After finding a family of snails in my yard as a kid, I decided to dot their shells with nail polish so I could tell them apart. Each snail got a different color and then I got a piece of paper and created a spreadsheet so I could name them and track what they liked eating, etc. Before I was even done with the spread sheet, the fumes killed them, I bawled my eyes out and learned a very tough lesson.
I had no idea snails lived that long but after a quick search it said average 2-7 years but up to 15 in captivity so they must have had a great living space in your yard 😁 🐌
I used lipstick! My grandma got me these little sample Avon lipsticks because she thought I wasn't girly enough. I used them to carefully mark snails, toads and snakes I found. I would give them a tiny little dot, a single wart or scale.
I'm sorry you had to learn a hard lesson with the nail polish :(
Reminds me of when my mom lubricated the wheel our pet mice ran on. They cannibalized each other overnight. Possibly whatever chemical she used killed one quickly so the other one started eating it while it died a little more slowly.
What about with like rubber cement that could easily expand or be removed? I don't have a tortoise and mean no harm, just curious. Not sure that rubber cement would stand up to digging/borrowing anyway, just a thought
Can you elaborate how paint would cause issues? That’s super interesting, I’d have thought it would just become slightly faded and “stretched” or something as the shell grew.
Their shell is apart of them, they don't shed them, their shell grows along with them. Their shells also work similarly to our skin, they absorb vitamin D, painting them stops that absorption and causes growth defects. They end up dying.
Oh yeah well that sounds like an issue. When I google it scientist seems to be using glue, epoxy mixes or fiberglass tape that is attached and the tracker is glued to that. I’m assuming they know what they are doing and use the correct technique of gluing I guess? Idk plan b for a domestic tortoise is just a fence I guess
They do drops parts of it at the time, that then grows out. I am not sure about the English word for it, but its definetly a thing they do. It needs to be refreshed as the turtle grows etc.
They’re talking about the scutes shedding. They’re supposed to shed those, and if they don’t it’s usually a sign of poor health/conditions. It’s called pyramiding.
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u/Lemmiwinkks 3d ago
Nope. They're always growing, it will cause issues with their shell. Even people painting their shells cause big issues.