They sure grow fast!

[Markw84]

Just a quick update on the Burmese Star group I got almost 9 months ago now. I also added 3 more Burmese to the group 2 1/2 months ago, and they are now about the size the first group was when I got them. SO it is interesting to see one next to the other for comparison. This is my largest female who was 2nd to the smallest when I got the group. When I got her mid March, she was 5 years old. She was 5.26" long and weighed 427 g. Today she is 8.3" long and weighs 1650 g. I put her next to one of the new females that is now 5.15" and 430g so it is a great comparison of how much she has grown in just shy of 9 months.



I also have been anxious to see what happens to the pyramiding they had when I got them. Here is a shot today if a side view showing how the new growth is coming in so much flatter.



Here's a group shot. Feeding time after the bath for the females...



Their salad of greens complete with my special "tortoise salad dressing" I use.

 

[Neal]

They look great!

Are you able to share your salad dressing recipe, or is it top secret?

 

[wellington]

Nice looking group. It's funny, when you first get a hatchling or young one, they seem to grow slow. However, once they start putting enough growth on that you can actually see they have gotten bigger, it seems to not stop and boom, they seem so big!

A agree with Newl too on the salad dressing

 

[Markw84]

They look great!

Are you able to share your salad dressing recipe, or is it top secret?

I'll do a thread on that next time a make up a batch.

It is a mash of Mazuri, Rep Cal diet, Chopped Orchard Grass Hay, Tortoisesupply.com herbal tortoise hay, grated oputia, and water all mixed thoroughly together. the tortoises love it and it has great calcium ratios, fiber, vitamins, etc!

 

[G-stars]

Great job with them Mark. Can't wait to see how big they will be a year from now.

 

[Tom]

They are looking great. It appears the monsoon season agrees with them.

Mine started very slow as hatchlings. They hardly grew at all for the first few months, and then they just sprouted. Most of my girls are nearly 3000 grams at 3 years old. One girl is 3800. I feed them mostly weeds and grass, but man do they put it away.

 

[Markw84]

They are looking great. It appears the monsoon season agrees with them.

Mine started very slow as hatchlings. They hardly grew at all for the first few months, and then they just sprouted. Most of my girls are nearly 3000 grams at 3 years old. One girl is 3800. I feed them mostly weeds and grass, but man do they put it away.

WOW! 3800g. When do you think you will allow them to breed? 3000g seems large enough, but 3 years would be the youngest I've heard of??

 

[Tom]

WOW! 3800g. When do you think you will allow them to breed? 3000g seems large enough, but 3 years would be the youngest I've heard of??

Planning on this spring for breeding.

 

[skottip]

Tom, my females that produced your babies didn't produce until 8 or 9 years old if I remember correctly. I would be interested in seeing how young they can produce. Its amazing the different growth rates I get too. Some explode and some are just slower starters. One of my females that you have babies from is almost 8,000 grams now.