Spending over 5 decades trying to figure out pyramiding, it is such a pleasure now to see how smooth we can grow tortoises. Especially ones known for being more prone to pyramiding. I have spent countless hours watching baby tortoises grow and waiting for that tell-tale dip to start to form in the seam between scutes. Growing smooth sulcatas and leopards has been fun, but I was eager to see how the Burmese Stars would grow.
I have ended up believing in plant cover for natural hides. Plenty of plants. My experiments showed that under the fronds of plants, the humidity remains at virtually 100%. And I believe tortoise babies are "programmed" to look for and stay hidden in plant cover. In my enclosure, that is where they naturally go from the first minutes I put them in.
So far, with the oldest in this picture almost 8 weeks old, I am excited about the results. I have left this image at full resolution, so you can really zoom in and see how they are growing. Not only perfectly smooth, but very fast. They double their hatch weight in right about 5 weeks.
Here's a side view of #9 as well:
Here's a view inside their enclosure this morning to see how they like to stay hidden:
I am keeping back several to continue growth records. I also have very complete incubation stats and am comparing diapause methods for TSD results as well. I am now starting to sell some of them as well. If interested, please PM me.
I have ended up believing in plant cover for natural hides. Plenty of plants. My experiments showed that under the fronds of plants, the humidity remains at virtually 100%. And I believe tortoise babies are "programmed" to look for and stay hidden in plant cover. In my enclosure, that is where they naturally go from the first minutes I put them in.
So far, with the oldest in this picture almost 8 weeks old, I am excited about the results. I have left this image at full resolution, so you can really zoom in and see how they are growing. Not only perfectly smooth, but very fast. They double their hatch weight in right about 5 weeks.
Here's a side view of #9 as well:
Here's a view inside their enclosure this morning to see how they like to stay hidden:
I am keeping back several to continue growth records. I also have very complete incubation stats and am comparing diapause methods for TSD results as well. I am now starting to sell some of them as well. If interested, please PM me.