Dear friends,
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This pair is of wild caught origin, Geochelone Pardalis Tortose from South Africa, the male measures 7 Kg; with a straight carapace length (SCL) of 10.5 inches (265mm) and the female is 5.8Kg, 8.5 inches SCL (220mm). From the beginning a winter in 2005, the exact time should be in December in terms of my memory, this pair has been in captivity with other species of tortoises until to Year 2 (say 2007).
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In the pictures below show the male at left side, and the female at right
In the pictures below show the male at left side, and the female at right
Pictures were taken in 2005
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At the first two years, this pair was put together with other species until their individual could not be accommodated in the breeding case.
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This picture was taken in 2007
Many months ago, this male was found having the characteristic trailing behavior and such trail was lasting for a long time, the male tortoise was trailing the female one and attempting to breed with her. Such doing was like a young boy trailing a desired girl. I think it should be a foreboding of mating in the tortoise’s world.
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Starting from about 3 weeks ago, the male immobilized the female’s carapace and then mounted on her. During the period of their mating, the big male was making a rhythmic grunting call.
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Starting from about 3 weeks ago, the male immobilized the female’s carapace and then mounted on her. During the period of their mating, the big male was making a rhythmic grunting call.
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In the three pictures below you can see the male mounting on the female carapace and starting their mating (See 1 and 2), the whole period of mating, the male (See 3) produces grunting call.
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(2).
(3)I don’t know what I can do if they really lay eggs in the case. I searched some information from internet and reference books, and I will have a splendid plan to make a professional incubator for this pair. So far as I can see, a problem experienced by many tortoise breeders in warm climates is that the ambient temperature may exceed the incubator setting, resulting in an uncontrolled high temperature detrimental to the eggs.
To minimize the risks or potential problems, I will be going to design and build a tortoise incubator which will be equipped with a sensitive probe and an electronic thermometer. Apart from keeping the right temperature, a proper control to the humidity and a reliable casing are also important to a homemade incubator.
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Let's look forward to the incubator!.
Ken
