We celebrated Earth day with the arrival of...

[Tim/Robin]

...our Malagasy Flat-Tailed tortoises (Pyxis planicauda). Yippeeee!!! They arrived at last! We had eluded to their arrival months ago in another posting (wasn't able to find the post today). We had to wait out the weather for shipment.

This is perhaps our most precious group yet. To have these tortoises in our home is an absolute honor. Were we this proud when the children were born? Hmmm... Yes, I suppose we must have been.

There are a total of 6. They are 2 years-old. Here are a few photos (you know you can count on photos from us at this point, can't you!).

 

[Yvonne G]

Three or four years ago my tortoise partner in PA sold his Planicauda to someone here on the west coast and I had the pleasure of keeping them for a couple months until the buyer could come to town and pick them up. I think there were 2.3 of them. The weren't very "fun" to watch because they were very shy, but how beautiful they were. I had to run the sprinkler for them every day because they would only drink out of running water! You are so lucky to get this group. Now you have to learn all about diapause and such!! Yvonne

 

[Tim/Robin]

You are so lucky to get this group. Now you have to learn all about diapause and such!! Yvonne

Thats right, luckily we have some time before these guys will be to breeding age. We have learned about diapause with the arachnoides though. We have successfully broken it with 3 of the 4 eggs we have but 1 is being stubborn. It is cooling down again. The other 3 have definite development, so stay tuned in a few more months for their hatchling photos.

 

[Isa]

Congratulations
You have 6 beautiful babies, what a good way to celebrate earth day

 

[Laura]

Ive never seen/heard of those before.. so pretty.. cute little guys.. can you post some info on them? Size, where from, diet, husbandry etc...and what is diapause..

 

[Tim/Robin]

Ive never seen/heard of those before.. so pretty.. cute little guys.. can you post some info on them? Size, where from, diet, husbandry etc...and what is diapause..

They are from the west coast of Madagascar, natively. They are endangered due to deforestation and the illegal pet-trade (ours are captive from the States of course). Planicaudas get about 6 inches or so, not very big. They are a shy tortoise, similar to other Pyxis tortoises. However, they don't run away, they just sit and watch you with their big, dark eyes (Robin loves their eyes). They are from a forest habitat and require fairly high humidity. Planis eat mushrooms and fruit, in addition to the usual "high quality" greens.

Diapause is a sort of dormancy where development is slowed. In tortoises some species' eggs enter diapause, which must be "broken" for the egg to begin/continue to develop. While diapause varies by species (and many species don't have it at all) it is not always crystal-clear how to break it. It is generally done with a change in temperature (incubate for a specified time, then cool down the egg, then incubate again). Experienced breeders have a system that works for them, but not every breeder does the same thing.

 

[Candy]

Congratulations on those beautiful tortoises that you recieved today. They sound kind of like Redfoots to take care of. I also love there eyes, but their shells are amazing. Can't wait to see more pictures.....

 

[egyptiandan]

They look great Tim & Robin

Danny

 

[Weloveourtortoise]

They are so beautiful and unique! Congratualtions and enjoy them.-- I enjoyed learning about them in your last post.

 

[gummybearpoop]

Congratulations! Amazing animals and not many people who are fortunate enough to work with them. I love their eyes along with the other pyxis species. I would love to work with them, but time/space/money keeps us from keeping all the tortoise species!

It's so cool to see someone on here working with them. Keep us updated on the planicauda and also keep us updated on those arachnoides eggs!

 

[Tim/Robin]

Thanks everyone for the kind words. We are very much in love with them. They are unlike any others we have. And the good news is they are eating and were seen drinking during their soak today. The different Pyxis species have really stolen our hearts. On a very happy side note , one of the arachnoides laid an egg today, and that is always worthy of celebration!

 

[jlyoncc1]

They are really beautiful! I have never heard of or seen them before. Thanks for sharing!

 

[BigBiscuit]

What a cute, and interesting little tort.

 

[Crazy1]

Congratulations on this new group. They are lovely.

 

[Stazz]

WOOOOW Tim & Robyn, you new babies are beeeautiful !!!!!! Such amazing colouring and markings, CONGRATS

 

[Jacqui]

What a perfect way to celebrate the day! They are very stunning!

 

[tortoisenerd]

gorgeous! Never seen those before; thanks for sharing.

 

[desertsss]

Congratulations, they are beautiful!

 

[Yvonne G]

I found a picture of the group of planicauda that I was caring for. Its kinda' small, but if you look close, you can see them:

Yvonne