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  1. biochemnerd808

    Leopard tortoise 3 yr old female 2000g+

    This is the last of the leopard tortoise babies I raised, and my favorite. Has always been the biggest! She is 9.5" SCL and weighs a little over 2000g, with new growth showing at the seams. Going to be huge, her Mama is over 20" SCL. Hatched Dec 2020, got her Jan 2021. I raised her in a closed...
  2. biochemnerd808

    Well started Russian tortoise babies

    I have several well-started CB2 (2nd gen captive bred!) 2023 Russian tortoise babies available. I have raised these horsfields tortoises to 100g+ to ensure they are thriving. They are ready to ship, temperatures permitting. Fed a varied diet of weeds and garden-grown tortoise-safe greens...
  3. biochemnerd808

    Found hingeback in Houston, TX

    Not my posting. Someone in a FB group I'm in has found a hingeback (Kinyxis) in their yard. https://www.facebook.com/groups/738523053904299/permalink/982974132792522/?mibextid=Nif5oz
  4. biochemnerd808

    Pure SPP leopard tortoise, 18 months old

    This beautiful 1.5 year old, 550g pure SPP leopard tortoise needs a new home. Known parents feom a reputable breeder. I raised it from 1 week old, and it's smooth and perfect. It spent the first year in a closed chamber, high humidity habitat. Daily soaks, natural UV during warm season...
  5. biochemnerd808

    17 month old mixed genetics leopard SPP/SPB

    In an effort to simplify my life, I've decided to sell this well started, smooth, beautiful, extra dark mixed genetics leopard tortoise hatched by Byron Pitre. It's father is pure SPP, mother is SPB/SPP mix. Should be a pet, not a breeder, in the interest of keeping the gene pool orderly...
  6. biochemnerd808

    Dark dark dark leopard!

    This little one is turning out to be SO dark! I love the coloring. Its neck has some amazing marbling on it, too. I'm curious what it will look like fully grown. Whether it will continue dark, or end up with more light coming in? 19 months old, outside 24/7 since May this year. Before that, in a...
  7. biochemnerd808

    Good hatching year!

    My little crew has had a good hatching year so far! 1 month old to 3 days here. 3 different clutches. All of them are CB2, second generation captive. We left on a road trip for 17 days, and 2 more eggs hatched during that time. I had placed 3 more eggs in a separate bin on moist paper towels...
  8. biochemnerd808

    My pure SPP

    Phoebe is thriving outside! I moved her out there 24/7 in April from the closed chamber. She (ok, might be a he) is growing so much. I'm dreading winter, because she is used to roaming a whole big area outside that is more than twice the winter habitat. I got her at 1 weeks old weighing 22g...
  9. biochemnerd808

    17 month old leopard tortoise SPB/SPP mixy

    I have a beautiful, nearly 400g yearling+ leopard tortoise available. I got it at 2 months old from a TX breeder who soaks their babies daily. I also soaked daily and have raised it in a high humidity closed chamber, fed on weeds and garden greens and grass. Good eater, friendly, used to...
  10. biochemnerd808

    Incubating a broken egg

    One of my female Russian tortoises laid eggs today. Unfortunately, she broke one of them, but the yolk was still intact in the dirt. I very carefully spooned it up and brought it inside, since I remember seeing a thread here about an external incubation in saran wrap. (Here...
  11. biochemnerd808

    Deep shade and shade cloth for my Russian tortoises

    With warm weather coming, I wanted to share what I do about shade. You need sone DEEP shade, medium deep shade, and speckled shade. Ground temps can rise to 150°F here in the summer, which obviously isn't safe! I use 80% shade cloth (bought online - compare prices), one layer up high at a...
  12. biochemnerd808

    Pebble, my "great grand tortoise" - CB2.

    Pebble is getting so big. She is the granddaughter of my first tortoise. She turns 1 in June and is just shy of 200g. Her coloring is really interesting, she was a very 'plain' baby with no speckling when she hatched, but is turning out to be quite the beauty! She lives outside now full...
  13. biochemnerd808

    Russian tortoise habitats with locking lids

    Since I took this photo to show one of our members how I do locking lids, I figure I'd post this so others can also see. :) Each of the habitats is 10ft x 10ft (I have a total of 4 for RTs, plus one for my junior leopards, and the area around them is inhabited by an adult leopard tortoise)...
  14. biochemnerd808

    8 itty bitty RT eggs.

    One of my young CB Russian tortoise females who reached breeding weight last year laid a clutch of 8 itty bitty eggs this afternoon. I was so surprised! I think she was, too. The final 2 eggs were barely covered, she must have run out of space. The smallest egg is only 10g. Six of them are...
  15. biochemnerd808

    5 eggs in the first RT egg clutch of the year

    RT breeding season is off to a good start. Topaz laid these 5 eggs yesterday afternoon. I dug them up at dusk, didn't expect that many in one clutch! Topaz is the daughter of my first tortoise and Jasper, the male, is also CB. These babies will be CB2. I'm not selling any hatchlings, only...
  16. biochemnerd808

    Hydration squiggles!

    Hydration squiggles! Do you see those little light colored squiggles? This is what a healthy, well hydrated baby's shell should look like. How do you grow a baby with a beautiful shell? - Daily soaking - Misting shell every 2-3 hours with warm water - Good weeds for food - 30 mins of natural...
  17. biochemnerd808

    I'm a tortoise great grandma!!

    I'm officially a tortoise great Grandma. My first tortoise's daughter's egg hatched this weekend. Timmy girl (Grandma) was my first ever tortoise. She was killed by a racoon 3.5 years ago. Topaz (Mama) is an 8-year-old female who hatched from my first clutch ever. I didn't breed her until this...
  18. biochemnerd808

    Baby leopard brag post

    I know that growing smooth leopards is the standard now... But I still wanted to post a photo of my 5 little beauties. They range from 36g-143g. Raising in closed chambers with high humidity, diet is all weeds and fresh snipped grasses. Daily soaks, misting several times a day.
  19. biochemnerd808

    Drying weeds for the cold season

    Right now our yard and field and tortoise habitats are growing more tortoise food than my tortoises can eat. Thinking ahead for dry Summer months and cold winter months (during which my Russian tortoises are brumating in the fridge, but my leopard tortoises still need food!), I've picked a bunch...
  20. biochemnerd808

    First RT eggs of 2022

    Topaz gifted me with 3 beautiful big eggs today. Pretty eggciting, since if they are fertile, these babies will be CB2.
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