# when do you let your hatchlings go?



## jwhite (Mar 20, 2011)

As the title asks how long after hatching will you hold onto your tortoises before letting them go to new homes. I have been going with two months or they double their birth weight whichever comes first. Am I waiting too long or is this a good amount of time?

Jon


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## Laura (Mar 20, 2011)

i think that is good. but i dont have hatchlings.. if i were to buy tho, i think I'd like one that was started and doing well. 
What type of torts? and how are they kept?


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## jwhite (Mar 20, 2011)

I keep Russians and the hatchlings are raised just like I keep the adults only the substrate is a little more damp as they seem to like it that way and they burrow into instead of using their hides. I assume this is ingrained in them in a way to hide from predators. The only times i see them is in the morning when they come out to eat and warm up.

Jon


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## Kristina (Mar 20, 2011)

See, I'm the opposite. I want babies as young as the breeder will give them to me, which seems to be about 2 weeks of age. I want to start my babies MY way. The youngest I have bought was 2 weeks (My little Sri Star) and the oldest was three months (My black Cherryhead.)

It has turned out to be kind of a moot point however, because I am extremely particular about who I buy from. If I don't agree with their husbandry practices, I flat out don't want one of their tortoises. I am a firm believer that the care a baby receives in the first couple of weeks can set the pattern of health for the rest of their lives. All these baby Sullies that fail despite good care from their owners... I have no doubt that it is because the breeder keeps them on dry substrate, no soakings, and the resulting dehydration leads to the onset of MBD and kidney failure. A few months down the line, their internal organs shut down, and the owner is left with the heartache of a dead baby, while the breeder's pockets just get fatter.


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## jwhite (Mar 20, 2011)

Kyryah,

I can see your points and if I were selling to an experienced keeper I would have no problem letting them go sooner. The problem is not everyone is experienced in raising hatchlings and i feel that if i know that I have kept them well hydrated and feeding well then my cuctomers are getting a well started hatchling that should make it easier for them to the continue raising.

Jon


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## dmmj (Mar 20, 2011)

I would guess as soon as the egg sack is adsorbed, but personally I would wait until 3 to 6 months depending on how experienced the buyer is.


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## tortoisenerd (Mar 20, 2011)

From a buyer standpoint, assuming the breeder is very good with care (standards such as Kristina's), I would pay quite a bit more for a slightly older tort, such as 6-12 months...not sure how much market there is for that though, as its just my opinion. Sure, the tiny torts may sell well because they are cute, but I'd hope the more educated buyer would be looking more for an older, well started, and less risky tort.


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## dmmj (Mar 20, 2011)

at the last expo I went to in pomona I saw a lot of baby boxies being sold, very young most were smaller than a quarter and I knew most of those were gonna die, simply because the majority of them were first time buyers, because a lot of them came by the TFO booth asking for info and advice.


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## jensgotfaith (Mar 20, 2011)

Kate- I totally agree with you, but it's not what I saw at the last convention I went to. I saw these two women grabbing handfuls of Sulcatas and ready to pay because they were cheap and gorgeous. When I casually engaged them in conversation and asked them if they knew how big they got, both ladies said "Aw, they don't get that big". I chuckled and told them "I beg to differ". I showed them a pic of Tex and told them he's nowhere near full grown yet. They both totally brushed me off like I had no idea what I was talking about and was out of my mind. It made me so mad. When I was first looking at getting a Sulcata, my first inclination was to get the smallest one I could find, that way I could experience it growing up. Ultimately after I did a ton of research I decided on looking at rescues and adopted Tex, a 6 year old 60 lbs Sulcata. I am so incredibly glad I did. He is amazing and gave me much more insight about what to expect. It was more costly but totally worth it. We did adopt another much younger Sulcata later too. By all estimates, Captain Jack was somewhere between 9 months and a year old when we adopted him from someone on craigslist. It definitely has been fun watching him grow.


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## Kristina (Mar 20, 2011)

I think what it boils down to is that you kind of have to go situation by situation. If you are selling to someone you feel has the scope of knowledge to raise a tiny baby, go for it. If you are aiming to sell at expos or without getting to know your buyers, then keeping them longer is your best bet. 

It depends on how large of a breeding operation you have, and what your goals are as a breeder, I guess.


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## Tom (Mar 20, 2011)

I like the double the birthweight technique too. That's what I'm planing on for this May and June when all of mine start hatching. If they double their hatch weight, look good, and act normal, you can be pretty sure that nothing is wrong with them and they are going to make it. At the same time I'll do my best to educate the buyers and offer them as much ongoing support as they want or will accept.

Like Kristina, I too am very particular about who I would buy from. I would have no problem sending a brand new hatchling to an experienced keeper either, as soon as the yolk sack was absorbed and they were eating. I also wouldn't mind following very specific instructions from a buyer who wanted things done a certain way.


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## Yvonne G (Mar 20, 2011)

I'm in a little different situation with the rescue. When I get in babies to adopt out, its usually a whole clutch of desert tortoises. In past times, I would get feedback about the baby dying. So when my sister got interested in turtles and tortoises, and I found out how good she is with raising babies, I decided right then and there that she would head start all my babies. So Maggie has them for about a year, and then I adopt them out. I haven't heard of any of them dying since.


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## Badgemash (Mar 20, 2011)

Tom said:


> I like the double the birthweight technique too. That's what I'm planing on for this May and June when all of mine start hatching. If they double their hatch weight, look good, and act normal, you can be pretty sure that nothing is wrong with them and they are going to make it. At the same time I'll do my best to educate the buyers and offer them as much ongoing support as they want or will accept.
> 
> Like Kristina, I too am very particular about who I would buy from. I would have no problem sending a brand new hatchling to an experienced keeper either, as soon as the yolk sack was absorbed and they were eating. I also wouldn't mind following very specific instructions from a buyer who wanted things done a certain way.



What kind of babies will be hatching Tom? Because I can never have too many it seems... 

-Devon


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## Tom (Mar 20, 2011)

Badgemash said:


> Tom said:
> 
> 
> > I like the double the birthweight technique too. That's what I'm planing on for this May and June when all of mine start hatching. If they double their hatch weight, look good, and act normal, you can be pretty sure that nothing is wrong with them and they are going to make it. At the same time I'll do my best to educate the buyers and offer them as much ongoing support as they want or will accept.
> ...



Just regular old sulcatas. I want to give forum members, or their friends and family, a chance to buy them from someone who DOESN'T keep them all bone dry as hatchlings. I won't be breeding anything else for several years. I'll keep gaining experience with the sulcatas and their eggs, incubation and hatchlings, and then in a few years, when I get to the really cool stuff, I'll have a lot more practice at it.


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## ALDABRAMAN (Mar 20, 2011)

We usually hold them for 60 days, #2 picture. #1 is right out of the incubator, about 10 days from pip.


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## jwhite (Mar 21, 2011)

So it sounds like it is mostly a judgement call when they can go. I am going to stick with the way a did last year. Two months or double hatching weight.

I am not trying to be a big breeder. It is just something I like to do and it helps offset the cost in caring for a growing herd, also it will allow me to fund other species that i am interested in.

Thanks for all the responses they have been reallly helpful.

Jon


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## bettinge (Mar 21, 2011)

I make sure mine are eating, AND, have gained a few grams of weight. For both of these things to happen, probably 3-6 weeks have passed.


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## kbaker (Mar 21, 2011)

Tom said:


> Just regular old sulcatas.



So, you mean they will be dehydrated, pyramided, soft and half dead?


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## ALDABRAMAN (Mar 21, 2011)

jwhite said:


> So it sounds like it is mostly a judgement call when they can go. I am going to stick with the way a did last year. Two months or double hatching weight.
> 
> I am not trying to be a big breeder. It is just something I like to do and it helps offset the cost in caring for a growing herd, also it will allow me to fund other species that i am interested in.
> 
> ...


Just as a follow up, sometimes people want them at 30 days. We will if they are experienced or local so we can help if needed. But , we wholesale most and 60 days, it is a good solid start. We have never had any issues with 60 days at the wholesale level.
Here is one at about 30 days old, very small and well started.


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## Tom (Mar 21, 2011)

kbaker said:


> Tom said:
> 
> 
> > Just regular old sulcatas.
> ...



Haha. That was sort of funny. Too bad its all too often true. At least you, me and a few others here are working to change it.


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## onarock (Mar 21, 2011)

I let the youlk sac absorb, then I put them outside in the hatchling pens that I have posted pics of. I usually let them atleast double their weight. I have sold them to people who like kyryah that wanted them as soom as possible. It the person has got them from me in the past and has experience.... no problem. It they are new to the hobby, they have to wait.


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