Dance card, second result

Kapidolo Farms

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2015-05-01 05.46.16.jpg
The first result of the dance card http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/the-dance-card.97526/ was that the males seemed to have done their work, in subduing females and mating them. The second part is in the image above, I hope the third part will be a neonate.

The dance sessions can be brutal as @Benjamin has illustrated before. The females I have have been on an eating rage for several weeks now with an abundant supply of Mulberry. It seems to be their favorite food item, as with almost all the tortoises here.

Anyone care to offer insight into exact incubation dynamics, needs, or parameters, I'm listening.
 
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keepergale

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As you know I can't add anything to the Forsten's conversation other than congratulations.
Good luck with the last dance.
 

Kapidolo Farms

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Thanks keepergale. I spent an bit extra time cleaning up last night, and redistributed some isopods.The egg laying female, she's the one who emptied her enclosure of the isopods. The correlation is 100%, but cause and effect are completely a guess, was it the exercise of rooting around for the isopods, their contribution to her nutrition, or just a stochastic event? Hmmm.
 

tortadise

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Thanks keepergale. I spent an bit extra time cleaning up last night, and redistributed some isopods.The egg laying female, she's the one who emptied her enclosure of the isopods. The correlation is 100%, but cause and effect are completely a guess, was it the exercise of rooting around for the isopods, their contribution to her nutrition, or just a stochastic event? Hmmm.
I think so. I remember posting an article on indotestudo elongata and snail consumption. Must have some sort of correlation indeed. Very cool. Hope the ova hatches, another new bloodline is great. Do you plan on studbook contribution with the founder animals and offspring?
 

Kapidolo Farms

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I think so. I remember posting an article on indotestudo elongata and snail consumption. Must have some sort of correlation indeed. Very cool. Hope the ova hatches, another new bloodline is great. Do you plan on studbook contribution with the founder animals and offspring?
Well, @tortadise if that egg hatches I will pursue it, otherwise I just have pets. Any specific direction you care to offer on successful incubation?
 

tortadise

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Fantastic. I have not hatched any yet. My wild collected are still juveniles. Few more years perhaps. The F2s I have are catching up. Should be a great next 5 years. If I recall a conversation with Ben a while back I believe he puts them through a short cool period like high 70s in ambient fluctuation for a few weeks then proceeds with incubation mid 80s or other for TSD if desired. He doesn't come on too much anymore. I'll call him and ask him to get on here and message his method. He also has the stud book keepers info too.
 

Benjamin

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Congratulations on the ova! Refresh my memory as to how long these animals have been in your care?
No short diapause for them, they go straight into the incubator or simply on the shelf. I think @tortadise is thinking of our kinixys homeana discussion.
They will hatch at temps from 76-87f. I've had plenty of viable ova fail at the 2-3month point. Seems they prefer to be kept at a lower humidity with a nearly dry incubation medium.
Best of luck with them.
 

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Kapidolo Farms

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Congratulations on the ova! Refresh my memory as to how long these animals have been in your care?
No short diapause for them, they go straight into the incubator or simply on the shelf. I think @tortadise is thinking of our kinixys homeana discussion.
They will hatch at temps from 76-87f. I've had plenty of viable ova fail at the 2-3month point. Seems they prefer to be kept at a lower humidity with a nearly dry incubation medium.
Best of luck with them.
WC imports in the late spring of 2013, so in my care for about two years. Thanks for the clue on humidity.
 

Kapidolo Farms

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Well, that same female did it again, egg looks a bit soiled, it may have been laid a day or two ago. I don't check every enclosure everyday for eggs. The first one (yes, @Turtlepete these two are my first Forsten's ova) was laid 01 May 2015, this second egg from the same female was found today, but perhaps laid a day or two ago. The eggs are very near identical in size and shape. @Benjamin has shown images of eggs of very different sizes from different Forsten's females. These seem to be on the larger end of the range depicted.

For all that has been said good about Mulberry leaves as a diet item, it would be good to include this anecdote. Greater than 90% of her diet has been Mulberry since the Mulberry angel has been visiting me, a few months now. I put a large pile of fresh in her enclosure on delivery days, I do not remove the dry. She eats both, the dry even when fresh is available. It is presumptuous to ascribe too much to that, but at least it is a good enough food source to support egg laying. Other food items have been summer squash and opuntia pads, sprinkled with moistened Layena.
 

Kapidolo Farms

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Yeah, last night I added some other eggs to the incubator and scrutinized the Forsten's eggs. One has settled contents, so likely not fertile, the other one I could not tell. Andrew at the Arizona Tortoise Compound had recently offered several neonates, he seems to be doing well with them. All my adults are doing well and growing, I have in mind larger enclosures now that I have more space. Actual home improvement efforts take the priority though.
 
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