Baby Tortoises!Well I am pretty damn excited here, a first for me. Two baby Russians!
I caught the biggest female digging what I thought was a nest hole to lay some eggs, but when she was done she didn't fill the hole back in like she normally does. Upon closer inspection I was absolutely shocked to see a fresh baby sitting up in the dirt at the edge of the hole under the cover of their hide. A careful sweep of the hole with my hand to see if I could find more of the eggs (they have usually laid 2-3 at a time) and I saw movement beneath. One more baby poked it's feet and head out of the dirt.
I had decided this spring after several years of nice looking but infertile eggs, "screw it... I'll leave them in the dirt and see" since I've tried pretty much everything else with no success. What I found fascinating was how the mother took the time to dig out the dirt to help the babies come out, or at least appeared to be doing so. The dirt was pretty dry as well which was really surprising.
A quick shot taken this morning of them. The first one I had just rinsed off and the second one was exactly as I found it, seconds out of the dirt.
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Originally Posted by StickyFeet. 
