Burmese Stars - 2 Year Update

Markw84

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Today is the 2 year anniversary of when I got this group of Burmese Stars, G. platynota, from the Behler Center. Thought it would be good to do another update to show how the groups is doing.

Here's a recap of what I posted on the 1 year anniversary and I'm updating with this year's info:

I was sent what was supposed to be a group of 2.3. From what I've learned since and studying all I can on platynota, I can easily look at the top photo taken the day I got them and see it is a group of 3.2. I tried to arrange them the same order in the pictures, but they would not cooperate. Everything is OK except the bottom two got reversed by the time I took the photo. Still shows a good comparison shot though squeezed back into the same soaking tub I used then. I have now added a picture from today with the same order of the 2nd photo. But it was very hard to squeeze them into the same tub!

The one on the top left was sold as a female. (S)he has unusual markings with a wide band filling in between the 1st and 2nd vertebrals, but I think that is mainly because of the abnormal scute configuration - having 4 vertebrals instead of 5. That makes the distance the scutes are filling in much larger as it grows. Obviously a male, and is the fastest growing male. Has gone from 4.90" May 17, 2016 to 8.09" May 17, 2017. He is now 8.70". He weighed 346g and 1151g last March and now 1723 today.

Middle top was my biggest last year. My smaller female has now passed her. In typical platynota fashion, the females are totally outgrowing the males. She has gone from 5.26" to 9.45" to 10.41" and 427g to 2310g to 3282g.

Top right male hatched March 17, 2011 - so was exactly 5 yrs old when I got him. He's gone from 5.67" to 7.51" to 8.45" and 536g to 1170g to 1680g.

Bottom left in the first picture and bottom right in the second picture was second largest and oldest when I got them. He hatched June 30, 2009, so he was almost 7 when I got him. He will be 9 this June, and perhaps that age has kept him from taking off and switching to a faster growth mode as quickly as the others. He grew 5.55" to 6.39" to 6.85" and 548g to 772g to 1000g

Bottom right top photo (bottom left Middle and bottom photo) is a female hatched Feb 11, 2011. She was the smallest of the 5 when I received them, but now is my largest. 5 yrs old when received, she has gone from 5.31" to 8.63" to 11.20" and 414g to 1651g to 3772g.

img_2897-1-jpg.202537

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Burmese 2 yr aniversary.jpg


I had hoped for some of the first eggs this winter, but i think I just missed that. Most seem to say about 3000g is a good size for them to start laying, and mine were just not quite that size this winter. So, looks like a wait until next winter for a hopeful start to some incubation studies.

Here is also my growth chart on the Burmese group. Gives you an idea of the growth rates and the change since I received them. I know it is not possible to read, since it covers 8 1/2 years, but you can see the graph and the changes in rates easily. You can see the sudden change in the group of 5 and the same with a group of 3 I got 6 months later. You can also easily see a flat spot in the curve when I moved them out full time late spring last year. It seems all tortoises I have raised go through this when moved outdoors full time.

Growth chart to Mar 2018.jpg
 

wellington

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Bigger soaking tub needed to do them all at once. Looks great. Can't wait to see your first hatchlings.
 

Dan

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Very nicely done! Beautiful group you have there. You’ll have eggs soon enough!

Interesting that on your graph the smallest ones seemed to be impacted less by the move outside.
 

Markw84

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Very nicely done! Beautiful group you have there. You’ll have eggs soon enough!

Interesting that on your graph the smallest ones seemed to be impacted less by the move outside.
Yes Dan. the younger ones I got 6 months later were barely phased by the move outside as I did keep all 8 together with the enclosure divided - 4 males on one side and the 4 females on the other. The move outside was about 15 months after I got the first 5 and 8 months after the other 3, so all of them had become used to the inside "monsoon" style enclosure before moving outside for the late spring/ summer/ early fall. I was also interested to see the oldest tortoise barely changed growth rates compared to the others. He was (dark blue on chart) almost 7 years old when I got him, so perhaps the older they are, the more "set" their growth pattern is?? Can't draw too much from just one example, but gets me thinking.
 
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Yvonne G

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I like the yellow 'chicken foot' splotch on the carapace of the one in the upper left corner.
 

Markw84

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I like the yellow 'chicken foot' splotch on the carapace of the one in the upper left corner.
You do like the aberrant scute tortoises! With only 4 vertebrals, that pattern between the 1st and 2nd developed into that interesting, very broad "stripe" where the black coloring does not fill in.
 

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