For over a decade, I've been advocating the "monsoon" style of raising babies. Even for species that are reported to come from drier areas. In multiple side-by-side comparisons with clutch mates, it is overwhelmingly obvious that all babies of all tortoise species benefit from daily soaks, humid hides, and damp substrate that they can dig into. @Markw84 has also been advocating for lots of plant growth and hiding areas to simulate the way wild babies would hide in the undergrowth.
I had the chance to visit the Riverbanks Zoo in South Carolina last week, and it was super cool. I went primarily to see the Galapagos tortoises, but they also have a radiata yard, Komodo dragons, baboons, king vultures, and many more of my favorites. Its a fantastic zoo. If you are ever in the area, I highly recommend it.
They had a successful pairing Galapagos tortoise that was producing offspring for several years, until the AZA/SSP people decided to break it up and send the male elsewhere. This being the case, they have a bunch of babies on display of varying ages. What was noteworthy, and the point of this thread, is that in the indoor exhibit, with a bank of warm overhead lighting to simulate the warm sunshine of the great outdoors, ALL of the babies were tucked away trying to find shade and hiding areas. It illustrates the point that babies tend to avoid exposure and being out in the hot mid day sun. Even in a large naturalistic enclosure.
See for your self:
I had the chance to visit the Riverbanks Zoo in South Carolina last week, and it was super cool. I went primarily to see the Galapagos tortoises, but they also have a radiata yard, Komodo dragons, baboons, king vultures, and many more of my favorites. Its a fantastic zoo. If you are ever in the area, I highly recommend it.
They had a successful pairing Galapagos tortoise that was producing offspring for several years, until the AZA/SSP people decided to break it up and send the male elsewhere. This being the case, they have a bunch of babies on display of varying ages. What was noteworthy, and the point of this thread, is that in the indoor exhibit, with a bank of warm overhead lighting to simulate the warm sunshine of the great outdoors, ALL of the babies were tucked away trying to find shade and hiding areas. It illustrates the point that babies tend to avoid exposure and being out in the hot mid day sun. Even in a large naturalistic enclosure.
See for your self: