Hatchling Growth Rates

[volcom6981]

You mention a "boost shot". I have a feeling that not many people like their torts to get these types of shots if it was the vitamin A type.

Yea I don't like them either now. I thought it was going to be a vitamin D shot, and it ended being A&D shot with calcium.

 

[Terry Allan Hall]

Thanks, Tom...you're an educational guy to know!

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Good information here, and I think it opens the door to more questions.

This makes me think of the artificial incubation process as a whole. Of all the hatchlings I have produced, I have lost three despite spot on husbandry with me and the people they eventually went to. With each of my tortoises that were artificially incubated, I remove the eggs after pipping and place them in a container with a paper towel so I can rule out the ingestion of vermiculite. When I compare the hatchlings that were artificially incubated to the ones I left in the ground, the ones in the ground are significantly more active, eat more, their shells harden faster, and overall appear a lot healthier. I think there's still a lot of other "breeder questions" we need to figure out, but your experience certainly sheds light on something I'm sure few others have even considered.

Could the ones left in the ground be healthier because as Tom has said, about what his friend noticed missing from the nest. Everything. All the shell, poop, everything was gone from the nest. When dogs have puppies, it is a healthy thing to let the mother eat all the sacks and after birth, then she nurses the pups. All the stuff she is eating is for a more nutrient milk for her pups. Maybe that is what the artificial hatched torts are missing. What ever is left in the nest by the mother, if anything, but also, the shells, poop, etc.

That's some thought provoking info!

 

[Neal]

...The highly variable growth rates of hatchlings has always perplexed me. There always seem to be some variables from one household to the next, and it's pretty easy to see how the growth of siblings that go to different homes can accelerate or slow down given all the possible differences in care, diet, temps and enclosures. Often though, the difference can't seem to be explained....

Well, I don't know about you Tom but after the conference my head has been filled with all sorts of ideas to play around with related to this topic. I think we'll all have some good conversations in the near future and hopefully we'll all learn some good stuff.

 

[Tom]

I look forward to learning more too. What I'd really like is to get you out here to see my place. That will REALLY fill your head with some stuff... Lots of stuff I'd like to show you.

 

[laura13617]

Great post Tom.. thank you)