Fonzworth Bentley and Penelope
 

Just thought I'd share a couple pics of Fonzworth Bently and Penelope, my Sulcata Tortoises.

Both are rescues, so I'm not entirely sure how old they are but I'd guess Fonzworth (the largest) is about 2 years old and Penelope is close to 1 year. Both were being fed the wrong diet (not enough grassy fibre or too much protein) so have some pyramiding of the shells, which, I'm happy to say since they've been in my care has stopped.

Today is a special salad day, but usually they are fed a salad much higher in grassy fibre, which I supply via orchard hay (stuff normally fed to horses)

This salad is only ever fed once or twice a week, as a treat. It consists of 1 head leafy lettuce, a couple carrots and two tomatoes. Then sprinkle with Calcium and serve!

Enjoy!

The Salad:
http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m...IMG_0271-1.jpg

Penelope digging in:
http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m...IMG_0272-1.jpg
http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m...3/IMG_0273.jpg

Fonzworth going at it:
http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m...3/IMG_0274.jpg
http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m...IMG_0275-1.jpg

My hand in relation to Fonzworth's shell:
http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m...3/IMG_0277.jpg

awwwww those are some cute sulcatas!

oh BTW Randy! one of my red foots laid eggs this week!

What is pyramiding? The bumpy parts on the shell are extra bumpy? (Just a guess, I'm actually not being a smartaleck for once..)

What's the deal with turtles and tortoises in Alberta? Is it, you can keep them, just nobody can legally sell them, is that what it is? I find our F&W laws a bit confusing. For example I understand it is illegal to possess Dendrobates terribilis but other PDF's are fine. (Or are you showing us pictures of contraband now? LOL.)

Nice toitles BTW. :) (And yeah I realize they're tortoises but I just wanted to say "toitle". :) )

alot of the aquatic turtles are illegal to have in alberta, but some are still legal. the ones that are legal are a bit harder to aquire though. only a few types of pdf are illegal. i got the list on my lap top somewhere, lets see if i can find it...

I happen to know of a very good home should you be wanting to find a home for one...wow redundancy

So land tortoises are OK, but aquatic turtles are a no-no? And we're talking even the care and possessing of them, not just the trafficing and selling?

I did(do) have a list of PDF's somewhere as it's something I wanted to get into once and it struck me as ridiculously arbitrary and random what was copesetic and what was not.

Found it!

Only the genus Phyllobates is prohibitted according to my list which was updated in 2005, should still be current, they rarely update these things.

As for turtles...these are illegal

Snapping Turtle Chelydra serpentina
Alligator Snapping Turtle Macroclemys temmincki
Blanding's Turtle Emydoidea blandingii
European Pond Turtle Emys orbicularis
Map Turtles Genus Graptemys
Mud Turtles Genus Kinosternon
Soft-shelled Turtles Genus Trionyx

i doubt niki would be willing to part with any of the babies, she's so excited about have baby torties

You got it Tony, Pyramiding is the extra bumpiness. A healthy tort should have little to no pyramiding. The subject is pretty debatable depending on who you talk to...some say pyramiding is natural, but those tend to be the people who feed all torts one type of food.

Different tortoises require different diets/living conditions. Sulcatas are from arid, dry places and their diet consists of little to no animal protien. The only protien they really get is from various grasses that they eat. Feeding too much at a time can also cause pyramiding.

Red foots, like Mark is talking about, prefer a more humid climate and can handle a wider variety of food including some fruits, whereas sulcatas can't because they are too high in sugar. It's hard for some people, because realistically, I'm pretty sure my two would eat a hot dog if I put it in front of them, so people assume that because their eating it, it can't do any harm....

whoa...end rant