Box Turtle and Tortoise Discussion :: babies growing up

[RunninWideOpen]

so, I noticed that the box turtle forum hasn't had any action for awhile and thought I would help it out.

my baby 3-toed boxies are growing and maturing quite nicely. I got them in June at 1 month old, and they're now 7 months old. Manny is growing in size much faster than Ellie. I found that he was bullying Ellie out of food, but even now that I'm supervising their mealtime to make sure they share their food, he's growing faster. He's actually got some weight to him when I hold him in my hand now. I've discovered he goes back to the food dish multiple times throughout the day and is chewing on the fruits and veggies I put in there.

Ellie still hasn't started eating the veggies, but she has gotten more comfortable in her surroundings. She comes out and walks around sometimes, and gets in her water dish. I'm pretty proud of how far they've both come since I got them.

Here are some pics.

First week:

Manny on the top, Ellie on the bottom


Mudball Ellie



Now:

Ellie on the left, Manny on the right


I woke them, so they were kinda cranky, hehe.


Ellie


Manny



My adult ornates are doing quite well too. They had stopped eating for awhile when it started getting cool, and then I realized their temperature had falled 15deg. I added a couple more 150W bulbs to get it back up to 85F and they're active as can be now.


You guys should post some updates on your boxies.

[Vivi]

it looks like your really taking good care of them. do you have any pics of your ornate??

[RunninWideOpen]

thanks. i'm doin my best. the boxies are much more fickle than the aquatics. keeps me on my toes

i don't have any new pics of the ornates, but here's sid:



and here's Diega

[emma]

They really have grown!! They are so cute!

[Terryo]

This is Nora my Ornate. She is about 31 years old. I had to give her to my friend as I was doing my yard over, and Nora had to hibernate and my friend has a big outdoor pen for her turts.

[Terryo]

Bty...those are adorable babies. In the Spring I want to get a little three toed. I had one, but had to give her away. I really miss her.

[emma]

Terryo, your tortoises are so cute!

[Vivi]

Runnin your turts look big and i love there shell patterns.

Terryo your turt is 31!!! wow thats one big old turt you got. lol

[RunninWideOpen]

Nora's a beauty, Terryo. How long have you had her? Ya, it's been really rewarding raising the babies. I'm worried with how fast their growing that I won't have any room for them in another six months. We're hoping to get back into a place with a backyard this year. The ornates have adjusted pretty well to their indoor pen since we had to move them inside, but adding the 3 toeds to that enclosure would be too crowded.

[Terryo]

Poor Nora was used to hibernating outside for many years and while I was doing my yard over I had to bring her inside and she wasn't used to not hibernating and she got so sick. I had to give her injections every day for 7 days. When my yard still wasn't finished the following year, I had to give her to my friend to hibernate outside. I didn't have the heart to take her back and make her adjust all over again. She is happy there with a much bigger pen, and some Ornates to mingle with. Here she is before I gave her away. I used to fill the pen with dried leaves for the winter. I see her all the time, but I still miss her. The yard is finally done, and now I want another little Three toed.

Here's Nora in her old pen.

[RunninWideOpen]

Sorry to hear you had to give her up. It's nice that you get to see her still tho. We have a similar situation with our MAP turtle. We had to give him up because he was becoming aggressive with our youngest RES. We gave him to some good friends of ours who take great care of him, and we get to see him a lot still. I call him our god-turtle. hehe

[steve]

Very nice pics! I'm wondering what type of tort I should get.. of course I probably have a couple of years to go

[RunninWideOpen]

Elli had some cuttlebone for the first time today! She really went after it too. Another proud turtle-papa moment!

[squall3773]

Theyre all soo great!
I've always wanted a tortoise
Of course now i dont have much room, but also because there arent any tortoises for under 400 bucks at my petshop! (canadian)
They keep selling african sulcata tortoises and the such.
How big were they when u got them? and how much were they?
Thanks

[Vivi]

Terryo if you dont mind can you post some new pics of your cherry head??
i just love how s/he looks like.