Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Here's a couple of pics of my Emys Phayrei. He was very ill not to long ago, but is back on track and doing much better now. His diet has recently been revised and overall he is more energetic and alert than ever. He is well known for having food stuck all over his face, and a green stained "beak"! He will also win any stare downs with you, so be careful not to blink first! Especially with those scary "flashed" eyes, they're kind of haunting and surreal...

Enjoy
-Kory

beautiful tort! do you ever keep them outdoors?

Yeah, he gets outside a bit. He is still young, and there are a lot of predatory type animals around...I live close to the foothills.. I worry most about Racoons, and coyotes. I plan to build him a nice pen this spring/summer.

He's been inside sick most of the winter, he's got a big window that I leave open for him, not just the shade, but the actual glass!, a UV lamp and a small space heater on him 24/7. He had a pretty bad case of the sniffles

I usually put him outside on weekends if the temp is 70 or higher, and he usually gets a mud bath during that time!

-Kory

have you ever experianced him combing the ground with his front feet? my male does this about once every couple of weeks.....all day sometimes. i am trying to figure out what he is doing. why would he build a nest? is he looking for worms or something else? anyway maybe you have experianced this and can fill me in.

Yep! Mine does this to. I notice that he does it more when he is too warm or too cold. He also seems to do it if the air is really dry. He's probably trying to get to the humid damp substrate.

Another reason that they may also do this is that they really don't like bright light. They like it dark, warm, and humid.

Mine will actually bury himself sometimes, and just poke his nose out every once and a while. It took me by surprise to see this interesting behavior. He would "rake" a pile of Cypress over to the corner, then bull-doze himself into it. He would then fling as much of the bark over him as he could get. Sometimes he would back himself into a corner while raking the bark as well.

I'm so glad that I chose this type of tortoise, he does some really off the wall things, and his little clicks and squeaks are just an added bonus! The hardest part for me has been keeping the humidity just right. It's something I'm still struggling with, but it's getting better day by day.

How old is yours? How big is he? How long have you had him?

-Kory

Yea!,Someone talking about Mt.Torts.I have had Mt.Torts.do the backsweeping thing even though they were juvies of both sexes.I've had two 8 or so years olds in a gaint outside enclosure percist on sweeping away the litter and eating the dirt in this 1 sf area,It was very weird,they did it for weeks and would not stop even when placed them very far away from the "dirt spot" (ubsurdly large enclosure).Didnt look like anything I could explane, so I put a piece of plywood and a cement block on the"spot"and that was it.Of cource the big females build huge above ground nest and its an "event"and they work it and work it and.....well you get the pic! but thats another adventure.Glad you guys are tuned in and turned on to your torts,they'll keep you wondering.I had one sleep underwater last night..Yakes!its scarry out here in emysville. Vic

Hey Vic!

Is that "Big Mama"? I think I read somewhere that you named one of your females that...My girlfriend, who bought Sherman for me, also decided to buy a female Leopard Gecko when we picked up my tortoise in July... She named her gecko "Big Mama".

That's a very nice pic, I can't wait til my tortoise is that big. He's got a lot of eating to do How many inches is the tortoise in the pic, and roughly how many pounds?

-Kory

well cool now i know! i threw some mixed veggies out in the yard because i thought he (bert) was looking for an tastey treat. you know i have had reptiles all wy life (mainly turtles and torts.) and i have had the most enjoyment thus far with these mtn. torts. they have the strangest most peculure querks. the first time i heard them mateing i diddnt know they would be so loud! bert is i believe 11in staight line and maybe 15lbs last time i weighed him was last year. he had a mate sweet pea she just one day quit eating after i brought her to the park on mothers day 07. i have had the pair three yrs. or so i donnot know how old they were when i got them and neither did the lezzies i bought them from. i am in the market right now for another breeder size brown female. not much out there so far. i would post some pics but i am new to this computer thing. i will experiment with it a little and maybe have some soon. both of your pics are great!

If you are looking for another Mtn. Tort, contact Vic Morgan, and check out DefyingDestiny.org! Vic is the "man" when it comes to these guys. He chimed in on this thread and goes by the name "emysbreeder".

-Kory

i went to his web site and it looks like one badass setup! very impressive i tryed to contact with an email but an eror came up. maybe he will read this and give me another way to contace him.

You should be able to get me by replying to this message.kory,that was not BIG MAMA.she could eat that one for lunch.I'll try to get some pics set up to use on the forum.B.M weighs in over 80 lbs now.It's looking like phayrei have to be 40lbs to lay eggs. pic is another female called little girl,the importer fibbed about the size and said it was a big girl.She took off like a rocket and shot up to 60 lbs years later.A finer example of Manouria e.phayrei I havent seen yet!

how would you tell if a mtn. tort. is from borneo? is their any diffrences?

You have to know the importer.I can tell you off k.forum .They may range in other parts of Asia.I also have a group of small VERY slow growing group that were born from normal size parents.I need about another 10 years to be sure.Once at a big TSA confascation shippment intersepted from being smuggled into China had "One" very small but old as dirt male that was RustRed all over,shell and skin.It was in bad shape.It was sent it to a Vet but still died. I'd liked to have seen his pups!Seeee ya Vic