Knobby, a Sulcata (Geochelone sulcata)
Knobby, a Sulcata (Geochelone sulcata) tortoise, so
named because of his pyramiding, came in after some convincing on the
part of Steve to a pet store to give him up. He not only was suffering
from MBD and dehydration but also some sort of animal attack, apparently
a dog. He had puncture wounds both on his carapace and plastron as well
as a good portion of his carapace chewed off.
Weak and very underweight at just 937 grams he was not even able to hold
his own weight. His legs were splayed. He was not eating. Eventually he
was convinced that a piece of butternut squash would taste good so that
was his first bite of food. Of course that's not a good food for a
Sulcata tortoise, but at that point it was better than nothing. By the
time I got him at least he had eaten that much. He was introduced to a
good diet of Orchard grass hay which he took to rather well when mixed
with a variety of nutritious greens like dandelion, chicory and turnip
greens. The hay had to be cut up really small and mixed well, but
eventually he developed a real liking for it and enjoyed it even without
the greens. He also developed a great liking for cactus pads and cactus
fruit.
Knobby was loaded with pinworm so had to be treated for that. His shell
was also a mess where it was chewed, with necrotic tissue that needed to
be debrided daily and cleansed to keep infection from setting in. With a
good diet and lots of sunshine and proper uvb lighting when indoors
Knobby recovered from his injuries. It was a long slow process, but he
really did well.
He spent nearly two years here. He now resides in a wonderful home down
in Alabama where he gets royal treatment and is growing nicely. He still
has signs of his pyramids, but he doesn't look nearly as bad as he did
when he first came in here.
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I adopted Knobby from
Turtle Rescue Long Island in August,
2004. I had been looking at pictures of
Knobby on the rescue organization web
site and knew he
had survived a very hard life up until
the time he was
surrendered to TRLI.
Knobby had been neglected, was badly
pyramided, and
suffered terrible wounds from a dog
attack. Julie had
been rehabbing him for about 2 years
and, under her
care, Knobby grew stronger and healthier
and was
finally ready for adoption.
Julie’s husband drove Knobby and Mel
(the second
Sulcata I was adopting) all the way from
Long Island
to my home in Alabama; a trip that was
over 2,200
miles. I could not believe the love and
dedication it
took to make such a long trip and will
be forever
grateful.
Knobby is just a wonderful tort! He is
strong,
active, healthy, and the smartest
tortoise I have ever
known. He is growing like a weed and,
even though he
looks a little “different”, he is all
Sulcata.
My thanks to Julie and Turtle Rescue
Long Island for
allowing me to adopt Knobby and making
him a part of
my family!
Vicki Hale
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Knobby enjoying a soak !
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