Nice Looking Leopard Hatchling

Neal

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It's fun hatching out leopard tortoises. No two look alike. I was quite excited to see this guy hatch out last night since he does not look like any other I have have hatched.

Coolguy_zps5hjpi8gh.jpg


I am sure he will grow up to be a normal looking leopard, which is awesome in and of itself, but for now he's a nice unique looking hatchling. The blotches on the scutes are much less uniform than the others I hatch out. Here is an example of a normal hatchling.

028_zpsdtudfk8r.jpg


I've had a much younger male in with the females who has been trying to breed for the past year or so. I had thought he was too small to get the job done, but I wonder if he sired this hatchling since it looks so much different.
 

Neal

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Very interesting. Looks like he got crooked in the printer or something. He is beautiful.

lol, I like the stuck in printer description.

I incubated this one much differently than how I've done in the past. I usually keep the eggs in-ground until spring, but was forced to dig everything up this year due to our move. So it was 100+ eggs against two incubators and I quickly ran out of room. So rather than buying a bunch of incubators that would be of no use to me next year, I kept a lot of eggs in plastic tubs in our spare bedroom. The temp stayed at whatever the house was (74 - 78 ish). The lids were kept on the containers to retain moisture, but opened every now and then for oxygen exchange (not sure if they really needed that in my case, but thought it was a good idea). Threw these in the incubator after about 4 months when room cleared up after some mass hatchings and now they're starting to hatch.
 

Tom

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lol, I like the stuck in printer description.

I incubated this one much differently than how I've done in the past. I usually keep the eggs in-ground until spring, but was forced to dig everything up this year due to our move. So it was 100+ eggs against two incubators and I quickly ran out of room. So rather than buying a bunch of incubators that would be of no use to me next year, I kept a lot of eggs in plastic tubs in our spare bedroom. The temp stayed at whatever the house was (74 - 78 ish). The lids were kept on the containers to retain moisture, but opened every now and then for oxygen exchange (not sure if they really needed that in my case, but thought it was a good idea). Threw these in the incubator after about 4 months when room cleared up after some mass hatchings and now they're starting to hatch.

Interesting. What were the hatch rates on these eggs that sat at room temp for a while?
 

Neal

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They're just starting to hatch out after approximately 1 month in the incubator. Only 3 so far out of 30..., but all have chalked up/developed and appear to be viable.

The eggs that were left out are being placed in a separate incubator from the "normal" incubated eggs so I'll be able to tell easily how they compare. I am not keeping detailed records this time around as I wasn't purposely experimenting since it was done out of necessity. It may perk my interest to try something more serious if more hatch out.
 

Neal

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I dunno. Whenever I get a fresh batch of hatchlings I always say to myself that I will hang on to them for awhile to see how they turn out. Shortly thereafter life gets in the way and I feel like I'd rather spend my time doing other things than raising babies and off they go. As for right now I'm in the "hang on to them" frame of mind. If I don't update in awhile just shout at me here to see if I still have him.
 

Greg T

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That is the most unique pattern I have seen yet. I have some really cool patterns on my babies, but most are more typical. That one will be interesting to watch as it grows.
 

Kapidolo Farms

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Psychedelic, it reminds me of a 60's poster art boarder for some rock band. Very cool looking tortoise.
I figured it out, you hybridized a diamond back terrapin with a Congo dwarf leopard, sorry @Neal I'm using your cool tortoise as a prop to make fun of the constant ice cream flavors of animals out there.
 

diamondbp

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Neal this is one unique baby. Hopefully you are whoever keeps it gives us updates on how it grows out. Too interesting not to share with others. Good stuff
 

wellington

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I think you should keep at least this one for a while. We all want to see how it turns out. It sure is pretty cool
 
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