I saw this video the other day and I thought it was the sweetest thing I ever saw. Just wanted to share.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=njKqAlJa8yY&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=njKqAlJa8yY&feature=related
Super cute leopard :)
- Thread starter Mao Senpai
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Sweet!! Thanks for sharing!
That is cute, but I am little leary of the bath part. While cute, salmonella poisoning is a real concern. Yeah I know, I am no fun. 
Repost, and I have to agree with Jermosh.
I am sure mom washed her in fresh water after that...
Jermosh said:That is cute, but I am little leary of the bath part. While cute, salmonella poisoning is a real concern. Yeah I know, I am no fun.
Oops sorry about the repost. Yeah that had me thinking too but the video is still sweet =). This one is nice as well.... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g9VsHvp00VA
Hopefully mine will be as cute as them two one day
Hopefully mine will be as cute as them two one day
Love the tune!
Ah that was so cute, thanks for sharing it with us!
Time to be the meany, While I agree the video is cute I was kinda weirded out seeing the baby (not knowing any better) almost treat it like a toy, and did anyone notice the first couple of seconds , the brick wall was that meant for decoration or was it meant to keep it in it's area? LOL I guess my main concern is people will see it and think oh wow I can get a leopard for my baby to. I know mean to say.
terracolson said:I am sure mom washed her in fresh water after that...
Jermosh said:That is cute, but I am little leary of the bath part. While cute, salmonella poisoning is a real concern. Yeah I know, I am no fun.
The Mom washed which one in fresh water???
Mao Senpai said:Oops sorry about the repost. Yeah that had me thinking too but the video is still sweet =). This one is nice as well.... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g9VsHvp00VA
Hopefully mine will be as cute as them two one day
Now those are some really nice looking, healthy leopards! Anyone know whose they are?
Thanks for posting.
dmmj said:
Haha I agree with you. Frankly I wouldn't trust any kid with any kind of living thing. Think about what they do to their favorite toys... imagine small critters... or any animals for that matter :\
Tom
I have no idea who's they are but they are super cute and they are pretty smooth as well... what weirded me out was I think I was reading somewhere in the comments of it that they are little over a year old... they seem to be pretty big to be a year or could be the camera :\
Mao, I'm only recently finding out that to grow them smooth you have to keep them very well hydrated and humidified. I'm also discovering a totally unexpected side affect of all the humidity, hydration and wetness: Rapid, but healthy growth. My new sulcata hatchlings are totally smooth and bigger at five months old than Daisy was at two years old.
It appears from the look of this video, and the amount of white marbling on these torts, that they are also growing very fast. I would not have guessed they are only a year old, but I believe it now, based on what I've seen at home in the last few months.
It appears from the look of this video, and the amount of white marbling on these torts, that they are also growing very fast. I would not have guessed they are only a year old, but I believe it now, based on what I've seen at home in the last few months.
Tom said:
I am actually following your advice
for both my greeks and leopards I am misting them at least twice or three times a day and keeping the substrate slightly damp. I want them to be totally smooth!
Mao Senpai said:Tom said:
I am actually following your advice
Thats great! I'm trying to use the forum and the huge number of members are an accelerated learning and research tool. Every person who does this with every species brings us closer to completely understanding and eradicating pyramiding. Who knows what else we will learn along the way, like this "accelerated" growth thing. Maybe this is just normal healthy growth and all of my previous torts were just surviving, but not quite thriving. I would definitely describe all of my current babies that are getting the "wet" treatment as thriving. The whole lot of them are doing better than any I've ever raised. Funny thing is, I never considered my previous torts to be unhealthy. Live and learn.
Anyhow please keep us all posted on the progress of your torts and how you think the "wet" routine is working for them. Let us know if you encounter any problems like shell rot or respiratory infections. I have not seen this yet in any of mine, or anybody else who is doing it, but because we are in new, uncharted territory, caution is warranted.
So far nothing has been out of the unusual, they seem happier I think. At first I was under the some impression that these desert species need to be kept dry and well during the first few months it was like that but recently I've discovered this place and read a lot and learned a lot about actually properly taking care of these guys. What I am curious however is how these guys actually grow... I haven't been able to find a lot of pictures or info on the first year or two about their shell growth. Like... do they grow straight sideways or do they grow make a groove and slight bump and then flatten out. One of my greeks I think has a pyramid issue not sure how bad it is... or if it's just normal growth and eventually smooths out. I think it was due to too much food maybe or just accelerated growth since there was two of them. The other one is perfectly smooth and perfect so it just blows my mind on what happened. I attached some pictures since I want some opinions on how bad it is or if I did something wrong or not...
This is one of the confusing things about pyramiding. People still associate fast growth with it. My statement on the cause of pyramiding is constantly evolving, and will continue to evolve as I learn more, but here is the current version: Pyramiding is CAUSED by growth in the absence of sufficient moisture, humidity and hydration. More growth in the absence of sufficient moisture, humidity and hydration causes more pyramiding. The pyramiding, in other words, is not caused by faster growth, but faster growth makes it more obvious. I've never seen tortoises grow faster than my baby sulcatas and they are completely smooth. They are also very hydrated, wet and in high humidity all the time.
I see very mild pyramiding in your bigger one. Here's the other part that sometimes confuses people. The pattern for shell growth, pyramided or not, is established in the first few weeks or months of life. So it doesn't really matter what is done with a two year old. If it is already pyramided, it won't change if you put it in a humid environment. If it is not pyramided, it won't suddenly start to pyramid if you put it in a dry environment. There are a lot of variables that determine when the cut-off point is, where the pattern is so well established that a change in the routine won't change the shells growth pattern. Age, size, species, hydration, degree of dryness or humidity, etc... A good example of this can be seen in most large sulcatas. Almost all of them pyramided to some degree when young, but with no change in the routine or environment, they start to "smooth" out over time. I believe that the point at which they all start to smooth out on their own is also the point at which humidity doesn't matter any more. Adults of the desert species do NOT need it wet and humid all the time, only the babies. For sulcatas, I've been told its around 6-8", but I have not scientifically verified this. I have no idea where that point would be for a greek.
Its very common for someone to get a new young tortoise that is only 3-4 months old and have it pyramid badly, even thought they are doing everything "right". This is very frustrating and confusing for people, but they have to remember that it doesn't matter what they are doing NOW, what matters is what was done in the first few weeks of life. SOOOO, buyer beware. Buy your hatchlings from breeders who know and practice the whole humidity, hydration, shell spraying thing. Don't buy from breeders who keep their hatchlings on dry pellets, in a dry room, under a hot desiccating bulb. There are lots of breeders out there. Its your money, so you should not hesitate to ask them how they house and care for the baby that you will be housing and caring for for the next several decades.
I see very mild pyramiding in your bigger one. Here's the other part that sometimes confuses people. The pattern for shell growth, pyramided or not, is established in the first few weeks or months of life. So it doesn't really matter what is done with a two year old. If it is already pyramided, it won't change if you put it in a humid environment. If it is not pyramided, it won't suddenly start to pyramid if you put it in a dry environment. There are a lot of variables that determine when the cut-off point is, where the pattern is so well established that a change in the routine won't change the shells growth pattern. Age, size, species, hydration, degree of dryness or humidity, etc... A good example of this can be seen in most large sulcatas. Almost all of them pyramided to some degree when young, but with no change in the routine or environment, they start to "smooth" out over time. I believe that the point at which they all start to smooth out on their own is also the point at which humidity doesn't matter any more. Adults of the desert species do NOT need it wet and humid all the time, only the babies. For sulcatas, I've been told its around 6-8", but I have not scientifically verified this. I have no idea where that point would be for a greek.
Its very common for someone to get a new young tortoise that is only 3-4 months old and have it pyramid badly, even thought they are doing everything "right". This is very frustrating and confusing for people, but they have to remember that it doesn't matter what they are doing NOW, what matters is what was done in the first few weeks of life. SOOOO, buyer beware. Buy your hatchlings from breeders who know and practice the whole humidity, hydration, shell spraying thing. Don't buy from breeders who keep their hatchlings on dry pellets, in a dry room, under a hot desiccating bulb. There are lots of breeders out there. Its your money, so you should not hesitate to ask them how they house and care for the baby that you will be housing and caring for for the next several decades.
This is one of the confusing things about pyramiding. People still associate fast growth with it. My statement on the cause of pyramiding is constantly evolving, and will continue to evolve as I learn more, but here is the current version: Pyramiding is CAUSED by growth in the absence of sufficient moisture, humidity and hydration. More growth in the absence of sufficient moisture, humidity and hydration causes more pyramiding. The pyramiding, in other words, is not caused by faster growth, but faster growth makes it more obvious. I've never seen tortoises grow faster than my baby sulcatas and they are completely smooth. They are also very hydrated, wet and in high humidity all the time.
I see very mild pyramiding in your bigger one. Here's the other part that sometimes confuses people. The pattern for shell growth, pyramided or not, is established in the first few weeks or months of life. So it doesn't really matter what is done with a two year old. If it is already pyramided, it won't change if you put it in a humid environment. If it is not pyramided, it won't suddenly start to pyramid if you put it in a dry environment. There are a lot of variables that determine when the cut-off point is, where the pattern is so well established that a change in the routine won't change the shells growth pattern. Age, size, species, hydration, degree of dryness or humidity, etc... A good example of this can be seen in most large sulcatas. Almost all of them pyramided to some degree when young, but with no change in the routine or environment, they start to "smooth" out over time. I believe that the point at which they all start to smooth out on their own is also the point at which humidity doesn't matter any more. Adults of the desert species do NOT need it wet and humid all the time, only the babies. For sulcatas, I've been told its around 6-8", but I have not scientifically verified this. I have no idea where that point would be for a greek.
Its very common for someone to get a new young tortoise that is only 3-4 months old and have it pyramid badly, even thought they are doing everything "right". This is very frustrating and confusing for people, but they have to remember that it doesn't matter what they are doing NOW, what matters is what was done in the first few weeks of life. SOOOO, buyer beware. Buy your hatchlings from breeders who know and practice the whole humidity, hydration, shell spraying thing. Don't buy from breeders who keep their hatchlings on dry pellets, in a dry room, under a hot desiccating bulb. There are lots of breeders out there. Its your money, so you should not hesitate to ask them how they house and care for the baby that you will be housing and caring for for the next several decades.
I see very mild pyramiding in your bigger one. Here's the other part that sometimes confuses people. The pattern for shell growth, pyramided or not, is established in the first few weeks or months of life. So it doesn't really matter what is done with a two year old. If it is already pyramided, it won't change if you put it in a humid environment. If it is not pyramided, it won't suddenly start to pyramid if you put it in a dry environment. There are a lot of variables that determine when the cut-off point is, where the pattern is so well established that a change in the routine won't change the shells growth pattern. Age, size, species, hydration, degree of dryness or humidity, etc... A good example of this can be seen in most large sulcatas. Almost all of them pyramided to some degree when young, but with no change in the routine or environment, they start to "smooth" out over time. I believe that the point at which they all start to smooth out on their own is also the point at which humidity doesn't matter any more. Adults of the desert species do NOT need it wet and humid all the time, only the babies. For sulcatas, I've been told its around 6-8", but I have not scientifically verified this. I have no idea where that point would be for a greek.
Its very common for someone to get a new young tortoise that is only 3-4 months old and have it pyramid badly, even thought they are doing everything "right". This is very frustrating and confusing for people, but they have to remember that it doesn't matter what they are doing NOW, what matters is what was done in the first few weeks of life. SOOOO, buyer beware. Buy your hatchlings from breeders who know and practice the whole humidity, hydration, shell spraying thing. Don't buy from breeders who keep their hatchlings on dry pellets, in a dry room, under a hot desiccating bulb. There are lots of breeders out there. Its your money, so you should not hesitate to ask them how they house and care for the baby that you will be housing and caring for for the next several decades.
I'm pretty new to this thing so... I've had these greeks since April and they were a year old from what I was told anyway, and the leopards maybe a few months. I don't think it'll get worse... and now that I look back at the April pictures the big one was not smooth to begin with. Ah well, she or he is happy and ... silly and running all over the place so they should be fine. They ... are very eager to come greet me though which.. just puts a smile on my face
Hm since the other leopard I got as a hatcling... it'll be interesting to see how it turns out. The bigger one I got was already a year old as well so... I was actually gonna get another from the same batch but the hatchling is so much more fin Since I have no idea what kind of patterns and marbling it'll be. Hopefully as cool and pretty as the other one and of course smooth...
Hm since the other leopard I got as a hatcling... it'll be interesting to see how it turns out. The bigger one I got was already a year old as well so... I was actually gonna get another from the same batch but the hatchling is so much more fin
Since I have no idea what kind of patterns and marbling it'll be. Hopefully as cool and pretty as the other one and of course smooth...- Status
