"BlackCherry" updates...

[kbaker]

Nerd, this is still your thread. We are just doing more the our often normal thing of just fawning over pretty pictures of pretty hatchlings. We are talking about possible whys for the dark Cherryheads you and others are having, which are also seeming to be smaller, weaker, and hatchling with larger sacks.

So, Please join in.

 

[Hustler]

Thats a really good theory. Im trying to remember if it was a bit like this with the pastel sliders back in the day

 

[cdmay]

Who's thread is this?... not mine apparently!

Terry

NERD...are you whining again? These posts are supporting 'your thread' in that they are discussing the factors that might be causing the appearence of the dark colored cherryhead hatchlings.
You do understand this, don't you?

 

[onarock]

Respectfully, I have to disagree with the resting female theory. There are just too many things that tell me that females want to put eggs in the ground and are built to do such. Topic for another thread...

cdmay, how long was the incubation period in your "black" hatchlings, because there seems to be a distinct difference to me in what Terry is showing and your hatchling.

 

[cdmay]

Respectfully, I have to disagree with the resting female theory. There are just too many things that tell me that females want to put eggs in the ground and are built to do such. Topic for another thread...

cdmay, how long was the incubation period in your "black" hatchlings, because there seems to be a distinct difference to me in what Terry is showing and your hatchling.

onarock, I agree that an extended discussion regarding breeding females might be going a bit off topic. I only brought it up as a possible explanation as to why the dark/undersized hatchlings have appeared.
My point about resting females though is that in captivity, things happen that most likely do not happen in the wild--such as females constantly getting bred so that they are producing huge numbers of eggs years after year. Python and boa breeders discovered a long time ago that they can literally breed their captive females to death, or can drastically cut their life span by over-breeding.

As regards to differences between NERD's hatchlings and mine, that is a result of Terry being a much better photographer than I am and the fact that he has taken photos of all or most of his 'black cherries'. Terry's darkest ones have had even blacker shells than mine did-- but not by much, and otherwise they are virtually the same. The large yolk sacs and small size are exactly the same however which leads me to think the same situation is occuring. I should probably have photographed all of the ones I've hatched (I guess about 6 or 7 now) and also spent more time getting better photos, but like a lot of us I tend to be lazy about such things.

Lastly, the incubation time has been the same as my more 'normal' looking neonates.

 

[EricIvins]

I think everyone is over thinking this........They are Premie Tortoises......Color is one of those things that happens late in development, therefore it screams to me that the pigment is underdeveloped when they get the biological cue to hatch......Sounds to me like a developmental or possibly an incubation problem.........I used to breed ALOT of Leopard Geckos......Every year, my production would produce 8-10% that were "off" in some way.......It happens......