Another surprise!

[68merc]

Last September I found a baby Russian in my Russian pen when I thought I found all the eggs and unsuccessfully incubated them. This year I also thought I found all the eggs and once again was had no luck with incubation.

Then today I was out looking at the herd and saw this

Here he is in his first soak, the tablespoon is for size.


There is a sad part to this, I also found one that didn't make it.

Here is a photo of last years baby with this years.

 

[Yvonne G]

HUMPH! It's a sad state of affairs when the only reason you see fit to visit us is to brag about your babies!


Cute little guy, huh? I love baby Russians. Just a note of busy-body'ness on my part...it looks like your yearling could have done with a bit more humidity in his life this past year. He's a bit bumpy. He sure grew a lot in a year. What have you fed him?

 

[68merc]

over last winter he got spring mix. when my spring lettuce was ready most of what he got was that. Then grape and mulberry along with vegetables from the garden. Keeping that small an enclosure with the correct moisture has been an issue. The soil is either to wet or to dry. This winter i plan to put a divider in to keep the water from the drip system on the side that is planted.

Yes i agree he is to bumpy but i just can't see how it is humidity... the bumps have come since he has been outside and most of the time the soil has been to wet...

ill be working on that for sure.

 

[Yvonne G]

Aren't baby Russian tortoises just the cutest little tortoises? I had some Russian eggs this past season, but none of them hatched. They don't seem to have much trouble hatching them over across the "pond." I wonder what us'ns here in the U.S. are doing wrong?

 

[68merc]

I think next year ill leave all the eggs in the ground. I did everything by the book this year and got nothing but moldy eggs.

 

[nate.mann]

I think next year ill leave all the eggs in the ground. I did everything by the book this year and got nothing but moldy eggs.

not a bad thought..Russians are notoriously difficult to hatch in captivity. might as well try and different methods.


0.1.0 Sonoran Desert Tortoise
0.0.1 Leopard Tortoise
1.0.0 Bluenose Pitbull/American Bulldog

 

[Tom]

Well since you started this Murray, lets talk some more about it. I'm knee deep in russian hatchlings right now, so I'd love to learn everything I can from you and Yvonne and everyone else.

Mine range in age from 1 year to about 4 months now. They are eating a lot, and a variety of all sorts of weeds, leaves, cactus and even some spring mix or endive with Tyler's dried herb mix on top. Some have topped 100 grams, and all are growing well. So far they are growing smooth. Indoors they have damp coco coir that they dig into and each enclosure has a humid hide. They have dry outdoor enclosures with underground shelters to get out of the sun and they spend an average of about 6-8 hours a week out there. What am I doing different?

GB has posted about hatchling russian eggs in the past. If memory serves he said he puts them in deli cups on bone dry perlite and uses cups or bowls of water in the incubator to maintain humidity around 70-80%. I'd rather he post this, so I don't mess up any details, but I think that is pretty close. Are you guys doing it different from this?

Will anybody else successfully hatching russians post your techniques here?

 

[68merc]

Tom I added water to my perlite and had a cup of water in my incubator. I collected 6 eggs this year. I put my incubator in an interior closet for tempature control. I set the temperature at the lower end (don't remember what it was at the moment) thinking better to take longer than to cook them.
I thought nk next year I'll just mark the nests and maybe check the temps and see what happens...

 

[Lovenmysuber]

Awe too cute; congrats!

 

[skottip]

I love finding hatchlings in the pen! Nothing beats mother nature!
Congrats on the new baby.

 

[lisa127]

What a cutie!

You can send him to me now.