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Scalez Dragongirl6 Scalez RepticTay Scalez Scalez RepticTay |
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Scalez View Profile |
Golden Greek help, PLEASE?!
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| 07/14/08 11:54pm |
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Dragongirl6 View Profile |
Message To: Scalez In reference to Message Id: 1795690 Golden Greek help, PLEASE?!
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| 07/15/08 02:32am |
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Scalez View Profile |
Message To: Dragongirl6 In reference to Message Id: 1795832 Golden Greek help, PLEASE?!
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| 07/15/08 07:31am |
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RepticTay View Profile |
Message To: Scalez In reference to Message Id: 1795914 Golden Greek help, PLEASE?!
If the animals in our group are typical adults this taxa is perhaps the most sexually dimorphic in size of any of the T. gracia complex. The largest females have a mass that is nearly 2.5 times larger than that of the largest males. The mating behavior of Golden Greek Tortoises seems no different from that of other taxa of T. gracea. Males follow and ram females prior to mounting. Mounted males vocalize but not as loudly as the larger taxa. Often they just ram other tortoises (males and females) as a determination of dominance and this frequently appears to have no direct relationship to reproduction. Mating is stimulated by moving the tortoises to new quarters, and increased temperatures. Mating occurs throughout the year in the group that is housed inside during the winter and from mid-April through late-October in those kept outside throughout the year. Ramming and associated activities occur mostly at ground temperatures above 80 F, frequently, and at any time during daylight hours. Male aggression seems to be limited and minor, but a number of visual barriers are present in the pens and this probably decreases male to male interactions. Females ready to lay paced their enclosures and rammed other tortoises. Eggs were laid in lawns or when available sand boxes. Nests were excavated to three inches and the eggs were deposited in flask shaped holes. The entire nesting procedure lasted up to three hours. Most eggs were laid in late morning; data on 7 clutches from four females as follows. Clutch size 2-3 eggs (mean 2.28) Second clutches from same females laid about 30 days after first (n=2). Most eggs were produced in June and July although one fertile three egg clutch was laid in December. Eggs weighed 16.6-19.7 (mean 18.54) grams and measured 37.4 - 42.8 x 27.6 - 29.5 (average 40.23 x 28.55) mm. One clutch was broken by the female while covering the eggs, a second clutch was broken by us digging them up. The first four clutches that hatched produced 9 young. Information on subsequent clutches (post 2003) was not recorded. The first clutch of eggs produced (Dec. 2002) was incubated under conditions which have proven successful for hatching T. graeca gracea. These three eggs were fertile and split because of too much moisture in the vermiculite. Subsequent clutches were incubated on dry vermiculite at a temperature of 86 +/- 1 F. An air humidity of 60-80% was maintained in the incubator and eggs were lightly misted on days 40 and 65. This combination of micro environmental manipulations resulted a 100% hatchling success with tortoises emerging between 65-76 days. Young typically remained in the egg 24-48 hours. Unlike our captive T. g. Iberia, undetected clutches, and ones left in place in their enclosures failed to hatch. In that the Iberean Tortoise eggs hatched when left in place and the Golden Greek do not, we assume factors contusive to successful incubation differ between these two tortoises.. Newly hatched young, like the adults, are pale both in shell color and on their heads and appendages when compared to hatchlings of the nominate. Hatchlings weighed 13.9-19 (mean 16.3) grams. They measured 38.3-41.6 (SCL) x 33.2-36.0 (carapace width) mm. Yolk sacks were well absorbed at the time of emergence from the egg. All hatchlings started eating with in 24 hours. Several were eating with in hours of hatching. All indications are the young are healthy and fast growing. We keep them on moist cypress mulch, the high humidity results in better shell growth than when the young are maintained on drier substrates, The young produced from our first two seasons of breeding proved to be all males and we are now experimenting with incubations temperatures but the young tortoises produced subsequently are too still too young to sex. and some links http://www.tortoisetrust.org/articles/kandb.htm http://www.tortoisereserve.org/captivehusbandry/goldengreek.html |
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| 07/15/08 07:47am |
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Scalez View Profile |
Message To: RepticTay In reference to Message Id: 1795928
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| 07/15/08 08:01am |
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Scalez View Profile |
Message To: RepticTay In reference to Message Id: 1795928 Golden Greek help, PLEASE?!
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| 07/15/08 08:03am |
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RepticTay View Profile |
Message To: Scalez In reference to Message Id: 1795937 Golden Greek help, PLEASE?!
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| 07/15/08 01:11pm |
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