Maybe too much moisture making their shell swell. Just saying. That doesn't mean it's true. I don't know much.Here is a photo of all 7 together. Just gave them a soak.
You can see there growth differences clearly in this photo even at this very young stage.
The one in top right I found within hours of surfacing. This one still had moist soil on the carapace.
The one in the bottom right I found with dry soil on it, I reckon at most a day after surfacing, very slight crevice.
The other 5 were found with dry soil on the carapace, don’t know how long they had been out. 3 of these definitely hadn’t eaten anything when I found them. (The only chance they could have eaten anything was if they found some adult poop to feast on). I don’t think any had eaten because they all weighed the same.
So if the 5 that are showing crevices now are showing miner signs of stacking at such a young age then their growth has come from the eggsack being absorbed only and growing in 80/85% humidity is not good enough. They had no foliage to hide in in my tort house. Purely humid air surrounding the carapace, there are no heat sources near where the babies were found so no artificial drying of the carapace
This could prove that they must hide in very wet foliage or hatch in torrential rain in the wild.
I’ve ordered a 3x6ft vivarium so I can raise these in a very tightly controlled environment for as long as possible. Soaking daily. It would be interesting if only the 5 showed stacking as they grow.
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Hopefully your babies are still doing great.Congratulations
So at the moment I have 17 babies in a 3ft viv. Not good. My 3x6ft viv should be here within next couple of days.
12. And 3 sub adults.Wow! It's a Redfoot factory over there!
And how many adults do you have?
Don't know about tortoises but I know there is several species of turtles that will "overwinter" meaning if they hatch too late in the season they will stay in the nest and not dig to surface until the following spring. I would assume all Chelonians possess some sort of ability to stay underground some time, and instincts on when it's suitable to surface.Will do. I’m just surprised they already have some growth on them.
If the ground is too dry in my enclosure (compared to the wet season in the wild), could they have sat underground for 3 or 4 weeks waiting for rain and when it didn’t turn up they were forced to raise to the surface.
They seem to be only laying on the upper deck where we don’t go. It’s a bit warmer up there.I would be afraid to walk in your RF enclosure for fear of stepping on a nest. Yipes! Sounds like it's time to separate the males and females.
Too funny! But congratulations lolSo at the moment I have 17 babies in a 3ft viv. Not good. My 3x6ft viv should be here within next couple of days.
Here is a photo of all 7 together. Just gave them a soak.
You can see there growth differences clearly in this photo even at this very young stage.
The one in top right I found within hours of surfacing. This one still had moist soil on the carapace.
The one in the bottom right I found with dry soil on it, I reckon at most a day after surfacing, very slight crevice.
The other 5 were found with dry soil on the carapace, don’t know how long they had been out. 3 of these definitely hadn’t eaten anything when I found them. (The only chance they could have eaten anything was if they found some adult poop to feast on). I don’t think any had eaten because they all weighed the same.
So if the 5 that are showing crevices now are showing miner signs of stacking at such a young age then their growth has come from the eggsack being absorbed only and growing in 80/85% humidity is not good enough. They had no foliage to hide in in my tort house. Purely humid air surrounding the carapace, there are no heat sources near where the babies were found so no artificial drying of the carapace
This could prove that they must hide in very wet foliage or hatch in torrential rain in the wild.
I’ve ordered a 3x6ft vivarium so I can raise these in a very tightly controlled environment for as long as possible. Soaking daily. It would be interesting if only the 5 showed stacking as they grow.
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20 minute Daily soaks continue.
I thought the big tray was a really good idea yesterday until the balancing act of not spilling any came when emptying.
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Your time will come.Holy canoli, what a crazy surprise. You grow tortoises like a farmer grows potatoes!