Humid Hatchling Chamber

[Tom]

They look Ridiculously good, Tom. What was initial reaction when they first hit the sun for the very first time? Did they run like crazy and explore? Or were they sort of surprised for a while and basked?

They just acted like every other baby that I put out. Active and exploring, but not frantic or looking for anywhere to hide. They all went over and ate too. I always leave a little plate of food in the outside pens since the sun seems to always stoke their appetite and I don't want them to be tempted to eat the substrate.

 

[dmarcus]

The all look fantastic..

 

[DeanS]

Fernando, I don't worry too much about UV. In the past, I any many others used to keep everything indoors most of the time and we really didn't have any problems. I would literally hold my iguanas outside for 20-30 minutes a couple of times a week and I never had a single one get MBD. And this was years before we had MVBs or florescent UV bulbs that actually worked. I don't worry if my reptiles go a couple of weeks in the winter with no sunshine, AS LONG AS they are getting plenty of it the rest of the year. In my experience 20 -30 minutes twice a week is all they really NEED to stay healthy. I think more is better, and the exercise from being outside in a large pen is good for them too, but in my opinion hours of UV exposure every single day is not necessary for good health. For people who live in areas where their torts won't see the sun for months at a time, this is a different story, but MY torts see the sun all year long.

Of course this is a very debatable topic, and many people have very strong feelings about it one way or the other. If anyone wants to "go there", lets start a new thread in the debatable section.

So! You're saying the 8 hours I leave the yearlings outside is excessive?!?! BTW...what experimentation are the ivories being subjected to?

 

[Tom]

Everything is going very well. Weights are now 56, 56, 64. They are perfectly smooth so far.

 

[SnakeyeZ]

Great looking tortoises.

 

[Maggie Cummings]

Tom, what do their plastrons look like? I am glad that they are thermo-regulating but what happens when one goes to a sound sleep and doesn't get off and gets burned?
This goes against everything I was taught about raising babies, I would never use heat under. It should always come from above. How much exercising are they getting in that tub? Do you take them out daily and give them lots of exercise in the sun? You know my 4 things to prevent pyramiding...

I think they need small hides to make them feel secure and safe when they sleep at night. I think you should leave those hides in there...

 

[dmmj]

I am a little confused is this different than your other experiments?

 

[Tom]

Tom, what do their plastrons look like? I am glad that they are thermo-regulating but what happens when one goes to a sound sleep and doesn't get off and gets burned?
This goes against everything I was taught about raising babies, I would never use heat under. It should always come from above. How much exercising are they getting in that tub? Do you take them out daily and give them lots of exercise in the sun? You know my 4 things to prevent pyramiding...

I think they need small hides to make them feel secure and safe when they sleep at night. I think you should leave those hides in there...

The mats have an embedded thermostat built in, and no matter how I set it, it cuts off at 104. As it sits, I have it set at 92 and it stays right at 92 all the time. I have a remote probe that I move around the mat periodically to check for any "hot" spots. I have not found any. I also use my temp gun to double check it. It also reads 92 when the mat is on. Their plastrons look perfect. Just like all my other hatchlings.

They get about an hour or two of sun 5 or 6 days a week in large outdoor pens.

A friend of a friend raises some really smooth leopards using something kind of like this, so I already knew it would not be harmful. What I really want to see is just HOW beneficial it may or may not be to proper carapace development.

 

[Tom]

Long overdue update:

They are doing very well. Their growth is VERY smooth so far. Better than last years EOP torts, and better than this years Vitashell torts. Their weights are 75, 78 and 85 grams. Their appetite is good and they still thermoregulate by moving on or off the mat. I would say that they are on their mat a little more than the others are under their basking lights.

One thing has happened that changed the parameters of the experiment a little. My remote probe that sat on the mat kept reading 86-88. I was striving for 92, so I kept bumping the mat temp up at the thermostat. Well it kept reading 88-89, even as I kept turning it up. Finally I broke out the temp gun and the mat has been at 96-98 for a while. My darn remote probe was malfunctioning! They still use the mat about the same amount, so I decided to just go ahead and leave it set at the higher setting.

On to the pics:

 

[l0velesly]

Super smooth!

 

[Stephanie]

Wow! Another successful experiment so far! They look beautiful!

 

[Balboa]

They really are looking great Tom,

I'm watching!

 

[Tom]

This experiment is done. The babies grew perfectly smooth, and I do mean perfect, but they also are growing a little slower than my norm. Not terrible or anything, just a little slower. They are healthy, active, and have great appetite. They sit on their heat mat about the same amount of time that the others bask under their lamps. I don't know why they would grow slower, given that their temps are the same as the other torts. Its just heat from below, instead of heat from above. It does seem that very high humidity does play a role in keeping them smoother. My next experiment will be to raise some in this same humid chamber, but with a heat lamp instead of a heat mat and see if that makes a difference in smoothness or growth rate. More babies on the way...

 

[Maggie Cummings]

They are beautiful and look very smooth. Good job Tom