For those who missed the first "End of Pyramiding" thread, I've been on a 20 year quest to figure out what causes pyramiding in our captive tortoises and how to prevent it. I've been researching, reading and talking to people all over the world trying to put together all the pieces of the puzzle. It finally all started coming together in 2007 when I read Richard and Jerry Fife's book "Leopard Tortoises". In it they discussed humidity and humid hide boxes for hatchlings as a preventative for pyramiding. Later, I met Terry K and Danny here on the forum and they added the info about shell spraying and dehydration in hatchlings, respectively.
For the last four months or so I've put what I've learned, and been taught, into practice in an experiment with my three sulcata hatchlings. The results have astounded me. They are smoother and healthier than I hoped for in a best case scenario. You can see the thread and results here:
http://tortoiseforum.org/Thread-The-End-Of-Pyramiding
A lot of folks, both publicly and privately, voiced concerns about the level of moisture and humidity and the possibility of problems because of it. I proceeded with all of this very carefully and gradually reached this level of "wetness" over several years of experimentation with my other sulcata, Daisy, as well as observing many other torts going through something similar. It was not done haphazardly or without caution. The end result has been hatchlings of a "desert" species of tortoise absolutely thriving in swampy conditions. I believe a key element has been to keep them warm, 75-80 minimum, around the clock along with all the humidity. During the day they also have a 100-110 degree basking spot for around 12 hours.
Well that first experiment has been, and continues to be a resounding success, but it was only a few individuals of one species. Now I'm going to do it again with a different species and more individuals.
Introducing my new hatchlings. These are the South African subspecies of Leopard tortoise. Geochelone pardalis pardalis. They get bigger, are more cold tolerant, and are generally regarded as hardier than the regular subspecies. I feel it important to emphasize these points, as this experiment might not yield the same results with the normal babcock subspecies, although I'm pretty sure it will.
Some of them will be from the group in the first pic and some of them will be from the group in the second pic. I've been holding off posting this because I was waiting until I had selected the final ones that I will keep, but that might not happen for months. These are all so perfect and I'm really having trouble picking. I cherry picked them all and there is just nothing wrong with any of them. If it wasn't so much work I would just keep them ALL! Anyhow they are all receiving the exact same care, conditions and diet.
They are being housed on wet coco coir which keeps the humidity right around 80-90%. The room is kept around 80F degrees night and day. They have access to a humid hide box, but seldom use it, just like my sulcatas. The tops of their enclosures are partially covered to keep humidity in. They get warm water soaked every day, sometimes twice a day. Their food gets sprayed with water before and while they eat it. Their carapaces get sprayed with plain water several times a day. They also get out for sunshine and exercise for an hour or two a day. Are all these measure completely necessary? I don't know. Once I grow some smooth, then I will try to figure out just how much, or how little, moisture is actually necessary. It should be noted that my part of the country is particularly dry most of the year. I don't know how well this much moisture will work in other parts of the country, but from my experience, as long as they don't get cold and wet at the same time, no one should have any trouble. I have been criticized for going so far over board with all the wetness. Part of the reason is to demonstrate that even at the extreme end of the "wetness" spectrum, they come to no harm, grow smooth, and turn out very healthy. I'm hoping that this will make others more comfortable using more humidity with their torts. I'm keeping them completely identical to my recommendations on this care sheet: http://tortoiseforum.org/Thread-How-To-Raise-Sulcata-Hatchlings-and-Babies
Here we go again...
For the last four months or so I've put what I've learned, and been taught, into practice in an experiment with my three sulcata hatchlings. The results have astounded me. They are smoother and healthier than I hoped for in a best case scenario. You can see the thread and results here:
http://tortoiseforum.org/Thread-The-End-Of-Pyramiding
A lot of folks, both publicly and privately, voiced concerns about the level of moisture and humidity and the possibility of problems because of it. I proceeded with all of this very carefully and gradually reached this level of "wetness" over several years of experimentation with my other sulcata, Daisy, as well as observing many other torts going through something similar. It was not done haphazardly or without caution. The end result has been hatchlings of a "desert" species of tortoise absolutely thriving in swampy conditions. I believe a key element has been to keep them warm, 75-80 minimum, around the clock along with all the humidity. During the day they also have a 100-110 degree basking spot for around 12 hours.
Well that first experiment has been, and continues to be a resounding success, but it was only a few individuals of one species. Now I'm going to do it again with a different species and more individuals.
Introducing my new hatchlings. These are the South African subspecies of Leopard tortoise. Geochelone pardalis pardalis. They get bigger, are more cold tolerant, and are generally regarded as hardier than the regular subspecies. I feel it important to emphasize these points, as this experiment might not yield the same results with the normal babcock subspecies, although I'm pretty sure it will.
Some of them will be from the group in the first pic and some of them will be from the group in the second pic. I've been holding off posting this because I was waiting until I had selected the final ones that I will keep, but that might not happen for months. These are all so perfect and I'm really having trouble picking. I cherry picked them all and there is just nothing wrong with any of them. If it wasn't so much work I would just keep them ALL! Anyhow they are all receiving the exact same care, conditions and diet.
They are being housed on wet coco coir which keeps the humidity right around 80-90%. The room is kept around 80F degrees night and day. They have access to a humid hide box, but seldom use it, just like my sulcatas. The tops of their enclosures are partially covered to keep humidity in. They get warm water soaked every day, sometimes twice a day. Their food gets sprayed with water before and while they eat it. Their carapaces get sprayed with plain water several times a day. They also get out for sunshine and exercise for an hour or two a day. Are all these measure completely necessary? I don't know. Once I grow some smooth, then I will try to figure out just how much, or how little, moisture is actually necessary. It should be noted that my part of the country is particularly dry most of the year. I don't know how well this much moisture will work in other parts of the country, but from my experience, as long as they don't get cold and wet at the same time, no one should have any trouble. I have been criticized for going so far over board with all the wetness. Part of the reason is to demonstrate that even at the extreme end of the "wetness" spectrum, they come to no harm, grow smooth, and turn out very healthy. I'm hoping that this will make others more comfortable using more humidity with their torts. I'm keeping them completely identical to my recommendations on this care sheet: http://tortoiseforum.org/Thread-How-To-Raise-Sulcata-Hatchlings-and-Babies
Here we go again...