Thanks! I'm so excited!!!! He started to shed yesterday... SO MUCH MORE BLUE! YAY!!!! I'll try to get a good pic when he's done shedding
So this is way delayed but I was feeded Styxx brussel sprouts leaves as treats tonight and he just finished shedding again and he's got so much more blue! Not just his cheeks now, its starting to show up on his chest and shoulders ...I'm going to try to upload a pic right from my phone... Let's see if this works darn it! The file is too large... Ok, update pic tomorrow, I promise!
I'm jealous...he's looking great! I've been so busy i haven't posted any pics of my uros or all my new leo hatchlings. So far i have 25 babies
25?! Wow, that's awesome! How are you housing them all? I vote updated pics on all our uros! Doug was right, this spring's growth rate is ridiculous!
Anyone want to take a guess at how old Nines is? Again, Nines was a rescue from a big box store called Scamps. They were giving Nines all the essentials. Crushed walnut shell, iceberg lettuce only, and no basking light. We purchased Nines in February 2007. Nines was approx 11 inches long, and looked super skinny. Nines is now 13 inches, and obviously full grown. Nines' nickname is "Fat and Worthless." My wife calls Nines that. Lovingly I might add. Nines is very well loved in this family, and is our only pet. Nines was a gift for my son's 8th birthday.
A picture of my 8 year old son holding nines approx. 1 month after the rescue from Scamps. Putting on weight, and looking like it is time to shed. Now Nines is fat and utilizes all 10 square feet of his home, and my son is 14 and 6' tall. Time flies.
Uros are slow growers, so it's nearly impossible to guess their age based on size. If I had to take a gamble I'd say he's anywhere from 7-9 years old.
14 and 6 foot?!?! He must be eating you out of house and home! Lol. And Cammy's right.... especially if he wasn't well cared for in the beginning of his life his growth probably wasn't on par with the norm so there really isn't any solid way to say "yes, he was approximately 2 to 3 years when you got him" Either way, he's fat and happy now!
14 and 6 feet tall. Yes he is eating us out of house and home. I always figured that Nines was at least 2 years old when we made the purchase. Nines should have plenty of times left to see my son through 4 years of high school. Nines stopped at 13 inches. My son's pediatrician projected him to be 6'4". Nines may be 9 years old, but still has the cute face of a juvenile. Nines is well taken care of here, and lives in a 5x2x2 palace.
I would guess he wasn't much older than 2 years when you got him or he probably would have stopped growing altogether. The fact that he picked up and got to normal size once his care was corrected tell me that he was still in the midst of his growing phase, which usually lasts from birth to around 3 years with uros. So he should definitely live to see your son graduate unless an unexpected complication arises--and with the care and deluxe setup he's got, hopefully no such thing will occur. =)
My son now says that the only place Nines sheds is his double chin. We have one fat happy Uro that is super happy and very plump, as he should be. Thanks Cammy and StickyPaws3 for insight into how old Nines is. For being around 9 years old, Nines is Very active.
Doug Dix from Deer Fern Farms told me to be careful with feeding too many fatty or high calorie greens or treats because it can cause organ failure. My Saharan uro was super fat so I put her on a romaine diet dusted with vitamins, it only took about 2 to 3 weeks before i noticed her losing weight.
Thanks Naykid. Nines diet goes back to my first Email with Doug. Basically it's very simple. spring mix with Nines' favorite Bok Choy and Occasional endive on it. 6 water soaked lentils, and finely granulated tortoise pellet ground up in Nines' own coffee grinder. Nines has rejected anything like Miner-all since day one. For 6 and 1/2 years he has fattened up, yet I would describe Nines as Very Active. Nines runs, jumps, climbs, digs, eats, basks sleeps and craps. If life was only so simple. I am no expert, and the only thing that got Nines through that first year was Doug Dix.