Shock of my life

Cathie G

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Here is a photo of all 7 together. Just gave them a soak.
You can see there growth differences clearly in this photo even at this very young stage.
The one in top right I found within hours of surfacing. This one still had moist soil on the carapace.
The one in the bottom right I found with dry soil on it, I reckon at most a day after surfacing, very slight crevice.
The other 5 were found with dry soil on the carapace, don’t know how long they had been out. 3 of these definitely hadn’t eaten anything when I found them. (The only chance they could have eaten anything was if they found some adult poop to feast on). I don’t think any had eaten because they all weighed the same.
So if the 5 that are showing crevices now are showing miner signs of stacking at such a young age then their growth has come from the eggsack being absorbed only and growing in 80/85% humidity is not good enough. They had no foliage to hide in in my tort house. Purely humid air surrounding the carapace, there are no heat sources near where the babies were found so no artificial drying of the carapace
This could prove that they must hide in very wet foliage or hatch in torrential rain in the wild.

I’ve ordered a 3x6ft vivarium so I can raise these in a very tightly controlled environment for as long as possible. Soaking daily. It would be interesting if only the 5 showed stacking as they grow.
View attachment 251064
Maybe too much moisture making their shell swell. Just saying. That doesn't mean it's true. I don't know much.
 

Anyfoot

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Just found one upside down in corner, an adult must have knocked it over. Looked around and I could see another climbing out of the ground. Me being me I had to dig down. Found 7 in total. 2 still had a bit of eggshell on their carapace, they were the lowest in the nest and still crunches up a bit.
47029055-FF94-4791-9361-B42D53A21156.jpeg8CAF953E-4506-4D46-B4BC-09DB7867AB5B.jpeg7E87FCA7-F33E-417F-B6DF-C7032051210F.jpeg545C8B88-9A9B-4CF9-B85F-AF877D4AEE7D.jpegBE7FECD7-07D7-4A48-9054-F661544CB33E.jpegE5CDD4EE-898E-4E91-9876-D8426ACDE3FD.jpegC221BCD4-A374-46FB-B5C9-4E895D66C214.jpeg36FA6FA1-8526-4354-A647-955D750BED67.jpegC26E79AF-7308-4DF8-84D0-9D714BC4F6ED.jpeg4A97BADD-A575-49DE-A216-C89CF6280587.jpeg8025113E-8C9A-4B17-9AF2-F93DA49C8042.jpegEDB36037-E2A5-4EE0-9D2E-384FF3417987.jpegACD3D021-2067-4C3B-B1C6-DA5F9DED7240.jpegC9BDC014-0A2F-4956-B67F-0EDA3A697A2B.jpeg
 

Anyfoot

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Oh dear. It’s getting out of hand. Just found another one digging out of the surface. Dug down and there were 3 and another 8 eggs that look ready to hatch.
Just seen a female laying eggs too. I’ll retrieve these soon as she done and dispose of them.

2 on left still have eggsacks. I’m guessing there was a clutch of 8 and a clutch of 10 in the same place.
52874513-1DDF-48CF-9D0F-9431848EF973.jpeg
 

Anyfoot

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So at the moment I have 17 babies in a 3ft viv. Not good. My 3x6ft viv should be here within next couple of days.
 

T Smart

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So at the moment I have 17 babies in a 3ft viv. Not good. My 3x6ft viv should be here within next couple of days.

Wow! It's a Redfoot factory over there!

And how many adults do you have?
 

Toddrickfl1

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Will do. I’m just surprised they already have some growth on them.
If the ground is too dry in my enclosure (compared to the wet season in the wild), could they have sat underground for 3 or 4 weeks waiting for rain and when it didn’t turn up they were forced to raise to the surface.
Don't know about tortoises but I know there is several species of turtles that will "overwinter" meaning if they hatch too late in the season they will stay in the nest and not dig to surface until the following spring. I would assume all Chelonians possess some sort of ability to stay underground some time, and instincts on when it's suitable to surface.
 

Yvonne G

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I would be afraid to walk in your RF enclosure for fear of stepping on a nest. Yipes! Sounds like it's time to separate the males and females.
 

Anyfoot

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I would be afraid to walk in your RF enclosure for fear of stepping on a nest. Yipes! Sounds like it's time to separate the males and females.
They seem to be only laying on the upper deck where we don’t go. It’s a bit warmer up there.
 

Ellen & Toby

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Oh my goodness! They are so tiny and sweet :<3: 17 babies and another 8 to hatch... what will you do with them all? :D Very funny that they just keep popping up out of the ground, it's as if the females are saying "you let 4 of the babies go so we will breed like crazy to make up for it" hahaha!
 

Anyfoot

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20 minute Daily soaks continue.
I thought the big tray was a really good idea yesterday until the balancing act of not spilling any came when emptying. :rolleyes:
AAAED6F3-5954-48E3-8965-32328152DD78.jpeg E0BE95FF-29E7-406A-ADFF-9DADB34E7F43.jpeg
 

DesertGirl

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Here is a photo of all 7 together. Just gave them a soak.
You can see there growth differences clearly in this photo even at this very young stage.
The one in top right I found within hours of surfacing. This one still had moist soil on the carapace.
The one in the bottom right I found with dry soil on it, I reckon at most a day after surfacing, very slight crevice.
The other 5 were found with dry soil on the carapace, don’t know how long they had been out. 3 of these definitely hadn’t eaten anything when I found them. (The only chance they could have eaten anything was if they found some adult poop to feast on). I don’t think any had eaten because they all weighed the same.
So if the 5 that are showing crevices now are showing miner signs of stacking at such a young age then their growth has come from the eggsack being absorbed only and growing in 80/85% humidity is not good enough. They had no foliage to hide in in my tort house. Purely humid air surrounding the carapace, there are no heat sources near where the babies were found so no artificial drying of the carapace
This could prove that they must hide in very wet foliage or hatch in torrential rain in the wild.

I’ve ordered a 3x6ft vivarium so I can raise these in a very tightly controlled environment for as long as possible. Soaking daily. It would be interesting if only the 5 showed stacking as they grow.
View attachment 251064


How wonderful to see that many tiny torts together! (Say that ten times real fast!)
 

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