# Newest Addition To My Chaco Tortoise Herd



## egyptiandan (Jul 11, 2011)

Well it's taken a bit over a year to reproduce my first success with hatching Chaco tortoise eggs.  I've finally got it down  So here's the newest addition, he hatched 2 days ago.


















Danny


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## CJSTorts (Jul 11, 2011)

Congratulations! He is beautiful!


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## dmmj (Jul 11, 2011)

Nice looking tort, congrats.


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## coreyc (Jul 11, 2011)

Congrat's Danny he looks awesome


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## luke (Jul 11, 2011)

Nice looking baby! What's the deal with the white on his shell?


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## Fernando (Jul 11, 2011)

oh wow!! the shell looks like a brown cow


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## ALDABRAMAN (Jul 11, 2011)

Beautiful!


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## N2TORTS (Jul 11, 2011)

Very Nice Dan! .... groovy shell coloration' 

JD~


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## ChiKat (Jul 11, 2011)

Good for you  Congrats! 
The baby is beautiful


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## DeanS (Jul 11, 2011)

GREAT job Danny! HUGE congratulations! Maybe now would be a good time to share some updated shots of the folks!


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## terryo (Jul 11, 2011)

Congrats Danny. I've never seen a hatchling before.


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## Jacob (Jul 11, 2011)

Congrats, He Looks Great


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## Eweezyfosheezy (Jul 11, 2011)

Very cool Danny definitely one of the coolest looking babies of any type of tortoise.


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## HLogic (Jul 11, 2011)

Suhweet lookin' hatchling Danny! Congrats on your success with such an uncommon species!!


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## Yvonne G (Jul 11, 2011)

Eat your heart out, Stephanie Logan!! 

They look quite different as hatchlings. Do you have more eggs ready to pop?

Can we see pictures of mom and dad?


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## egyptiandan (Jul 11, 2011)

Thanks everyone  I was though a bit over zealous with the time frame (just seems like 2 years ) as it's only been a year and 2 months.

I will get pictures of mom and dad tomorrow as well as the hatchling from last year. 

Danny


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## dmarcus (Jul 11, 2011)

Wow what a great looking tortoise..


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## Candy (Jul 11, 2011)

Don't let Stephanie Logan see that baby!  She's going to want it.  Danny that's one of the cutest little baby tortoises that I've ever seen. Congratulations, you did a great job!


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## SnakeyeZ (Jul 11, 2011)

Congratulations, he's a beautiful little tortoise.


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## jwhite (Jul 11, 2011)

beautiful. Love the shell coloring


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## DocNezzy (Jul 11, 2011)

Nicely done! Keep it up.


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## egyptiandan (Jul 12, 2011)

Well here are mom, dad and the hatchling from last year (in that order )















Danny


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## wrmitchell22 (Jul 12, 2011)

Very nice looking baby


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## Yvonne G (Jul 12, 2011)

One might think they were a cross between a gopherus and sulcata.

How many eggs per clutch?


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## egyptiandan (Jul 12, 2011)

1 to 3 eggs in a clutch Yvonne. 

Danny


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## Candy (Jul 12, 2011)

Is this your favorite type of tortoise Danny?


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## egyptiandan (Jul 12, 2011)

That would be a very large YES 

Danny


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## DeanS (Jul 12, 2011)

DAMN! Loads of personality in those faces! Very nice Danny...thanks for sharing!


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## Candy (Jul 13, 2011)

egyptiandan said:


> That would be a very large YES
> 
> Danny



O.K. now for the explanation part, why this type? What are the special traits about this tortoise since I know very little about them.


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## zoogrl (Jul 13, 2011)

What a cute hatchling! The parents are very nice looking torts too! I am with Candy, what info can you give us on these guys?


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## Neal (Jul 14, 2011)

Wow, cool looking torts there Danny! I know absolutley nothing about Chacolate tortoises  how would they do in the desert?


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## GeoTerraTestudo (Jul 14, 2011)

Wow, well done. You really do have a "green thumb" for tortoises.


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## egyptiandan (Jul 14, 2011)

They would do great in the desert Neal as thats where they are found in the wild in Argentina, Paraguay and Bolivia.

I'll get to why I like them and a bit about them when I get home 

Danny


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## Candy (Jul 14, 2011)

So they would do very good here in California.  If you're not home Danny who is watching that baby for you and all of your other tortoises?  Can't wait to hear more about them.


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## Yvonne G (Jul 14, 2011)

Chocolate usually melts in the desert, Danny!


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## matt41gb (Jul 14, 2011)

Danny, I just found out that I had a young Chaco in my possession last year. It was given to me as a sulcata, so I just assumed that it was. I gave it to a friend of mine and he called me last night and said "guess what? You know that "sulcata" that you gave me last year? Well, it's actually a Chaco." I felt pretty stupid, but what can I do, haha! 

-Matt


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## egyptiandan (Jul 14, 2011)

Do you have or can you get a picture Matt?

They are found in dry thorny scrub areas of Bolivia, Paraguay and Argentina. They aestivate when it gets to hot during their summer (our winter) and slow down during their winter (our summer). They don't get very big, 6 to 8 inches on average for males and 8 to 12 inches for females. When imported they usully come in under-weight and in poor condition, so can be very hard to acclimate. Males are usually best kept alone and females can be in small groups. They usually mate in the late spring for me and usually lay from July to October, anywhere from 1 to 3 clutches a year. Their diet is the same as any _Testudo_ with the additions of cactus, some vegetables and some fruits. 
The fact they were seldom kept in captivity, 1 because they were seldom imported when I got into tortoises and 2 because they didn't seem to do well once here, drew me to them. So the first time I ever saw them for sale (from a bird wholesalers list in New York) in February of 1989, I drove 800 miles (400 there and 400 back) to get the 4 that they had left. I only paid $20 a piece for them.  2 were for me and 2 for a friend. I picked what I thought were a pair (turned out to be 2 males, this was before I knew how hard they were to sex ). Unfortunately my friends only lasted 6 months. The 2 I got in 1989 lasted much longer than that , with my oldest male (I estimate he was about 50 when I got him) just passing away last year. The other male was between 20 and 25 years old when I got him and he is still doing great. Once I figured out they were 2 males, the long quest for a female began. In 1992 quite a few hatchlings showed up in the country and I bought 2 (hoping of course to get females). These 2 did well and in either 1993 or 1994 (Gary might remember) I got 2 more from a friend of Gary's. One of those did well (the father of the 2 hatchlings) and one was sickly and didn't make it. Well all 3 of them ended up being males. I ended up selling the 2 males I got in 1992 later on as I just had to many males. I did finally find a female for sale at the breeders expo in Florida in 1996 or 97. She was very nice, been in the country for a while and was doing well. I couldn't get the seller down below $2,000. I finally broke down at the end of the expo and bought her.  She did well for me, but never laid any eggs and in 1999 when I had come home from the expo (she had been outside) I found her dead in the pen with her head partially gone.  No other tortoise was harmed, so I have no clue what exactly happened to her. I was devastated as it was back to square one looking for a female. I didn't have the chance to get another female till 2007, when I picked two 4 inch animals out of a group that were being imported. I got lucky with one (mom of my 2 (hatchling and yearling)). 
I liked their color, the way they looked (like mini Galapagos tortoises to me, which are their closest relatives), how they acted (the male that just passed away never quite got used to me (he'd stand tall and stiff legged trying to look bigger to scare me away every time he saw me )).
They keep me on my toes and keep me challenged more than any other tortoise I've ever had, which is what I like. 

Danny


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## Neal (Jul 14, 2011)

Cool story Danny, I think I may add those to my list of future tortoises.


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## Candy (Jul 14, 2011)

Great story, but sad too.  I am so glad that it's worked out now for you and your favorite tortoises. Now that we know the story may we see more pictures please?


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## dmmj (Jul 14, 2011)

Great story but definitely sad, I think I will one day add a chaco to my collection, I have to ask, this will be your personal opinion most likely I guess, but why do you think they are so hard to raise in captivity?


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## matt41gb (Jul 18, 2011)

egyptiandan said:


> Do you have or can you get a picture Matt?
> 
> They are found in dry thorny scrub areas of Bolivia, Paraguay and Argentina. They aestivate when it gets to hot during their summer (our winter) and slow down during their winter (our summer). They don't get very big, 6 to 8 inches on average for males and 8 to 12 inches for females. When imported they usully come in under-weight and in poor condition, so can be very hard to acclimate. Males are usually best kept alone and females can be in small groups. They usually mate in the late spring for me and usually lay from July to October, anywhere from 1 to 3 clutches a year. Their diet is the same as any _Testudo_ with the additions of cactus, some vegetables and some fruits.
> The fact they were seldom kept in captivity, 1 because they were seldom imported when I got into tortoises and 2 because they didn't seem to do well once here, drew me to them. So the first time I ever saw them for sale (from a bird wholesalers list in New York) in February of 1989, I drove 800 miles (400 there and 400 back) to get the 4 that they had left. I only paid $20 a piece for them.  2 were for me and 2 for a friend. I picked what I thought were a pair (turned out to be 2 males, this was before I knew how hard they were to sex ). Unfortunately my friends only lasted 6 months. The 2 I got in 1989 lasted much longer than that , with my oldest male (I estimate he was about 50 when I got him) just passing away last year. The other male was between 20 and 25 years old when I got him and he is still doing great. Once I figured out they were 2 males, the long quest for a female began. In 1992 quite a few hatchlings showed up in the country and I bought 2 (hoping of course to get females). These 2 did well and in either 1993 or 1994 (Gary might remember) I got 2 more from a friend of Gary's. One of those did well (the father of the 2 hatchlings) and one was sickly and didn't make it. Well all 3 of them ended up being males. I ended up selling the 2 males I got in 1992 later on as I just had to many males. I did finally find a female for sale at the breeders expo in Florida in 1996 or 97. She was very nice, been in the country for a while and was doing well. I couldn't get the seller down below $2,000. I finally broke down at the end of the expo and bought her.  She did well for me, but never laid any eggs and in 1999 when I had come home from the expo (she had been outside) I found her dead in the pen with her head partially gone.  No other tortoise was harmed, so I have no clue what exactly happened to her. I was devastated as it was back to square one looking for a female. I didn't have the chance to get another female till 2007, when I picked two 4 inch animals out of a group that were being imported. I got lucky with one (mom of my 2 (hatchling and yearling)).
> ...



Danny, I got my friend to email me some pictures of what he thinks is a Chaco. Looked like a sulcata to me when I had it last year. 

















-Matt


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## egyptiandan (Jul 18, 2011)

It's a sulcata Matt  so no kicking yourself 

Danny


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## matt41gb (Jul 18, 2011)

Ok, thanks. I haven't seen it in person since last year. I've never seen a Chaco in person, so it would be hard for me to know the difference with no hands on experience. He said it hasn't grown much at all since he received it from me. He actually breeds sulcatas, so I figured he could tell the difference. Oh well, I won't kick myself anymore. Haha!

-Matt


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