Future Breeders

[Tom]

Its odd about the babcocki's, ive noticed on virtually every one ive seen that has been kept humid and so forth tends to have the scutes just slightly raised with the new growth being smooth. I know mine is like as well as many others. Either its a babcocki thing or we still havent figured out the other piece of the puzzle. We always discuss how babies likely spend the first parts of there lives in small burrows that are humid and damp, well maybe the diet is drastically different during that part of there lives as well. For all we know they are down there eating worms and bugs or plant roots, who knows, maybe well never know.

I think this is because the majority of breeders "out there" start them too dry. Pyramiding can start, or NOT start, literally the day they hatch. Even if you get one that is only two weeks old, that is enough time to cause that initial rise you speak of, and establish the beginning of a pattern for future pyramiding. Any leopards that I have hatched and started myself, did NOT have that initial rise, but when ever I see tiny hatchlings, still with an egg tooth, at a reptile show, on rabbit pellets or some other dry substrate, they ALL have that initial notch around each scute. I hatched some leopard eggs for a friend a couple of years ago. I posted pics several times here on the forum, but I have no idea where to even look for them now.

I also agree that a tortoise that is 90% smooth, and has been fed well and sunned often, is just fine. Minor pyramiding is just cosmetic in my opinion, but I still want to strive for improvement.

 

[Neal]

Tom, have you tried raising any babcocki yet? If so, any pictures?

 

[Tortoise Hub]

They look great Neal! I will have to post a few of mine.

 

[TortoiseBoy1999]

They look great Neal! I will have to post a few of mine.

Yes! Please!!!!

 

[Yellow Turtle]

Out of curiosity, what kinds of things (outside of defects) would make a leopard "unique" to you? I know there are different looks, but they all fall somewhere between totally yellow and totally black, and they are all shaped somewhere between a radiated and a pancake. It seem like there are plenty of them in all of these categories though. I just don't know that I have ever seen one that I would describe as unique. Some are pretty, and some not so much, but I can't really picture a one-of-a-kind type leopard.

Nothing really specific I guess. You're right, for the most part leopards fall under the spectrum you described, but rare ones are out there and pop up from time to time. Here is one from Richard Fife (picture used with permission).

That tortoise will probably grow up to look somewhat like a normal leopard, but still, you don't see them start off like that too often.

Wow I wonder what that leopard looks like now. It should be very interesting to know.

 

[Tom]

Tom, have you tried raising any babcocki yet? If so, any pictures?

Around two years ago I hatched some out for a friend and started them for around 4 months before selling them. I posted pics back then, but my search attempts are coming up empty now. I'll try to find the old pics in my old computer.

I'm considering getting some of those location specific hatchlings that we've talked about to try out my closed chamber theories on. That's the only way I can be sure that they are true babcocki and make the experiment more "valid".

 

[Neal]

That would certainly be fascinating. If they ended up consistently growing smooth, that would be enough to shut me up.

Of course, I'd be hounding you every day for my own "hands on" experience with location specific leopards.