Pumpkin's Thread

[SunnySideUp]

Even though Pumpkin has only been in my home for a few days, I'm already so passionate about watching him explore and express his personality that I thought it was appropriate to make a little thread for him so I can share with you guys all that I witness (Plus I know how much we all like tortie pictures here, so what's a few more?).



For anyone who is curious, Pumpkin is a nine month old, 3in SCL, T.h. boettgeri. Today is Pumpkin's third day in his new forever-home, and he has been doing absolutely wonderful so far! He's still a bit nervous around me, but I'm doing my best to earn his trust by moving very slowly, speaking softly, and respecting his space as much as possible. Even though I have a strong desire just to swaddle him with love and attention, I know that's far too forward for such a patient (and small!) little creature. So I'm working on approaching him as tortoises do: softly and with patience.

Anywho, he has been eating voraciously since day one and has already expressed a preference for certain areas of his enclosure. He loves a certain little rock outcrop in a far corner of the enclosure with a fake ivy plant for shade. So, on that note, let's play spot the tortoise!


I know, he makes it easy. I just think it's cute how he's chosen to bed down in this general area every night I've had him so far. Plus, Pumpkin seems to feel that covering only his face is adequate protection, haha . He also enjoys trampling on poor mister wooden lizard, which is unforunate.

 

[SunnySideUp]

Pumpkin passed his first urate in his soak this morning! It looked to be of a very good consistency (not chunky or gritty), almost appearing like an egg white in water. Hopefully this is a good sign!

 

[Maggie Cummings]

He's very cute..thanks for sharing...

 

[SunnySideUp]

Pumpkin still seems to be doing quite well! His appetite has remained unchanged; he still is eating heartily, though I'm not sure how the behavior of your youngsters would compare. Lately I've been feeding him a blend of spring mix (with about 90% of the spinach removed), dandelion greens, kale, and lots of weeds from outside (deadnettle, bittercress, white clover, and wild violet as of late). I gave him a treat of some aloe today, though I'm not sure if it tried any or not. Also, I decided to borrow my brother's high-definition camera to take a few more pictures to post here! Yay!

Here's him during his soak. I just use a white dish drying tub as his personal bath.



I let him dry his little feeties on an old towel before placing him back in his enclosure. Otherwise the coco coir gets stuck all over him.



And then off he goes! He always scampers away real quick once I put him back after a soak. I'm not sure he appreciates it very much, though I try and tell him it's good for his health. The air outside has been so humid lately I can't even mist down his substrate without the nighttime humidity getting too high, so that's why it looks dry. I suspect I won't have to do much watering until summertime when the AC dries out the air.

So what do you think? Does he look healthy? Is it normal for the skin around his eyes to be lighter than the rest of his scales? Do they look clear to you? I've been nervously fussing over him a lot lately, I'm sure I'm driving him crazy

 

[Moozillion]

He looks wonderful to me! He's pretty smart to have picked such a great tortoise mom!

 

[tellablue]

He looks a lot like my (almost) one year old Hermann's tortoise. Same light coloring around the eyes. I totally understand how easy it is to worry about your little one's health, but it sounds like you are doing everything right. Enjoy!

 

[SunnySideUp]

Aww, how adorable! They do look alike. Pumpkin pipped on September 8 of last year, according to his wonderful breeder, so he's not quite as old as your little one.

 

[SunnySideUp]

Yesterday was a day of many firsts for Pumpkin and me! Not only did he have his first BM in his enclosure's waterdish (which is good news for me because it suggests that he is comfortable with self-soaking), but we went on a field trip outside! It was warm and very very sunny, perfect for optimum calcium absorption! He seemed to enjoy getting quite dusty and marching around the perimeter of my raised garden bed, which at the moment is still very empty.







He also made friends with a few woodland creatures, as you can see

Today I gave Pumpkin a soak, as per usual, but after I put him back in his enclosure he did something else I had never seen before. He stomped over to his cuttlebone and was either sniffing it very intensely or was chewing on it! I think he was eating some of it because I've seen a few grooves on the sides of the cuttlebone but I wasn't certain whether they were new or not. This is very exciting for me because Pumpkin really seems to dislike his ReptiCal calcium supplement, so I won't have to worry too much about his calcium intake (though I still plan on giving the ReptiCal once a week). It looks like the scales on his head are beginning to shed, so I'll be keeping an eye on those.

 

[SunnySideUp]

I just ordered a food scale over Amazon so a post letting you guys know of Pumpkin's official weight should be coming shortly. The little guy still seems to be doing wonderfully, and he appears to be less nervous in my presence. He actually allowed my to gently stroke one of his forelimbs today! I'm trying to get him used to closer contact in the event there would be any reason for me to have to manuver his limbs (vet appointments perhaps?). Plus I just love the feeling of his cute little elephant feet

Unforunately it looks like we've fully depleted our yard of dead nettle, but I've introduced some other things into his diet to compensate. Today I chopped up a mix of dandelion, broad-leaf plantain, white clover, wild violet, bittercress, african violet, spring mix, mustard greens and bok choy. I also offer trimmings from a wildflower seed mix specialized for tortoises. Every week I try and swap out a grocery green for a new one, so last week instead of mustard greens and bok choy Pumpkin had brussel sprouts, and the week before that he had kale.

I'm waiting for more of my seed mix to grow in an outdoor plot so I can continue to reduce the amount of grocery store greens I'm feeding. The seeds have started to sprout (yay!) so I suppose it's just a matter of waiting. I also have some endive growing in my garden, and our Rose of Sharon bushes are showing some growth.

Lately I've been making a habit of taking Pumpkin outside in his soaking basin so he can have about 20 minutes under the sun. I intend on starting the construction of his official outdoor enclosure very soon, though, so he can really stretch his legs.

 

[SunnySideUp]

Pumpkin seemed very disinterested in bedding down for the night in either his reptile cave, half log, or flower pot, so on a whim I decided to cut an opening in an old tuberware container we had lost the lid for to see if he would enjoy burrowing in it. Well folks, don't waste any of your money on pricey reptile hides because Pumpkin declares that tuberware is far superior. The second I placed the new hide in his enclosure he was hooked, and has been sleeping in there exclusively since. Funny how something entirely free to me would become his fast favorite.



In unrelated news, Pumpkin ate a sliver of carrot from my hand yesterday! I'm so glad he's becoming more comfortable around me, though it is certainly a gradual process.

 

[SunnySideUp]

Today when I took Pumpkin outside for a little excursion under the sun, I thought it would be fun for him if I plopped him down in a white clover patch. I didn't think he'd actually be interested in the plants, but boy was I wrong! Pumpkin started completely devouring the clovers with gusto. I was so pleased to see him eating as he would in his natural environment. I only wish I had thought to bring my camera out with me.

Anyway, I weighed Pumpkin yesterday and he comes out to be a hearty 94 grams! What do you guys think about this weight? Does it seem appropriate for an almost nine month old juvenile?