# Then/Now...Leopard Growth



## ticothetort2 (May 5, 2011)

Tico is now around 8 months old and doing great! Here are a few shots from when he was around 3-4 months to present.

Enjoy! (Phone pics, I'll get the wife to take better shots soon.)



















And a few to show his shell growth...


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## dmarcus (May 5, 2011)

Tico has really grown, your doing a great job, and good photo's even with your phone..


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## Neal (May 5, 2011)

Congratulations on the best looking tortoise! That is some serious growth.


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## Edna (May 5, 2011)

He looks super smooth! My little chubby girls from the same batch are not quite so perfect. Tico is the winner!


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## Jacob (May 5, 2011)

Great Growth Rates!
He Looks Great


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## Mao Senpai (May 5, 2011)

Tico looks absolutely amazing!


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## ALDABRAMAN (May 5, 2011)

Looks great!


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## TortieLuver (May 5, 2011)

Oh my goodness...I am stunned at how much she has grown in the that small time-frame. She is also absolutely stunning and you are doing fabulous with her shell!!!


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## ChiKat (May 5, 2011)

That has to be one of the most beautiful Leopards I have ever seen!! Stunning


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## coreyc (May 6, 2011)

Great job with him he look's awesome


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## ticothetort2 (May 6, 2011)

Thanks everyone, I think his head just blew up some more from all the nice comments. 

I'm trying my best to keep him happy and healthy and now that it's been warming up he has been spending a lot of time outside in the sun. 

Edna you were having that issue early on right, did you ever get a humid hide put together for them? I really think that Tico's shell is a result of his constant use of his humid hide (among other things, not trying to start a debate!)?


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## ticothetort2 (May 7, 2011)

TortieLuver said:


> Oh my goodness...I am stunned at how much she has grown in the that small time-frame. She is also absolutely stunning and you are doing fabulous with her shell!!!



Christy I forgot to ask is this some sort of tort intuition, I think you are the only one who has referred to Tico as a 'Her'?? That would be cool if it's some sort of sign...Would have to change the name to Tica


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## Yvonne G (May 7, 2011)

You're talking about babies from Tom, right? I'm pretty sure my two are male.


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## Tom (May 7, 2011)

emysemys said:


> You're talking about babies from Tom, right? I'm pretty sure my two are male.



Apparently adult males are very hard to come by, so you may be sitting on gold in the next few years there Yvonne.

Tico looks fantastic as usual. I have found a big correlation between faster AND smoother growth for the ones that favor the humid hide boxes more than the ones that don't. Mine are about half and half right now. I'm going to line them all up one at a time and get straight on profile shots of mine soon. Just need to find the time. I'm also contemplating "forced" humid hide box usage for overnight for the ones that choose to sleep out in the open. So often we all assume the torts know what's best for themselves. Maybe sometimes they don't.


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## ticothetort2 (May 7, 2011)

emysemys said:


> You're talking about babies from Tom, right? I'm pretty sure my two are male.



Yes, Tico is from Tom. Can you tell already or is it more of a guess? I could play the sex game, will have to get a palstron shot in the morning.



Tom said:


> emysemys said:
> 
> 
> > You're talking about babies from Tom, right? I'm pretty sure my two are male.
> ...



Tico rarely sleeps outside of his humid hide, I'd go as far as saying that 80% of his inside time is spent in there. 

As far as males being rare, how is breeding done? Are they studded out (paid vs. pick of the litter) or is it one of those things where you just have to know someone.


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## Tom (May 7, 2011)

There are only two breeders of legitimate Gpp that I know of in the US. One in Florida and the one here in CA where ours came from. I'm sure there are others, there must be, but I don't know of them. I do know of at least two unscrupulous sellers that claim to produce their own, but actually buy them from one of the two known breeders. I also recently just discovered that a friends leopards that we have talked about numerous times are actually pp. They've had them for 20 years or so and they are both great big females. I'm anxiously awaiting pics and plan to go out there for a visit next week. My friends are about a two hour drive from me, but I see them at work from time to time.

When I handpicked the 36 that all of ours came from, I was careful not to pick more than 2 or 3 from the same clutch. There were a bunch to choose from and they all hatched out of different nests in different pens. I was then pretty careful about sending out unrelated pairs and groups to the people who bought multiples. My hope is that at least some of us stay in touch and we can do swaps or breeding loans when they all start hitting maturity and we all know for sure what we've got as far as the sexes. I'm also gonna try like heck to talk my friends out of their two big females. They are just casual tortoise owners and I might be able to convince them to let me "borrow" them on a breeding loan or buy them.


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## l0velesly (May 7, 2011)

Really cute! He's growing nicely.


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## DesertGrandma (May 7, 2011)

ticothetort2 said:


> Tico is now around 8 months old and doing great! Here are a few shots from when he was around 3-4 months to present.
> 
> Enjoy! (Phone pics, I'll get the wife to take better shots soon.)
> 
> ...



I didn't know they could grow that fast. What a beautiful tortoise.


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## luke (May 12, 2011)

After seeing those pics all I can say is Wow! You have a disproportionatley large thumb. But at least your Tort seems to be growing well and his shell looks smooth. I'm really shocked at how fast tico has grown in just 8 months......wow!


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## ticothetort2 (May 13, 2011)

emysemys said:


> You're talking about babies from Tom, right? I'm pretty sure my two are male.



Not sure if you can tell from this pic, I'm sure it's still to early to tell.







[/quote]

I didn't know they could grow that fast. What a beautiful tortoise.
[/quote]

Neither did I! Thanks.


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## onarock (May 13, 2011)

Said it before, I'll say it again, Tico is one good looking tortoise. One of the nicest tortoises around. Good job


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## ticothetort2 (May 13, 2011)

onarock said:


> Said it before, I'll say it again, Tico is one good looking tortoise. One of the nicest tortoises around. Good job



Thanks, hopefully he can compare to your female when he is older. He may have some more competition w/ those new hybrids you have hatching! 

I may have to try my hand at being a 2  owner if you part w/ some of those beauties!


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## Neal (May 13, 2011)

ticothetort2 said:


> Not sure if you can tell from this pic, I'm sure it's still to early to tell.



$20 says Tico is indeed male.


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## ticothetort2 (May 13, 2011)

Neal said:


> ticothetort2 said:
> 
> 
> > Not sure if you can tell from this pic, I'm sure it's still to early to tell.
> ...



Sounds like a deal, and if he turns out to be a she, I'll take one of those pretty dark babcoks that you hatched...


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## Neal (May 13, 2011)

ticothetort2 said:


> Neal said:
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> 
> > ticothetort2 said:
> ...



Deal. I'm excited, a lot of my pardalis look like Tico when he was younger, you might have some competition in the coming weeks.


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## ticothetort2 (May 13, 2011)

Neal said:


> ticothetort2 said:
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> 
> > Neal said:
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Looking forward to seeing more pics and watching them grow.


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