This thread is going to last for as long as I am on MFK! So a few years ago, we got baby Desert Tortoises. Believe it or not, they were only 2.5 inches long! 4 years later, and they are probably double that size. So lets get into this thread.
So now we have them in a custom built plywood container of 2'x4'x1' with a heater and a diy cover at night, and a massive 13' squared plywood enclosure outside that we can move around. Let me know if you want pics.
Thanks for reading,
The Masked Shadow
Spike
Spike is one of my Tortoises. He is the smallest of the 2. He is named after the tortoise thing from Land of Time movie. He is the more active, and frequently cruises around. He was from a local guy, as is his brother (or sister). The guy has 2 tortoises named Murtle and Burtle, and accidentally bred them. We got 2. My mom adores this guy, because he has not cost me over 1500 dollars.
Lucky
Lucky is my personal fav. He is the largest of the 2, and lets you pet him on the head. He will eat anything, and I mean ANYTHING. So let's get into his problematic eating. 2 Augusts ago Lucky ate small white rocks. In the wild, the rocks are calcium, so he most likely had a calcium deficiency. At the time, he wasn't eating anything. Every month, I set aside 40 bucks for the animal vet bill. SO I decided I would get him x-rayed. At the time, it was September. I go him x-rayed, and it showed he was bloated and had rocks inside him. They told us to put him on Mazuri Rabbit Food. We did. 3 months later, he wasn't moving, but had a pulse. They put a feeding tube all the way into his stomach. Now I have spent tons of money on this guy, and I wasn't giving up. And they are working on, like, a 4.5 inch tortoise. So they put a feeding tube directly into his stomach. We fed him a mixture of the Rabbit Food and pellets. Now it is March. He ate that for a while, and then the feeding tube came out. He started eating normal food. We x-rayed him, and he STILL had rocks in him. So they did something to his gut. And now it is May. He has been constipated for almost a year. He loved the Mazuri Food, so we kept feeding it to him. Then on the 17th of September, he pooped. Rocks came out, and he survived. The doctor said it was a very small percent chance he would, but he survived.
So now we have them in a custom built plywood container of 2'x4'x1' with a heater and a diy cover at night, and a massive 13' squared plywood enclosure outside that we can move around. Let me know if you want pics.
Thanks for reading,
The Masked Shadow
