She used to pretty much just drag herself along by her front legs when i got her 6 months ago, but now she uses her legs underneath her more and actually walks much better now. She climbs very well too, which she could never do before. I was just trying to take pictures of her and she was sprinting about after me, couldnt take one quick enough and they were all blurry!!!
I am having trouble uploading more pics from my new phone to the laptop, but i could send some via phone if you had a number?:innocentwhistle: I'd really appreciate some advice, as i wouldnt want to do her any more damage than she has had already. Her shell was like that when i got her, I know they never gave her enough UV light (if at all?!) and she was living in a cardboard box in newspaper in the laundry room with no light at all and their vet said to feed her cat food when she nearly died last year after hibernation (i was not here then). I need to do the best I can, and I do not want her to grow too quickly if it is detrimental to her health.....how would i slow her growth safely?
(02-10-2010 06:47 PM)jesster Wrote: [ -> ]She used to pretty much just drag herself along by her front legs when i got her 6 months ago, but now she uses her legs underneath her more and actually walks much better now. She climbs very well too, which she could never do before. I was just trying to take pictures of her and she was sprinting about after me, couldnt take one quick enough and they were all blurry!!!
I am having trouble uploading more pics from my new phone to the laptop, but i could send some via phone if you had a number?:innocentwhistle: I'd really appreciate some advice, as i wouldnt want to do her any more damage than she has had already. Her shell was like that when i got her, I know they never gave her enough UV light (if at all?!) and she was living in a cardboard box in newspaper in the laundry room with no light at all and their vet said to feed her cat food when she nearly died last year after hibernation (i was not here then). I need to do the best I can, and I do not want her to grow too quickly if it is detrimental to her health.....how would i slow her growth safely?
Depending on what size she is she needs to grow at a few grams per month, no more. Exercise is important for healthy bone growth but on correct substrate rather than a house floor etc. If you can see new growth ie lighter areas/bands then it's often too fast growth. Obviously the smaller the tortoise the more noticeable this is. Weighing monthly is the best way to see how fast she is growing. Presumably you have records of this as you say she just reached the TT recommended weight for her size. Not sure what was meant by this though.
hey thanks, i've just sent the photos. She has been gaining between 2 and 3 grams a month on average, and she is on the correct substrate in her table, topsoil mix, but the set up is downstairs and the room gets a little cold at night so i bring her upstairs to sleep in my flat in the evenings and take her back down at dawn when i start work.
do you take the tortoise table upstairs at night too? sounds to me like the damage was done before you got her, with the correct care (and i'm certain your doing the best) she won't get any worse
i can't see her very well from the photo but is her shell sloping down toward the back or is it my eyesight :rolleye:
would you mind sending the pics to me too
p'm you my number
No, the table is too big to take upstairs! I make sure she gets her 14 hours of UV and heat lamp and then bring her up to sleep in a box near the radiator. the Trust website says this is fine, i checked already. It's only til it warms up a bit at night, then she can be in her table full time and her outdoor enclosure too in the day (which is massive!) I've sent you the pics, thanks ever so much!
Jess