u/DickH

Several months ago I took my kid to a hobby store to let him pick an rc vehicle. He went with a Gorgon Grom and off we went. It was a considerable upgrade from the couple of toy rc cars he had but we couldn't leave it alone. He is into monster trucks and wanted it to be more like a monster truck. We started by replacing the tires to give it even more of a monster truck look. This added a lot of stability, and somehow makes the truck end up right side up most of the time after a tumble. Next we added a trimmed Mojave front bumper and I made a new wheelie bar to match the taller tires. Steering in grass was weak, I replaced the steering servo and threw in a metal steering assembly while I had it apart. Truck was fun like this, but seemed like it could get away with more power. I picked up a mini kraton motor and ESC from eBay and can confirm it fits with some minor clearancing for the heatsink to fit. Currently running a 18t pinion sprocket, but will try a 20t soon as it seems to be coping with the speed just fine. Playing with the programming of the esc has really gone a long way with making it easily drivable. It was time for a new body after wearing out the original body from several trips to the skate park. The boy opted for a quake body and I think it was the right choice.

I have a 5-6 year old female Hermann's tortoise we picked up last October. Initial weight fluctuated in the 180-200g range, she is currently hovering in the 300-320g range. Growth seems to be slowing quite a bit over the last two months relative to the first few. I am not familiar with what is normal growth but this seems like a lot in this timespan. What sticks out to me is the change in appearance to her shell. Just looking for opinions from more experienced people on if there's any long term problems to worry about. Diet has been a mix of romaine lettuce with collard/mustard greens, dandelion leaves and an occasional tomato. Attached is a pictures to compare the shell growth.