Some Gpb love

[Levi the Leopard]

Thank you!

My 2 year old is also 8". When I compare your torts plastron to mine, I think I get the blue balloons and you get the pink ones

 

[Neal]

Do you know how big the parents are?

 

[jtrux]

I want to say that the dam was a big girl. Maybe 18" iirc. No idea on the sire.

What's your thoughts, Neal? Are you leaning towards it being a female?

Oh, and so we don't have to keep clicking on it...

 

[Neal]

Very likely a female. If it were a male, I would expect to see the tail to be about 2 - 3 times longer.

Your tortoise is going to be a monster. What's your husbandry like? Feeding schedule? etc...

 

[jtrux]

Borderline neglect. lol Kidding, of course.

I really don't do anything very special with her. Basic outdoor enclosure, all the food she can eat (Mazuri, lettuces, grasses, clovers, cactus) and always a fresh source of water.

 

[Levi the Leopard]

Wasn't this girl started hot and humid indoors before moving outside full time? Or am I confusing you with someone else?

 

[jtrux]

That's correct. She was inside for the first 6 months I had her. Then she went outside from last April until November. She is currently back outside.

---

I guess I didn't really answer your question.

I did keep her "hot and humid", however, I wasn't as satisfied with the results as some of the other members have been.

I raised some other Gpb for resale this summer and the method that I found superior was an open chamber with a humidifier. I hypothesize that air exchange might have something to do with the improved results.

I currently have a pair of sulcata hatchlings that I am raising in a 20 gallon aquarium with an open top and no humidifier. Again, excellent results.

 

[splntrdhands]

Just a normal humidifier that would be put in a room?

 

[jtrux]

Yes but it has to be able to be adapted to a small piece of tubing so that you can direct the vaporized water into the enclosure.

 

[jtrux]

Current pic after spraying enclosure down this afternoon.

 

[Eweezyfosheezy]

Wow she looks fantastic!

 

[Levi the Leopard]

Current pic after spraying enclosure down this afternoon.

do you have any profile shots of the ones you raise in open chambers? I'm always interested to know what others are doing and to see what those results look like

 

[jtrux]

Actually, I've been raising virtually everything outdoors lately sans for a few torts that I purchased for resell which I no longer have.

Here's a few pics that I currently have on my phone showing some of them.

None of them are that great but you get an idea. I've had good success and it's a heck of a lot easier keeping them outside rather than keeping all of them inside and the results are just as good IMO.

 

[jtrux]

I'll take some side-profile shots next time I'm outside and remember.

 

[Levi the Leopard]

Well thanks, cuz ya I'd love to know more about your results.

Your photos didn't show up on my phone but I'll see if they do on my PC.

 

[jtrux]

It seems that you are only interested in shell-development results so that's what we will discuss.

My Gpb is not perfect in that regard. I kept her in a 110qt Sterilite container with a humidifier and a 100W MVB. It was very humid and hot and I didn't see the results that everyone seemed to rant and rave over. She ate well, drank well and seemed to be thriving but the shell was not perfect. Once she was a few inches I placed her outside and the rest is history. She has some mild pyramiding in her vertebral scutes but other than that, she's a very robust animal. 9" at just shy of two years. Not too bad.



Here's an entirely different example, though. My sulcata.

I bought him from Richard Fife and placed him in an open-top aquarium. No humidifier, no "closed chamber", no problems. To really spice things up, I kept him on paper towels. No dirt, no coconut coir, no problems. I did, however, provide a nice, moist hide. I used paper towels for it, as well, but I kept them sopping wet and changed them at they were soiled.

He ate Mazuri, clovers, some lettuces and more Mazuri. He also had a water bowel in which he drank from daily and daily soaks, too.

He is now outside. He has a burrow that I dug out for him that is kept muddy by frequent rain and me. I water it regularly because of the seeds I grow in there. He's not growing as fast now, but he still has perfect growth. No pyramiding what so ever.

The pics are not perfect but at least I did not have to splash water on his shell to make him look smooth.

 

[mikeh]

@jtrux I am finding similar results to yours. I went even step further and completely eliminated direct overhead heat source in the closed chamber. After a year in a steam room conditions I wouldn't say mine is pyramiding but vertebrae scutes are not smooth. They are raising almost as if they are swelling. I also notice the growth rings have failed to form. Instead its just continues growth.
Since spring the tort spends full days outdoors and nights back in humid chamber but now at 70F. I have since noticed nice forming growth rings that are also thinner then previous growth. The humidity aspect may be more complex then we think.

 

[Levi the Leopard]

Thanks jtrux. You caught on, I'm interested in seeing the shell growth from varying methods so thanks for sharing.

Did your gpb experience the vertebral pyramiding while indoors? Especially since you can see the rest of her is smooth. I'm really leaning towards our indoor heat sources as a major factor in their shell growth. :/

Well, she's a big beauty and I have no doubt she is a healthy girl who loves the outdoors.

@mikeh, I've followed your results and I like it. from what I've seen, your leo has been growing smooth and I wish I understood your set up better. I know you eliminated over head heat but I still struggle to follow what exactly it is, you do..

I'd love to find a way to raise them outdoors and still see smooth shell growth...

 

[mikeh]

@Team Gomberg the set I use utilizes strictly heat ropes for heat. It works well but is complicated to set up correctly to achieve temperature gradients and requires good amount of monitoring and adjustments.
I just posted the resulted growth without heat lamps after exactly one year under show us your leopards thread.

 

[Levi the Leopard]

Yes, I "liked" the photos