You need to trim its beak and from the looks of the photo keep a close eye on its nostrils. It appears that it may have had some liquid coming from its nares recently.
Best of luck and get that thing on a high fiber diet LOL!
kimmyw
Oct 31, 2004 1:07 AM
I'm concerned with John's advice to feed it high fiber diet. Are the pyramids caused by an incorrect diet? I have 2 stars and one of them begin to have pyramids but no way as prominent as this. Actually i think slight pyramids look nice.
John316
Nov 5, 2004 11:04 AM
Kimmy,
Why would you be concerned with my advice regarding a high fiber diet?
G. Elegans should be fed primarily weeds and grasses which tend to be higher in fiber and have signifigantly less water content than store bought greens. Examples of an appropriate, varied diet would be Timothy Hay, various grasses, Broad Leaf and Buckhorn Plantain, Mulberry leaves, Grape leaves etc.
Pyramiding does look kind of neat but unfortunately many people use the excuse of "They pyramid in nature" as an excuse for raising a deformed animal. Natural pyramiding typically does not manifest itself as conical scutes such as in the specimen shown above bur rather a smoother transistion from the domed portion of the carapace to a gradual incline towards the areola of each of the vertebral and pleural scutes.
Unfortunately in the real world it can be difficult to replicate a natural, varied diet. However every effort should be made to minimize the effects of a substandard diet by identifying and harvesting more appropriate food items during the times of year when they are easily obtained.
I would suggest purchasing a book outlining your local Flora and utilize this knowledge to formulate yourself a diet more appropriate for the animal.
gekofrek
Feb 5, 2005 6:57 PM
My Goodness John, you must really have a small unit. To have to compensate for your self insufficiencies by trying to wow the rest of the herp world by going off like that on that poor lady is truly pathetic. Get a grip bone head. Oh, if we could all take five minutes to download a bunch of information that is all over the net just so we could SOUND smart. Your so awesome,when I die I want to go to your house. Loser. Find a life.
805Ringo
Aug 5, 2005 7:34 PM
GEKO- Your waste of opinion is exaxtly that- You're a ZERO!!! John offered competent advise for the healthy development of a star tortoise. That is the reason we join sites like this one. Recieving knowledge and passing it on is what higher evolution is about. Evolution didn't cease with the development of thumbs- it must drive you crazy to see everyone else uses their thumbs to type helpful information instead of BS. John if you see this post- thanks for sharing your knowledge. It's sad to see that some people just cease to utilize their brains to help others succeed.
Sincerely a star tortoise lover too!
805Ringo
