'Tis The Season...

Tom

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… for baby sulcatas, that is.

A whole bunch have hatched, and more coming every day. They will be ready for sale in a month or so. I raised the incubation temp from 88.3 to 88.9, and I've gotten two split scute babies this year. I've only ever had three split scutes ever, and those three were from the same clutch that got too warm in my reptile room during incubation in summer. I've now bumped it back down to 88.3.

IMG_1478.JPG
 

Tom

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I'm trying something new this year in my brooder boxes. Instead of using damp paper towels for substrate, I'm using grape leaves. Like so:
IMG_1479.JPG

They still get a mix of all sorts of different stuff, but this way I don't have to worry about them sampling the towels. I worry about everything.
 

Anyfoot

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That's a good idea with leaves. My homeana ripped the tissue to bits, it was a worry. Not next time ;).
What is the average weight of one of these guys. Do all tortoise species hatch roughly the same weight. My homeana were 19 and 20g. And reds 20 and 21g. I expected a huge difference since homeana reach 8"SCL and reds can go 12 to 16"+ SCL.
 

Tom

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That's a good idea with leaves. My homeana ripped the tissue to bits, it was a worry. Not next time ;).
What is the average weight of one of these guys. Do all tortoise species hatch roughly the same weight. My homeana were 19 and 20g. And reds 20 and 21g. I expected a huge difference since homeana reach 8"SCL and reds can go 12 to 16"+ SCL.

My sulcatas usually hatch around 30-35g. In years past I had some large females that threw 35-40 gram hatchlings. I had a few that were 41-44 grams at hatching, but that is unusual.
 

Tom

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I don't want more than one Sulcata, and I don't have a desire to breed them, but pictures like this with all the babies all together kind of makes me want to do both.

It is a lot of work, time and expense, but yeah, its pretty neat.
 

Anyfoot

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My sulcatas usually hatch around 30-35g. In years past I had some large females that threw 35-40 gram hatchlings. I had a few that were 41-44 grams at hatching, but that is unusual.
Thanks, bit more I've learnt.
 

Jodie

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I love the leaves idea. How does the humidity level in the box do though?
 

Tom

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I love the leaves idea. How does the humidity level in the box do though?

The shoe boxes are kept in the incubator with very high humidity, so I'm not too concerned about it.
 

Tortoisefanatic88

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Love the one with the extra scutes by himself. He looks to be the smallest of the bunch from the picture.
 

Tom

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How much do you sell for, @Tom?

I put a lot of extra work into my babies with sunning and diet. When people buy my babies they have an easy time with no problems, and the babies eat everything. I usually sell them for $75 each, or with volume discounts for groups.
 

mctlong

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I put a lot of extra work into my babies with sunning and diet. When people buy my babies they have an easy time with no problems, and the babies eat everything. I usually sell them for $75 each, or with volume discounts for groups.

Totally worth it -
 
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