Russian tortoise Baby#4 hatched today!

Russian tortoise baby#4 made an appearance today! 

POP! And she was out!

Today was day#60 for the second batch of eggs, so I peeked into the incubator window with a flashlight. What did I see? Little eyeballs staring back at me! 

Baby must have been sitting in the incubator coming out of her egg for quite a while (could have been since yesterday), because her egg just about disintegrated in my hands when I picked it up to move her into the little bin. She had thoroughly shredded it and crawled right out of the egg into my hand.

Baby#4 is a beautiful, healthy little Russian tortoise. 

Welcome to the world, baby#4! She's happy, healthy, and has a tiny splitty scute. Scutes are the little partitions in a tortoise's shell, and a 'normal' tortoise has a set number of them. Occasionally (based on incubation temperature, genetics, and other factors), a tortoise hatches with a few extra scutes. This does not harm the tortoise at all, it just make sit unique. 

Freshly out of the egg, still with a fold in its belly and a small yolk sac.

I included a pic of her belly, because I thought you would like to see how the babies are folded in the egg. She will absorb that bit of yolk sac in the next day.

I still have 2 more eggs from this clutch in the incubator. I can't wait for them to hatch as well! 

I made a little collage of Baby#4

Scary beginnings, but happy ending. Russian Tortoise Baby#3

Ok, today I want to share with you the somewhat scary beginning of our Russian tortoise Hatchling#3. I wanted to wait to be sure there was a happy ending. Rest assured, all is well now!

Baby#3, healthy and chipper now

First, I want to thank my very knowledgeable friend Melissa, who helped me and advised and encouraged me... at 10pm! She deserves a huge hug. I am so thankful she is a part of my life!

I wanted to share this, first because I think it's just amazing how nature is set up, and second, because I am amazed at how robust these wee babies actually are, given the proper care.

First, here is a picture of a normal hatchling's cute fat little belly a few hours after hatching. It is normal for baby tortoises to hatch with a small yolk sac still hanging out of their belly button. This then absorbs within a few days, and baby can go its merry way.

A normal hatchling's fat little belly. This is Baby#2.

Well, when I saw Baby#3 was pipping, I moved the egg to the container in the incubator with a moist paper towel. I did this because I was going to be busy, and didn't want baby to hatch onto the incubation substrate and possibly ingest some or get some stuck on its belly. In retrospect, I am so glad I did this!
I checked on it sequentially, and saw first a little head and leg... and then I checked back in a few hours later, and saw baby RT#3 out of the egg, but with a big orange thing under its belly. Yikes!

This is not what you want to see... a huge yolk sac!

I carefully took the baby out to investigate, and oh dear, it looked terrible! The yolk sac was huge, and there was some kind of pink thing on the end of it!

The yolk sac is way too big on this wee tortoise - she's a preemie!

I contacted my friend Melissa (who knows a lot more about tortoises and breeding than I do), and she assured me that this happens, and that it will probably absorb, with proper care. Baby should have probably stayed in the egg for a few more days, but might have kicked a hole in the egg while turning, which resulted in a premature hatch.
I made a little donut pillow out of a moist paper towel, and put baby on it, with the yolk sac in the middle. This way the baby's body weight wouldn't be squishing the sac. The moisture protected the membranes.

Baby#3 on her donut pillow

I then covered baby with a second moist paper towel, since babies like to feel covered. I closed the incubator, said a silent prayer, and went to bed. I knew the best thing for baby was to be left alone now.

Night night wee baby!

The next morning I shone a light into the incubator, but didn't open it. Baby was still on its donut pillow, but it moved a leg and opened its eyes when I shone the light in. It was alive! 

Towards late afternoon, I checked again, and baby had moved off of its little donut. I decided now was a good time to check on baby - and was amazed to see that most of the yolk sac really had absorbed.

Still not perfect, but SO much better!

I soaked baby in some warm water, and placed it back in the incubator in the container with moist towels. She was chipper, and walked around, even climbed up and over her little donut, which she no longer needed.

Soaking in warm water helps keep baby hydrated, and helps keep the tissue soft as it heals

Over the following days I continued to just leave her alone, except to soak her for 20mins each day. The yolk sac continued to absorb. The following pic is about 36 hours after hatching.

Much better - still just a little bit of healing necessary!

Here is Baby#3, when I was confident she would be OK!

No longer in danger, WHEW!

Now the yolk sac is fully absorbed, and the little umbilical wound is almost completely closed. The little pink 'tag' has gone inside now, too. She is going to be just fine. 

In another day or so, her little plastron will look completely normal

Also, interesting fact: She flipped herself back onto her belly all by herself right after I took this picture.

Welcome to the world, little RT Baby#3!

She has the cutest face!

...watch out, she'll charm the socks off of you!

Ps: I refer to this baby as 'she' and 'her' based on the fact that the incubation temperatures were high. Tortoises can be temperature sexed, with higher temperatures resulting in females, lower temperatures resulting in males. There is no guarantee, but it is VERY LIKELY that this is a female. 

Another one hatched! Baby#2

Last night the second baby Russian tortoise hatched. I caught her peeking out of her egg when I checked the incubator one last time in the evening. I moved the egg into a separate container with a damp paper towel in the incubator, since I didn't want baby to ingest any of the incubation substrate.

Baby tortoise #2 pipping out of her shell

Then this morning, she was out of the shell and walking around. I briefly took her out of the incubator to weigh her and check her.

Just out of the shell, and already spunky!

S/he weighs 16g, and is fat and wiggly.

It's hard to imagine just how tiny they are! I have small hands, too.

She has the normal number of scutes, and interestingly, her color is much lighter than the first baby's shell.

Her fat little belly. She'll absorb the last bit of yolk soon.

This second hatchling still has a small yolk sac around her belly button. This will be absorbed in the next few days while she is still in the incubator. You can see the line where she was folded in half in the egg. The babies end up folded in half, with their back legs touching their front legs, and head by the tail. By the time I saw her this morning, she had fully uncurled.

Welcome to the world, little one! 2 babies hatched, 4 more eggs to go!

Newest addition: Meet Russian tortoise baby #1 from egg#2!

After 64 days of incubation, the first of my Russian tortoise eggs hatched this evening! I had already checked on the eggies in the incubator this morning, and there was nothing to see. When I briefly shone the flashlight in there this evening, I was surprised and delighted to see this:

Baby#1 made its appearance out of egg#2!

I carefully opened the incubator and took baby and egg out of the incubation substrate. She had a bit of egg shell stuck on her face, so I dripped some water on her head very carefully, and it came right off.

14g of cuteness!

This little one has all the parts it should have (2 eyes, 4 legs, 1 tail), and a few extra scutes (scutes are the little square-ish partitions in the shell). Extra scutes won't hurt her in the least, they just make her unique.

Bright eyed and wriggly!

After weighing the wee one and showing her to the hubby and the kids, I carefully placed her in a little container with a moist paper towel, and put her and her egg back into the incubator. She will spend a bit of time in there, and will then move into a nice enclosure where she will grow and explore!

My first Russian tortoise hatchling

I am so proud that my favorite female tortoise Timmy is now officially a Momma... and hopefully there will be many, many more baby tortoises to follow over the next 100 years of Timmy's life! :)

UPDATE: Baby#1 is now out of the incubator, and in the closed-chamber enclosure I've set up for the babies.

Spunky little baby#1 basking

I think she knows she is cute!

Quick summary of LIGHTING for tortoises

I've seen a lot of questions pertaining to lighting lately. I wrote up a little summary in March for a FB group, so I'm copying it here, just to have a nice summary here that might be useful. 

Russian tortoises (as well as others) need heat and UVB (and UVA, but that's easier). The heat helps their bodies reach the necessary core temperature to function, digest, etc. The UVB helps their bodies produce vitamin D3, which is necessary for absorbing calcium into strong bones and a strong shell. Most of the UVB is absorbed through the skin of their legs and head, but their shell does need UVB also.

Synchronized basking? Yes please!

Ideally, a tortoise gets to spend the warm months outside in a safe enclosure with hiding opportunities and good plants to eat. If you are not able to provide an outdoor enclosure, even 30 minutes a day (or a few times per week) are beneficial. Even the advanced artificial UVB technology cannot replace real sunlight.

Lady, basking outside on a rare warm March day.

Heat and UVB can be provided via an all-in-one Mercury Vapor bulb (MVB) that produces both heat and UVB. It is very important that the MVB is suspended at a straight-up-and-down angle, not at a slant or on its side. These bulbs are balanced, so they will have a shorter lifespan if they aren't installed correctly. Save your receipt, as most companies will replace the bulb if it burns out before a year is over. Depending on the brand, an MVB gives off UVB for 6-12 months. After that it gives off light, but no longer UVB. ZooMed Powersun and ExoTerra SolarGlo are good brands in the US. I would love to hear which brands are recommended in the UK and elsewhere.

Both the MVB and the regular heat lamp should be installed in a ceramic fixture (to prevent overheating) with a dome. Make sure the fixture is rated for the Wattage and Volts of your lamp. You can often find good fixtures at the Feed store (in the baby chicks section) for a lot cheaper than at the pet store. Hardware stores also often carry them. Make sure to use a chain or wire to install the lamp, rather than the clamp. The clamps notoriously fail, and I personally know several folks who had small or large fires as a result.

Alternatively, you can provide heat and UVB separately: 
-The heat can be provided with any regular (old fashioned) 100W household bulb, or the 125W brooder lamps used for baby chicks. Those cost about $3, which is a lot cheaper than buying a 'reptile' bulb, which often has a shorter lifespan before it burns out. 
-The UVB can be provided with a tube-style light. Do NOT use the curly/coil style UVB light. These are cheaper, but are known to harm tortoise's eyes and cause other problems. ZooMed Reptisun and ExoTerra Repti-Glo are good brands in the US. Both of the 18" versions of this will fit in a standard T8 under-cabinet fixture. No need to buy the over-priced and badly made pet fixture. GE makes one that is sold at the Home Depot or Amazon for $13 . Make sure you get the kind that is 'plug in' not for hard-wiring. I would love to hear more about reliable brands in the UK and elsewhere. 

 

The UVB tube lights will radiate UVB for 6-8 months. Since my tortoises spend the Summer outside, I replace the bulbs every September or October when I bring them inside. That way the torts start the indoor season with good fresh UVB sources. I put a small piece of masking tape with the date I switched the bulb onto the inside of the fixture.

Russian tortoises need a basking spot temperature (measured right under the lamp at shell height) of 95-100 degrees F (about 35 degrees C). Make sure that it is not hotter, or you can burn your tortoise's shell. Make sure it is warm enough, too, or your tortoise will have trouble digesting his food. 
An infrared thermometer works really well to measure the temperatures in a tortoise enclosure - I can just point the little red dot at the spot I want to measure, and get an instant reading. I read many reviews and then bought THIS one. I have been using it for 3 years, and am happy with it. It has not needed new batteries, in spite of frequent use. 

Russian tortoises do NOT require nighttime heat, unless the room they are in drops below 58 degrees F (15 degrees C) at night. In fact, your RT will be more active if he is not heated at night. The temperatures drop in their wild habitat when it gets dark, so they are wired to dig in for the night, and come back out when it warms up and gets brighter. No red nighttime light necessary. If the room is really cold, you can use a CHE (ceramic heat emitter), but keep it on a thermostat to prevent overheating (I like the Hydrofarm digital thermometer). A CHE does sap a lot of electricity, and the cheap brand ones can get hot spots of 600+ degrees, so don't skimp.

I highly recommend shopping around when you are getting a new bulb. Pet stores are usually the most expensive. Online stores are often a good source, but keep the shipping cost in mind. Big Apple Herp and Carolina Pet Supply are 2 I've bought from. Amazon also often has good deals - sometimes really incredible deals. Last year I bought 10 Exo Terra Repti Glo 10.0 UVB bulbs in a pack that ended up being $13 per tube, with free shipping. Sometimes eBay has good deals too.

Happy basking!

For the record, I am not being paid for any brand name recommendations. I am simply sharing what works for me and many other tortoise keepers. 

Marginated tortoises update!

Everyone loves baby tortoises... and I have taken a ton of pictures of my wee Marginated babies the last few months, but have been too busy to post them!  

Marginated tortoises end up growing to be quite large, about 14 inches 35cm) straight carapace length. My babies now range from about 3" - 4.5" length. That is a lot of growth in the few months since they hatched!

Blossom, looking at the camera

You may remember that when I got Blossom and Buttercup, they were just 16g, and ooooh so tiny. I can tell you though, these spunky little gals grow SO QUICKLY. Because of this, they are very prone to pyramiding. Marginated tortoises need a lot of calcium and good hydration and exercise and healthy food and good UVB to grow healthily (smoothly!).

I promise she isn't grumpy... that's just her face

I've used a slightly more relaxed version of the so-called 'hot/humid' method for raising these babies. I will write more about this later - I learned about this method from my tortoise-mentors Melissa and Tom, and their threads about how they raise their leopard tortoise babies, sulcata babies and Russian tortoise babies are on the Tortoise Forum. These little Margies are thriving like heck!

Smooth as marble! 

 I keep a log of the weights of my tortoises, and the most recent weigh-in of the Margie babies was as follows:
Buttercup: 266g (at 17 months)
Bubbles: 148g (at 7 months)
Blossom: 92g (at 8 months)
Looking at growth curves for Marginated tortoises, they are definitely on the large side of the curve. Bubbles is HUGE for her age, but she started out huge. She was the same size at 10 days as her peers were at a month... her Momma was not small, either.

From left to right, Bubbles, Buttercup, Blossom

I am not worried that Blossom is smaller - she started out petite. She eats like a little piggy though, and her growth curve is steady.

Bubbles is the darkest of the three.

Bubbles is the darkest of the three babies, and judging by her current size, I suspect she will be the largest of them all. At just 7 months age she is already larger than Buttercup was at 1 year!

Bubbles found the violet patch

As soon as the weather started getting warmer, I made sure the tortoises get time outside. Even if the air temperature is still only 55 degrees F (13 degrees C), the ground temperature is much warmer in the sun, and using a temp gun, the shell temperature of the basking tortoises was actually about 80 degrees.

Yummy violets!

I would recommend to anyone who keeps a tortoise (or several) to provide as much natural sunlight as possible. The sun provides the valuable UVB rays that are necessary for a tortoise's vitamin D3 generation, which in turn is necessary for calcium absorbtion, for healthy bones and a healthy shell. We live in the Pacific Northwest, so it is mild but chilly here in January and February. It was still too cold in the tortoise garden, since the house still shaded it at that time of year. However, I brought the tortoises outside in a variety of bins, to get some natural sunlight.

Still sparse, but once the weeds grow in, it will be lush!

Now that the weather is warmer, and the angle of the sun has changed for Springtime, the baby Marginated tortoises spend several hours outside in their covered enclosure every day. In the picture above you can see that the weeds are still very sparse... I obviously supplement their food by adding in more piles of weeds. In a few weeks, once the weather warms up more, this area will be lush with weeds! :)

I hope you all enjoyed the pictures... I have actually taken in a 4th little Marginated baby, but this one is very pyramided, and has been chewed by the previous owner's dog. I have named it Waffle and will post some pictures of this one, soon.

More eggs from our Russian tortoise female Timmy!

Timmy, my favorite female Russian tortoise, has laid MORE eggs this week. 

Timmy, pushing out one of the 3 eggs on March 22nd

She laid 1 egg on Feb 17th, and then on March 22nd, she started pacing and digging in her tort table. I gave her a cat litter box full of slightly moist soil, and she laid 3 beautiful eggs into a nest hole she dug there.

I think this was the second egg. She pushed each egg further into
the nest hole before laying the next. 

The eggs are in an incubator now, which is set to 89 degrees, hoping to temperature sex the hatchlings to be female. It usually takes 60-100 days for a Russian tortoise baby to hatch. Unlike e.g. chicken eggs, tortoise eggs need to lie completely still, on their side, for the embryo to develop.

The 3 eggs from March 22nd, right before going into the incubator.
I had to use coconut coir instead of vermiculite, since I wasn't expecting these eggs.

Then on April 7, I noticed she was digging nest holes in the outdoor enclosure. I kept a hawk's eye on her, and in the late afternoon, she laid 3 more eggs into a nest hole she dug. Once she was done, I very carefully dug them up and placed them into the incubator as well.

Timmy eating a well-deserved meal after laying her clutch
of 3 eggs outside at the beginning of this week

This makes a total of 7 eggs! I am fairly certain that the first one (from Feb) isn't fertile... but so far the other 6 look great. They have chalked over, which is a good sign. I probably won't candle the other eggs, but will instead force myself to just wait and see if they hatch. Leaving them alone completely is much more healthy than if I bother them in an effort to check on them.

In addition to being very hungry, Timmy has also eaten 1.5 cuttlefish bones!
Her body needs the extra calcium to keep her own bones strong,
and to make healthy eggs.

This means that in a few months, I will hopefully be up to my eyeballs in Russian tortoise hatchlings... a rather wonderful problem to have, don't you think?

I guess I should update who the tortoise stars of this blog are.

It has been a long time since the last 'tortoise inventory' blog post. My tortoise bale (that's what you call a group of tortoises) has grown just a little. This means more food, more enclosures... and more fun!

A few of the previously featured tortoises now live with friends here in town - Boo lives with a wonderful local woman who adores him and has re-named him Rok. He gets to roam a nice outdoor space, and gets spoiled rotten. Mo continues to be happy and healthy with my friends, and he now has a lady-friend-tortoise, Molly. I really love seeing the tortoises that I rehabilitated find happy lives with my friends! (I should say "Muahuahuahua, my evil plan to infest interest my friends with tortoises is working!)

Although I keep my tortoises separated by species, you get to meet the tortoise stars of this blog all in one place, for once:

The Russian tortoises:

The Testudo horsfieldii are a lively bunch. 

Timmy was the first one I got, and she remains the boss of them all, even though she is not the biggest. She patrols her territory with gusto. She is also the only female who has laid eggs for me so far. She is about 7 inches SCL.

Roz was my second tortoise, and although he is male, he does not seem very excited about his little tortoise harem. He only wants Timmy. He is about 5 inches SCL.

Jill is the smallest of the females, but is 5.5" SCL now, which is larger than Roz. Remember how small she was when I got her? She is still the most timid, and when they are indoors, I house her separately from the others because she becomes withdrawn if they pick on her. Outdoors she does fine. 

Mila is my pretty green girl. She is easy going, and gets along fine with the others. I suspect she will grow to be very large, as she eats like a little piggy. Her shell is very green, and some day I think she will have some stunning babies. She is very domed, and about 6" SCL. 

Lady is my heaviest girl, though no longer the longest. She is built like a tank, almost as wide as she is long, and very domed. She loves to eat, and it shows in her sturdy build. She is friendly with kids, and is a wonderful tortoise to bring to my kids' school because she doesn't pee or poop when being handled, and she seeks out human attention. She is 7.5" SCL.

Vivian is my longest girl, though not my heaviest. She came into my care last Fall, and has been gaining weight steadily. She is a little shy, but she holds her own. Her shell has an interesting greenish hue. She recently finished her quarantine period, so she is housed with Lady. The two get along just fine, and they dwarf all the other tortoises. Vivian was named by our Russian tortoise Facebook group. She is 8" SCL. 

Oh wait. And there is one more Russian tortoise! Meet our newest addition, a little captive-bred male with a very pretty shell! After his quarantine period, he will get his own little tortoise harem, since Roz doesn't show interest in the other females. I haven't named him yet.

Next up, the Marginated tortoise babies:

 From left to right, these Marginated tortoises are Bubbles, Buttercup, and Blossom. They are fabulous, spunky little critters. Bubbles is huge for her age, she is actually the youngest. I suspect she will outgrow Buttercup within the next half year. Blossom is petite, but very spunky, and she is a climber! Buttercup is getting huge, and I've had to cut a larger hole into their hide to allow for her to fit through. She is very friendly.

The Redfoot tortoise:

You would not believe how much this handsome dude has grown. He looks dry in this picture, but he is actually kept in a tropically humid environment, and is thriving like crazy under those conditions. He has nearly doubled his weight since last August (when he admittedly was underweight). His new growth is also coming in very smoothly. He will always have some bumps from his earlier care, but who really cares, since he is so healthy. You might notice that I am referring to him as a HE. When I got him, he looked like a female, based on his tail. Then one day he exposed his manly bits to me during a soak, and his tail has grown and he is starting to get an indented waist, which is typical of a redfoot male. My husband named him 'Oup' (as in 'This is my tortoise Oup' - say it quickly...hahah... get it?). He will soon be joining a friend's group of redfoot tortoises. Lucky guy!

Last, but definitely not least, our Leopard tortoise:

Penelope joined us this February. She had a bit of a rough start in life, but with good healthy food, natural sunlight, lots of heat and humidity, and sequential beak trimming to correct her cross-bite/underbite, I am confident she will thrive. She has already gained a significant amount of weight over the 3 weeks I've had her, much of which I suspect is healthy water weight. She will eat anything I offer her, and she has been chowing down on cuttlefish bone (which is a good source of calcium) like crazy. She is enjoying being misted with warm water twice a day, and I am excited to see her new growth come in more smoothly.

On a side-note, feel free to swing by this fun little video clip of one of the recent TV reports featuring my cozies on KATU Portland and KOMO News.