Recent content by SulcataPardalis

She's definitely nesting. She digs a large hole with her front feet, then turns around and starts digging with her back feet. It looks like she starts to dig a jug shaped hole like my leopards do, but gives up at that point. In eight years she has never just burrowed, so I am 99% certain she...

It's hovering around 45 degrees here today. She will dig, then sit in the hole, with her head in, for hours. I am more than happy to just leave her and let her get on with it, but come 7pm it is pitch black here with the temps falling. I have assumed this last week that once it gets to this...

Hi, My female sulcata successfully laid earlier this year (March) in her nesting box that I have set up for her. She seems to have decided it is time to lay again. She has started two nests outside - they are more like open cast mining, rather than nesting. The problem I have is that...

What is the best way to mark hatchlings to identify them? Would marker pen on the shell (just small dots) be ok? I did think about using small stickers, but these would just fall off. I guess the obvious one would be to photograph them. What do you guys do?

Here are a few photos of my first ever Sulcata's that I have hatched. They started to pip on Thursday, and the first one left its shell this afternoon (Saturday). There are still six eggs in the clutch that have yet to show signs of hatching.

No, not at all. It's turned into a very informative thread.

She is approximately 8yrs and 14". Thought she was a bit too small yet, but apparently not!

My female Sulcata laid her first clutch of nine eggs today. She has been pacing and trying to escape her shed for days. I relented yesterday and let her out in the near freezing UK temperatures and she started to dig a nest. I returned her to her shed, but placed her on her own in the nesting...

And here she is laying the eggs.

This is the female that laid the two dotted hatchings. This is the female that laid the light coloured hatchlings. And this is most likely suspect for the dad.

Hi, I have always assumed my leopards to be s.p.babcocki Yesterday three babies hatched from a clutch and had a hint of the double spot on the scutes that I have read indicates s.p.pardalis I am 100% certain mine aren't - is this just an anomaly. As you can see from the photos, it is...

Thank you for the advice. I will modify my boxes with side holes and be a little more accurate with the measuring of the water to vermiculite ratio. My leopards seem to start laying at the end of September, with the latest eggs laid on new years eve. Being relatively new to breeding, is the...

I have a habstat pulse thermometer controlling a ceramic heater. Works very well with stable temps throughout the incubator.

I am realtively new to breeding tortoises. I have been keeping them for over 15 years, but it has only been the last 18 months that I have had success in breeding them. The following is my setup This is my incubator - I know the temp is reading low, but I have just opened the door to...

Next time I will try that. Problem is, I didn't realise there was a dead tort also in the egg. I figured something was wrong when the tort that had hatched wasn't moving (previously I could see his legs moving), so had a closer look. Now that I know it can happen, I will be much more...