Hi everyone. I am really enjoying this forum. I am hoping someone can explain to me why one of my female leopard tortoises is growing unbelievably slow.
I will give you the history of the two females I got as hatchlings in 2005. They were both just a couple weeks old when I got them. They were about the size of a silver dollar. One was slightly bigger than the other, but not enough to even be relevant. They came from a local breeder that breeds lots of tortoises and other reptiles. The two of them have been kept together since day one, so everything should be the same for both of them. They were kept inside for the first 3 years. During this time, there was one occasion when the door on their front opening enclosure was left open by mistake. We were gone for a few hours, and when we came home it was discovered that the enclosure was open, and one of the tortoises was gone!
We quickly found the tortoise in the back yard. It had gotten there because our boxer had taken it out of the enclosure, carried it down stairs, through the doggy door, and into the yard. The poor thing was hurt and scared. The dog is not bad, and she didn't try to kill the tort, she just took her outside and chewed on her a little bit. Her injuries were not horrible, but there are very small pieces of her plastron missing, and some teeth marks on her carapace. She never got infected or anything. I put a topical antibiotic on the wounds for a week or two, and they seemed to heal pretty well. She just kind of slept for about a week, but she never stopped eating. She is a tough little tortoise.
The reason that the dog took the one that she did was because the other tort was already too big for her to pick up in her mouth. That is significant because the small tortoise was already growing slower than the big one before this happened. To avoid going on for ever, here is a picture of the two girls from a few days ago. They hatched within one week of each other.
Why would one of these female leopard tortoises grow so much faster than the other? The big one is definitely the dominate one, but I never really saw her being "mean" to the little one. She was just always the first one to the food etc. I always fed them more than they could eat just to make sure that there was food left for the little girl after the big one got done.
I have had them separated for about two months hoping that the poor little girl will grow without the stress of the big girl in her life. They are both still outside, just not able to get to each other. Is there a reason why the little girl is so small? I am guessing that she may never get to a normal size. No matter what, she will always have a home here. I just want to make sure there is nothing else I should be doing for her.
Thanks for taking the time to read my rambling post!
I will give you the history of the two females I got as hatchlings in 2005. They were both just a couple weeks old when I got them. They were about the size of a silver dollar. One was slightly bigger than the other, but not enough to even be relevant. They came from a local breeder that breeds lots of tortoises and other reptiles. The two of them have been kept together since day one, so everything should be the same for both of them. They were kept inside for the first 3 years. During this time, there was one occasion when the door on their front opening enclosure was left open by mistake. We were gone for a few hours, and when we came home it was discovered that the enclosure was open, and one of the tortoises was gone!
We quickly found the tortoise in the back yard. It had gotten there because our boxer had taken it out of the enclosure, carried it down stairs, through the doggy door, and into the yard. The poor thing was hurt and scared. The dog is not bad, and she didn't try to kill the tort, she just took her outside and chewed on her a little bit. Her injuries were not horrible, but there are very small pieces of her plastron missing, and some teeth marks on her carapace. She never got infected or anything. I put a topical antibiotic on the wounds for a week or two, and they seemed to heal pretty well. She just kind of slept for about a week, but she never stopped eating. She is a tough little tortoise.
The reason that the dog took the one that she did was because the other tort was already too big for her to pick up in her mouth. That is significant because the small tortoise was already growing slower than the big one before this happened. To avoid going on for ever, here is a picture of the two girls from a few days ago. They hatched within one week of each other.
Why would one of these female leopard tortoises grow so much faster than the other? The big one is definitely the dominate one, but I never really saw her being "mean" to the little one. She was just always the first one to the food etc. I always fed them more than they could eat just to make sure that there was food left for the little girl after the big one got done.
I have had them separated for about two months hoping that the poor little girl will grow without the stress of the big girl in her life. They are both still outside, just not able to get to each other. Is there a reason why the little girl is so small? I am guessing that she may never get to a normal size. No matter what, she will always have a home here. I just want to make sure there is nothing else I should be doing for her.
Thanks for taking the time to read my rambling post!
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