Master (right) and Commander (Left) are two Galapagos tortoises hatched in Florida from two different private herds. Master is just two weeks old and Commander is about two months old!
Master and Commander
- Thread starter TortoiseDVM
- Start date
Master...
Commander...
they are beautiful
! why do they look so different from each other?
! why do they look so different from each other?
Thank you Good question! Commander is a bit older and his growth lines ( white ) are much more visible... 
Good question! Commander is a bit older and his growth lines ( white ) are much more visible... 
Just fantastic. Love them. I didn't know there were so many breeding in FL. Seems to be a well kept secret. Lucky for us you have spilled the beans, so to speak.
Looking forward to watching them grow and prosper.
Looking forward to watching them grow and prosper.
From the same person selling them on either fauna or kingsnake? They are too cute. I recognize the green dot.
From the same person selling them on either fauna or kingsnake? They are too cute. I recognize the green dot.
Commander is an offspring from Wayne Hill's herd (TTPG) and Master with the green dot is an offspring from Jason Abels's Herd
Cool. Hope they end up a pair for yah.
Commander is an offspring from Wayne Hill's herd (TTPG) and Master with the green dot is an offspring from Jason Abels's Herd
Well that makes a total of five people currently getting babies around the country that I know of. That is fantastic because three years ago I knew of none. Someday, I will get some...
awesome enjoy being able to pick them up while you can lol
Davy Jone's Locker (Master and Commander's grazing pen).
The foundation was started by setting 8' by 4' lengths of 4x4 into the ground with a post hole digger.
The 4x4s are pre drilled for 1/2" rebar to stake them down as reinforcement.
8 foot and 4 foot lengths of 2x10's were screwed together and then reinforced down to the 4x4 foundation with angle irons.
2x4's were used for the lids with the help of deck angle irons as reinforcements. The lids were attached with hinges and locking clasps. 1/2" 19 gauge hardware cloth was used to screen the lids.
Although this is not the most aesthetically pleasing pen, it serves great utility providing security from predators on ready to graze pasture.
The foundation was started by setting 8' by 4' lengths of 4x4 into the ground with a post hole digger.
The 4x4s are pre drilled for 1/2" rebar to stake them down as reinforcement.
8 foot and 4 foot lengths of 2x10's were screwed together and then reinforced down to the 4x4 foundation with angle irons.
2x4's were used for the lids with the help of deck angle irons as reinforcements. The lids were attached with hinges and locking clasps. 1/2" 19 gauge hardware cloth was used to screen the lids.
Although this is not the most aesthetically pleasing pen, it serves great utility providing security from predators on ready to graze pasture.
It is so interesting to me that Galops show a mottling on the carapace when actively growing as youngsters, yet when full grown, there is no mottling.
Your babies are beautiful. I hope you keep us in the loop as they grow.
Your babies are beautiful. I hope you keep us in the loop as they grow.
Master enjoying a hibiscus leaf. Going... going... gone!
Master and Commander on the chart table!
Thanks Yvonne! Yes it is quite interesting the changes in the carapace of the juveniles. Master hatched jet black, yet now has that bull's eye pattern of Commander beginning to appear on a couple scutes, as if melanin shifts to the edges of the growth lines, where as you've noticed the mottling occurs.
I continue to be fascinated by these guys ... they've given me reason to wake up early on weekend mornings in anticipation of observing them!
Thank you for the updated photos. Looking forward to many more.
My pleasure. Thanks Tom!
Wayne gave a presentation about his compound at the TTPG conference this year and I saw pics of what I presume was the parents of one of your babies there.
