Pretty much you sit the tort on a tape measure lined up with 0 at the back of the shell, and see what number is at the very front edge of shell. Thats more or less an easier way of saying what those other directions say, I think.
I have one thats exactly 8". I, like most others here, would love...
I'd put a container in the hovibator, with vermiculite. I put the eggs in vermiculite with about 1/2 buried and 1/2 not. I do not cover the individual container (s) inside, but some do.
Generally the enclosure looks good. I wonder if the lights should be tilted like that. I know on the Powersun type MVB bulbs, they are supposed to be facing straight down. Other than that, I like the enclosure. But checking the temps is a must. You want to be around 95F in the basking area
Vin,
We might be getting a bit off topic here, but, just a couple quick points. 2-3 eggs per clutch I do not think is less than average for Russians. I think thats common. They can have up to 5 or so, but many many people report 2-3 per clutch.
First ever clutch of a female being not fertile...
I do not agree with the above about kale, collards, mustard. See Russiantortoise.org. Kale and collards are good staples, per Joe H there, and I've been giving them for years. My torts are healthy, happy, breeding, shells hard as rocks, with Kale and collards as #1 and #2 store bought foods in...
Yes, from someone on the board who has extra would be the best choice.
If you must buy from a commerical establishment, I can vouch for the fact I got my first female from theturtlesource.com some years back, and she arrived beautiful and healthy.
Just to clarify the above two posts that seem to be contradictory (but arent neccessarily).......
If the egg candles and you dont see anything at all BUT it is FAINTLY pink/orangy, sorta like a very light colored faint orange jello, then its probably an empty infertile egg where the light going...
Will depend on your setup, but generally, it should be enough Heat. However, if reasonably large enclosure, you may need another bulb so that most of the enclosure is lit.
Because, you probably will have to have the MVB relatively low (14" or so) to get the warm basking spot. That will mean the...
What are your other "minor" triggers? I think I've noticed that changing out the substrate, having both new substrate and also wetter than usual on the new, seemed to have an effect.
Dont know if I'm off base, but I was thinking that when their environment looks new and changed, like new and...
Thanks for the thoughts guys. But unfortunately, that never went away, and Mike died today. I think it was part of his body, flesh that was stuck outside shell. Guess he wasnt destined to make it. His sibling is looking fine though.
RE: Tort
Agree generally with Laurie. We have 95-105F under the basking lamps, and upper 70's on cool side. Entire enclosure goes down to room temperature at night, so 68-74 depending if we have AC or heat on.
Thats the way to go. cool side, hot side, night temps fall.
Dennis,
I dont know about other Tort species, but my Russians use not just their legs flailing, but they use their HEAD to push themselves and help right themselves. And the head can reach the ground while the tort is upside down.
Here are the 2 newest additions to our family. Mike & Ike both hatched this week!
(Ike on left, hatched today(70 days in egg). Mike hatched Monday (79-81 days in egg, do you count from the day they pip, or when they walk out?)
Yeah, I dont know how, I didnt do anything, he just does it!
But I'm with you in that my adults never do. I also have never seen my adults eat the cuttlebone, but my baby Skittles is crunching it most every day. Maybe he's just likes to be healthy...lol
In answer to the part of the original question "CAN they right themselves" they sure can, and almost always do. I've seen mine right themselves dozens of times over the years, and never once seen a situation where I had to help.
Even my hatchling righted himself at 1 month old when I took him...
I can see why someone looking at only the underside pics might say girl. BUT, the size of the tail in the pic 7th from left says otherwise. I think its a still developing male.
On Lauries post, I dont understand how you get it down to 60 at night, in an indoor enclosure, in summer. Even a house with full blown AC running is going to be 72 or so.
Do you have a water bowl the baby can climb into on his own? Once my Skittles was a month old, I never had to "soak" him...
RE: Tort
You dont need all the dirt to be that deep. just a nesting box area.
Get a rubbermaid container18x12 inches or so, and 12 inches deep. fill that with substrate. Build a ramp so she can walk up to it. put it in a corner, and also, put a rock or something under the far end (end away...
laying two times 16 days apart, thats normal. Both my females have done that. Very common. I consider them the same clutch.
Post photos of the same eggs in another week or two.
Personally, if it was me, I would not pick them up. You can see stuff growing just from shining light on top of...