Brutus the 8 yo comes to his new home

[brutus]

Went to a local reptile show in columbia sc this weekend looking for a large breed tortoise. I found him a 8 years old 35 pounds and 16 inches long. have built him a 10x10 temp. pen outside while I get to work on a much larger inclosure for him. I have some questions about his condition as his shell has a bit of dip as you near his rear. Cannot get a photo to upload but here is it on FB.
http://www.facebook.com/#!/photo.ph...15384648406.2088598.1351916068&type=1&theater

I have read not to over feed but how much for a guy this age. I have some horse type pasture grass growing in the area that will be his in the next week or so. any advise will be eagerly awaited

 

[Maggie Cummings]

Your facebook page is not available. Is Brutus pyramided? That dip is usually associated with pyramiding and MBD. If you increase his calcium intake you can make it better. As he grows, his new healthy growth will be better and it will make the dip look not so bad. He needs more of a diet then simply graze. I feed Bob, my 100 pound Sulcata different produces with hay and graze. He also gets squash treats or the random watermelon. I supplement TNT twice a week. When they stop growing then graze or hay will be enough, but while they are growing they need the extra food and supplements IMHO

Use tinypic.com and it will resize your pictures and give you a code that you post and it will magically appear as a pix...welcome

 

[Tom]

It won't let us view your facebook pics without signing up. I use tinypic.com. Its really easy an you don't need an account.

For one that size, I would just let him graze on his own outside. You really can't over feed one that size. When my three were around a foot each, I gave them 9 full heads of romaine and they ate it all up in less than 10 minutes. I quit there because I was worried. If they graze in a large enclosure and have regular access to food they won't be as famished as mine were. I was trying the "grow them slow and feed them light" routine to prevent pyramiding. It didn't work. They still pyramided, but they were always ravenous and stayed very small. At 13 they are around 50 pounds now. Now they have a huge weed filled enclosure. They just browse at will all day. Some days they won't even take hand fed treats, because they are already full from the weeds.

 

[brutus]

ok try these

 

[Laura]

the pics are small, but i can see them. i dont see the slope you talk about. He looks pretty good. What size yard are you making for him? Make sure he has a water soaking area.. I use a large plastic garbage can lid and make it level with the ground. easy to clean and cheap!

 

[brutus]

The area i am planning is about 75 ft by 25 to 40 ft. has a 6 ft privacy fence on the 40 ft side which I will reinforce with a 4x4 rail ,the 75 ft one side is chainlink the other is lightly fenced (decorative) as is the 25 ft side which i will build a heavy low wood rail 2ft or so. (lots of work in the hot 95 deg south carolina sun). The area has good full sun and low trees for shade and hiding.
Ill try to get better pics of the affected area in the morning, thanks in advance.

 

[Tom]

Sounds like a great area for an enclosure. Can't wait for the pics.

 

[dmarcus]

If any side leads out of your yard, make sure you keep an eye on him or make sure to reinforce below ground in that area. You would be surprised how much they can dig in just a few hours..

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi "Brutus:"

Welcome to the forum!!

May we know YOUR name?

 

[RV's mom]

hi and welcome to the forum! and congrats on Brutus!

teri

 

[ADVANceNA]

congrats on brustus from einstein and i also !

your plans on his enclosure sounds ggrreeaatt, no joke, i think all of us wish we could have something as big or bigger if we could have the room for it. i really cant wait for some bigger pics of brutus and the enclosure.

have a good day !

 

[Fernando]

Would this be the possible "dip" you are concerned about?

 

[brutus]

ok got some new pics what do you think.

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Would this be the possible "dip" you are concerned about?

ah......nope

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This is his temp setup

nosey neighbour

soon to be completed area. the 40ft end

the long way

he is eating good likes his timothy hay and romaine

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oh my name is timothy and i am from columbia south carolina

 

[Fernando]

Very cool enclosure. Yeah, I'm not familiar with a dip like that.

Hopefully someone with more experience will answer. To me that looks like stunted growth maybe at a certain point in his life..but what do it know

 

[dmarcus]

I think at some point in his life he didn't get the best care and it shows on his entire carapace, but we know now that he will be living a great life..

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi Timothy:

That kind of dip usually comes from MBD. Just make sure he has plenty of calcium-rich foods (mulberry leaves, grape leaves, cactus, etc) and sunshine.

And...WOW! an emu??? Do you live in a zoo?

 

[brutus]

Hi Timothy:

That kind of dip usually comes from MBD. Just make sure he has plenty of calcium-rich foods (mulberry leaves, grape leaves, cactus, etc) and sunshine.

And...WOW! an emu??? Do you live in a zoo?

we got a few oddities ranging about that is one of the four february hatched baby emus. got 2 more just hatched last week still in the house. Brutus is getting their parents(3 3 yr olds) breeding area. I have moved them to the pond pasture for now.