Rainy Day Surprise - Babies!

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Greg T

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So we had two days of rain finally after a long dry spell. My son went out Saturday evening after the rain to play in the backyard and came back in saying he found a turtle. My adults stay out there, so I thought he was just messing around, but sure enough, he had a baby leopard in his hand, stilll covered in mud. We went out and found a hole where the eggs had been laid. I must have missed her laying these eggs a few months back somehow. I started digging carefully and kept pulling up eggs parts, and unfortunately one dead baby. While I was digging, we noticed another baby sitting by the fence. It then turned into an Easter Egg hunt as we looked everywhere and found these little guys literally all over the yard. We found 7 babies Saturday night and I found 2 more Sunday morning. I believe I have them all now.

I have noticed some difference between my incubated babies and these little guys. These guys are much more active right off the bat. Their shells seem a little more dry, maybe because of the ground but they seem to be getting better after soaking. The colors are a bit darker tan and some have really unique designs. One has dual split scutes on the front. What a total surprise for us! :D
 

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sibi

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wow what a find! Good thing your son found the first one. I hate to think what dangers lurked around if they had not been found. Best to you!
 

tortadise

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Fantastic. Love it when this happens. I'm glad to hear this too from another Texas member. I missed a leopard clutch too. Any day now should hopefully see some wee ones crawling around in the greenhouse. Good looking little guys too.
 

sunshine_hugs

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What a wonderful surprise! Your son must have been excited to be the one to discover them.
Congrats on all your new little ones....they're too cute.
 

Grandpa Turtle 144

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Yes in Michigan after a good rain we would look for night crawlers . Now in AZ I look for baby turtles and tortoises
And they are always a ice surprise .
 

Yvonne G

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Wow!! What a nice surprise.
 

TigsMom

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Whoohoo! That is wonderful! They are beautiful! I love that your Son found them. I can only imagine your Son's joy!
 

yensao

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Hello, this is cool ! I can not imagine one day I found baby tortoises in my yard.


Sent from my iPhone using TortForum mobile app
 

KingLeon

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Hey Greg are you the same Greg that sold me my Leopard? In the Houston area? My name is Leo.


If so how much are you gonna sell these for? I want to get another one. Picasso seems lonely sometimes.
 

BeeBee*BeeLeaves

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What a great rest of his life memory for your son. These babies are darling (aren't they all?). I think it is amazing how they hatched after the rain. Kinda goes spot on with what has been pointed out about babies in their native areas being born when it is hot and humid, sometimes monsoon weather time. Love them! A little sad about the dead one. Was it out of the egg dead, or still in there and unable to break free? Congratulations and best wished for the babies! : )
 

Mrturtle527

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So very cool!!!! They are very cute as well :). I think my son would be the happiest kid on the world if he found any baby animal in our yard...
 

Greg T

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Hey Leo, yeah, same guy here. Send me a PM and we'll see what we can work out. I hope Picasso is doing well - I just love to hear how these babies are doing in their new homes.

KingLeon said:
Hey Greg are you the same Greg that sold me my Leopard? In the Houston area? My name is Leo.


If so how much are you gonna sell these for? I want to get another one. Picasso seems lonely sometimes.




BeeBee*BeeLeaves said:
What a great rest of his life memory for your son. These babies are darling (aren't they all?). I think it is amazing how they hatched after the rain. Kinda goes spot on with what has been pointed out about babies in their native areas being born when it is hot and humid, sometimes monsoon weather time. Love them! A little sad about the dead one. Was it out of the egg dead, or still in there and unable to break free? Congratulations and best wished for the babies! : )

I believe it had to be tied to the rain we had, otherwise the ground waw really dry and hard so they would really struggle to get out. Unfortunately the poor dead one was a big boy and the only thing I can figure is he either was somthered by the others climbing out over him or he may have drowned in the hole if it filled with water. He was about 3 inches down from the surface. We held a small funeral for him with the and buried him in a shady spot in the backyard. Guess that is part of nature, but not a nice one.
 
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