My First Radiated :)

[8james8]

I have a pair of animal plastic t-8 closed chambered setups.

They've been awesome. I have them on a custom shelf I built with my father.

They aren't big enough to house outside but I will be constructing a rather large area for them next year. I bring them outside for natural light and soaks just about everyday. It really seems to brighten up my young animals plus always a good time to snag a pic or two.

Right now my guess is the 3rd one from top to bottom in the pic of the 4 is a male and the others are female (big one is a female). Purely guessing.

It's gaining size and weight faster than any tortoise I've had.

 

[8james8]

Both little ones are eating already. They really soaked in the sun this afternoon

I'm getting a little tan already

 

[BILBO-03]

They are beautiful! Have any of them been scoped?

 

[8james8]

The largest with the blue dot was scoped and is a female.

The other 3 have not been scoped as they are too small and young. If all goes according to plan I will have 2 more young ones this summer. Then in March or so I will take them to be scoped. The biggest fee is the set up charge, I want to make sure I have enough animals to make that worth it. Plus never know if I might get lucky and have another animal by then needing to be scoped

 

[BILBO-03]

The largest with the blue dot was scoped and is a female.

The other 3 have not been scoped as they are too small and young. If all goes according to plan I will have 2 more young ones this summer. Then in March or so I will take them to be scoped. The biggest fee is the set up charge, I want to make sure I have enough animals to make that worth it. Plus never know if I might get lucky and have another animal by then needing to be scoped

That's cool! Is it expensive to get scoped? Also can just a normal vet do it?

 

[8james8]

Not overly. It depends on the number of animals. The set up fees is the big thing. But never know I may find someone that wants to do a big split

I'd rather know their sexes, it makes future decisions easier and I'd be in a better position to make them.

 

[zovick]

That's cool! Is it expensive to get scoped? Also can just a normal vet do it?

Most "normal vets" do not feel comfortable doing the procedure. It requires some specialized training which can be had in classes given by Dr. Divers of the UGA Veterinary School who pioneered the technique of chelonian endoscopy or possibly in online sessions (though I am not certain of that).

The cost is hard to pin down to simply saying it is X dollars per tortoise the way UGA charges for it. To wit, there is a fee to set up the operating room for the procedure. This is about $450. Then each tortoise is charged an exam fee of about $50 plus there is a charge for every cc of medication the animal(s) are given. They are given two different anesthetics, an antibiotic, a reversal agent for the anesthetics, and sterile saline.The larger the tortoise(s), the more of each medication is required, and thus the higher the cost. If taking about 10 yearling age class animals at a time, the total cost is roughly $1250 or thereabouts. If only one were taken, the cost would be $500 or so (the $450 room fee, plus the exam fee, plus medications). Hence, getting an endoscoped tortoise is worth an extra $500 over the cost of an unsexed one of the same size and age.

Additionally, the older the tortoise is when it is endoscoped, the more accurate the results. Dr. Divers has been endoscoping Radiated Tortoises for me since 2008 when he first began doing the procedure, and in checking roughly 175 of my young Radiateds over the ensuing 9 years, he has decided that Radiated Tortoises should not be endoscoped until they are 10 months old and weigh at least 110 grams in order to get the most reliable results.

 

[8james8]

Thanks for that excellent response Bill. I was preparing a response for that but no where near the quality of yours

 

[BILBO-03]

Thanks for the info!

 

[8james8]

Hopefully these will display in the order I see them (doing from phone since storm knocked out power).

Top: gained 7 grams in under a week with me.

Second pic: gained 4 grams in under a week with me.

Third pic: gained 20 grams in just under 3 weeks with me.

Fourth pic: gained 20 grams in a little over a month with me.

Last pic is the pig out session. Have a new one set to join them shortly yes I have a problem lol. Hope you enjoy the photos. All taken by my cell with no filters.

 

[BILBO-03]

Gorgeous!!!

 

[deadheadvet]

Looks like all of those Rads benefited from a good start. Continued success with them James!

 

[8james8]

Well started by amazing people that care about their animals

Can't beat a healthy animal that shows it's been cared for the right way. These animals really pop but that glimmer is always brighter when they were cared for by the right people.

 

[8james8]

Happy Wednesday

 

[GingerLove]

Happy Wednesday

That made me laugh, so cute!

 

[BILBO-03]

Funny!

 

[8james8]

Newest member of the group arrived this morning. Very bright color and active - loves to climb. Happy Wednesday!

 

[8james8]

A few more from today

 

[PJay]

Beautiful group you've built James!

 

[8james8]

Beautiful group you've built James!

Thanks bud!

Definitely beyond what I expected I'm looking forward to the day when I can produce my own babies.