New (to me) Hingeback... Homeana I think

jsheffield

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I brought this little guy home with me yesterday, having found him on Craigslist.

The Good:
  • I think he's stunning
  • I've got the time and space for him
  • He ate some reptilink and a bit of mushroom this morning while soaking
The Bad:
  • He feels light compared to my other torts
  • He seems to vastly favor the legs on his left side
  • His eyes seem a bit puffy
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He weighs 125g and is 10.0 cm long.


His name is Nelson

Jamie
 

TammyJ

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He is absolutely gorgeous! I think he is a lucky little guy and I wish you all the best with his progress!
 

jsheffield

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When I soaked him this morning he hunkered down for about ten minutes, up to his nostrils in the water... between some nibbling at the breakfast I prepared for him I also saw him dunk his head down into the water for numerous long drinks... I think he just needs lots of soaking and drinking time.

Jamie
 

jsheffield

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One of the Kinixys keepers I've been in touch with suggested he's grievously underweight, so I've made a rehydration concentrate for soakings and plan to do 1-hour soaks twice a day for the foreseeable future.

After the first few soaks he's up from 125g to 138g, a 10% increase (so I feel it's working, or at least trending in the right direction).

Jamie
 

Relic

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I notice the central scute arrangement is slightly off-center to starboard. Assuming the bony structure of the carapace is similarly arranged, it would also indicate the spinal column itself is also slightly out-of-plumb. Nothing but speculation here, but I wonder if a misaligned spinal column could in any way affect the use of the legs, as you said she had more use of the legs on the left side? I'm just now taking in my morning gallon of coffee and my thinking may still be sleep-tinged...
 

jsheffield

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I notice the central scute arrangement is slightly off-center to starboard. Assuming the bony structure of the carapace is similarly arranged, it would also indicate the spinal column itself is also slightly out-of-plumb. Nothing but speculation here, but I wonder if a misaligned spinal column could in any way affect the use of the legs, as you said she had more use of the legs on the left side? I'm just now taking in my morning gallon of coffee and my thinking may still be sleep-tinged...

Interesting... I hadn't considered that... most of what I've read suggests that scute abnormalities occur in ovo, which would suggest that Nelson might have had the leftside issue since birth, where I'd assumed that it was possibly due to poor nutrition or dryness or a lack of heat/UV/vitamin-D.

I'd love to hear what other people think about this... it makes me consider whole new areas.

Thanks!

Jamie
 

Moozillion

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I brought this little guy home with me yesterday, having found him on Craigslist.

The Good:
  • I think he's stunning
  • I've got the time and space for him
  • He ate some reptilink and a bit of mushroom this morning while soaking
The Bad:
  • He feels light compared to my other torts
  • He seems to vastly favor the legs on his left side
  • His eyes seem a bit puffy
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He weighs 125g and is 10.0 cm long.


His name is Nelson

Jamie
GOSH!!! He’s GORGEOUS!!!❤️
And great name, BTW- my razorbacked musk is named Nelson!
 

2turtletom

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Interesting... I hadn't considered that... most of what I've read suggests that scute abnormalities occur in ovo, which would suggest that Nelson might have had the leftside issue since birth, where I'd assumed that it was possibly due to poor nutrition or dryness or a lack of heat/UV/vitamin-D.

I'd love to hear what other people think about this... it makes me consider whole new areas.

Thanks!

Jamie

That’s interesting speculation about the scute abnormalities, but I’ve never read anything that scute abnormalities were an indication of anything about the bone structure below the scutes. Hopefully when this guy gets hydrated, he’ll start moving fairly normally...any progress with his locomotion? I know it’s still early... -Tom A.
 

William Lee Kohler

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Two things:
I've noticed when my hingebacks need to drink they don't want to eat. Hydration seems an appetite motivator.
Watching shell growth I've noticed when one place doesn't grow as much as on the other side that there is usually another area that grows extra to balance things out. For instance with one of mine the area on one side of the vetebrals doesn't grow as much as the other side but it is made up for with more growth below the coastals. There seems a natural balancing out so the shell grows the right overall shape.

And your little tortoise is a very handsome one and surely a homeana as well.
 

2turtletom

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He nibbled at some reptilink, hibiscus, and pumpkin today, but doesn't yet seem to have the appetite that my redfoot does....

Jamie

Steady progress with the eating is what you are looking for. Consistency and persistence is key. I only have one Homeana that will just gobble up all the food. Some save it for the evening/night. It’s good to leave he food in the enclosure for a while.
 
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