalfa hay we put down. He's very active and loves to soak.
I have no details of who the breeder is, but Bortis looks like he has some problems already. The bottom of his shell is very lumpy, and he's got some gentle pyramiding. I've found the best diet for him from researching, but I just want to know: is his lumpy shell hurting him? Also, will it straighten out with a proper diet when he grows? As for pyramiding, will that smooth out too?

Thank you for all your help!
-Penny

PS any other name suggestions are also greatly appreciated

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi Penny, and welcome!

Quite a few babies have wrinkly plastrons, it's not a problem, and smooths out with growth.

As far as pyramiding is concerned, it's not caused by diet, its cause by being raised in too dry conditions. Wet the substrate, cover the enclosure and keep tortoise-with-too-many-names in a humid, warm environment, day and night, and at around 80F all the time.

 

[Penny7]

Thank you Yvonne! We will do this asap

 

[Grandpa Turtle 144]

Hi Penny

 

[Carol S]

Welcome to the Forum.

 

[Tidgy's Dad]

Hello, Penny, and a very warm welcome to Tortoise Forum to you and Bortis.
Have a good read of https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/
and https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/how-to-raise-a-healthy-sulcata-or-leopard-version-2-0.79895/
also https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/for-those-who-have-a-young-sulcata.76744/
and https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/the-end-of-pyramiding.15137/

 

[Markw84]

Penny

As Yvonne said, the plastron will straighten out as your tortoise grows. The wrinkles are cased by the way the plastron initially grows as it is folded over in the egg. The pyramiding is caused by being kept too dry. Daily soaks in a warm water bath and keeping your tortoise is a closed enclosure where the humidity can stay at 80% is the way to get a young tortoise to grow without pyramiding. A young sulcata normally does not take to hay right away. I do start to introduce hay to youngsters, but I use grass hay and chop it up with scissors to about 1/2" pieces. I soak that in water to rehydrate and soften, then put it on top of their food. I also often mash it in some softened regular formula Mazuri tortoise pellets and put that on top of the food. They normally will start to really go for that and it is quite good for them as a supplement to the natural greens and weeds. In a few years your tortoise will be 50 lbs and eating like a horse (literally) and you'll be glad you got it used to grass hay!

I typed up this guide to explain a bit about "monsoon tortoises" as there are so many misconceptions and bad info on care you will hear from pet shops, breeders and vets. It is exactly how I raise sulcatas, leopards and stars. You can even see a few pictures of the results it produces as I have pictures of one of my sulcatas and a leopard raised totally from hatching this way.

https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/how-to-raise-a-healthy-star-tortoise.159167/

Come back with any questions you may have...