Dug These Up Yesterday.

[Tom]

This is Delores' third clutch. Its the biggest yet at 12. Won't know the fertility rate for a little while longer. They are cookin' now. Anyone need a well started, super smooth sulcata baby in the next few months? Should be ready to go in June or July. I decided I won't sell them until they have doubled their hatch weight. Once they are growing steadily, you know they are going to be fine. If there were any problems, you'd see it by then. Last years clutch took 8 weeks to double their weight. By twelve weeks they were triple.

 

[Kristina]

Nice find! Congrats!

 

[Fernando]

That's so cool! What is the stuff you have in the plastic shoe box? Sand?

 

[Missy]

What a great find.

 

[Tom]

That's so cool! What is the stuff you have in the plastic shoe box? Sand?

Its damp vermiculite. Great incubation medium. Someone on the forum here scared the bejesus out of me not to long ago saying that vermiculite is full of asbestos and if you breathe in the dust it will eventually kill you. I've been using it for years and so have lots of others. I pulled out my old bag of it and I was going to chuck it and switch to perlite. I thought I'd read the bag and see what kind of warning there was about the dangerous dust and not breathing it. At first I was appalled that there was not even the slightest warning and then I saw this great big yellow sticker on the front of the bag. My newer bags have it actually printed right on the bag.

... I guess the sky isn't falling just yet.

Thanks Kristina and Missy.

 

[Cfr200]

Very good find you have there Tom. I have a question you say your hatchlings double their weight in about 8 weeks. I looked back at my records and see that one of mine is on the same schedule. Fred continues has been doubling his weight every 2 months. He nows weighs in at 422g. I have been following your Humid and hot technique and it works well. How about your hatchlings from last summer are they still doubling in weight every 8 weeks?

 

[Torty Mom]

Awesome news!!!! How exciting!! Congratulations!!!

 

[dmmj]

does anyone else find it odd they have to have "asbestos free" printed on their bags?

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oh and congrats BTW

 

[Yvonne G]

first I was appalled that there was not even the slightest warning and then I saw this great big yellow sticker on the front of the bag. My newer bags have it actually printed right on the bag.
... I guess the sky isn't falling just yet.

I had the same scare only with bone meal. I used to use it all the time in my garden until I heard that it inhaling the dust from it might cause you to get mad cow disease!

 

[Tom]

Very good find you have there Tom. I have a question you say your hatchlings double their weight in about 8 weeks. I looked back at my records and see that one of mine is on the same schedule. Fred continues has been doubling his weight every 2 months. He nows weighs in at 422g. I have been following your Humid and hot technique and it works well. How about your hatchlings from last summer are they still doubling in weight every 8 weeks?

I haven't done the math, but their weights are now 246-280 at 8 months.

 

[TortieLuver]

lookin' good Tom. It looks like you didn't have to go digging too far down. I forgot how big Delores is?

 

[Tom]

lookin' good Tom. It looks like you didn't have to go digging too far down. I forgot how big Delores is?

They were about 16-18" deep.

Delores is around 35 pounds and 18". She's just a lil' one. My other two recently added females are 58 and 66 pounds.

 

[DeanS]

Good Lord, Tom! Just what the southland needs...more perfectly shaped giants of the sulcata world!

 

[Balboa]

does anyone else find it odd they have to have "asbestos free" printed on their bags?

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oh and congrats BTW

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Its funny, I was just wondering about the asbestos issue the other night, with everybody using vermiculite for incubating.

Once upon a time my brothers and I had been careful removing ceiling tiles from a cabin of my mom's. We were concerned about them having asbestos. We'd carefully remove them so as not to raise dust, but would then be showered in the vermiculite insulation in the attic .... ruh roh... I hadn't learned yet about the asbestos in vermiculite.

Turns out most of the asbestos bearing vermiculite came from a specific source in montana, that just so happened to produce most of the vermiculite in the US for many years, so chances are the stuff I was exposed to had it.

I would think that operation is shut down, and I'm glad to see they are certifying the stuff asbestos free these days.

Time will tell for me, got my fingers crossed. Not a nice way to go.

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LOL and my turn, oh yah, Congrats Tom!!

 

[TortieLuver]

Well I guess pictures are deceptive. 16-18 inches is a lot farther than it looked to me. She actually dug pretty far down.