Motion time-lapse of four hatching Hermann's tortoises

[THBfriend]

I made another time-lapse video of my last four Hermann's tortoises that hatched this year. Normally, I wouldn't release it already, but a friend asked me if he could use it as music video for one of his tracks. "Birth of a Giant" is the track's name, not saying these are giant tortoises... anyway, here it is:

 

[wellington]

OMG, too darn cute. That first one with the shell still on cracked me up. Same as that last one that got turned around in its shell, I see you finally had to help,him out. Thanks for,sharing, love it.

 

[THBfriend]

Thanks for watching and commenting.

 

[Aunt Caffy]

I can't believe how round they are. They are SO cute!

 

[littleginsu]

This is just about the coolest thing I have seen in a while! The first one, I just about died.. stomping around with his shell on! And the last little one, I can just picture him saying, "Just five more minutes, ma!"

Are they eating something from the "ground"? Do they eat their shells? Are they jumping off the dish?!

 

[Carol S]

Fantastic video. Thanks for sharing. I really enjoyed watching it.

 

[Mommyof4]

I love it!!! Thanks so much for sharing!

 

[Maro2Bear]

Really fun and interesting to watch!

 

[diamondbp]

Incredible! These are the reasons why I check the forum. Because on a rare occasion you get to see something as awesome as that.

 

[THBfriend]

Thanks, everyone!
I posted a different time-lapse here before, in case you missed it.

And the last little one, I can just picture him saying, "Just five more minutes, ma!"

Are they eating something from the "ground"? Do they eat their shells? Are they jumping off the dish?!

In real time, it was more like "just two more hours"!

They do indeed eat substrate and eggshell, or at least take bits into their mouths (the hatchling at the end of the video did not manage to swallow the big piece of shell). Eggshell might be for calcium of course, but substrate? Maybe they do it to seed their gut flora. Or maybe it's their way of "excavating" a bit of space - they normally do hatch underground, after all. If anyone here knows or has theories, please tell.

And yes, they do jump off the dish after carefully assessing the height; there were layers of paper towels all around.