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It hatched out 2 weeks ago. Looks very Hypo...looking for opinions...I will have a table at the Daytona show and if it continues to brighten the way it is I will have it on Display in Daytona...We have 22 adult Cherry Heads and I have no clue which male or female it cam from...but I still have the adults.

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Michael Enriquez

here it is...

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Michael Enriquez

Yup... it's different... a collector might pay some big bucks for it but you really don't know what it is going to grow into.

Good luck with it.

Ed

>>here it is...
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>>Michael Enriquez
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Ed @ Tortoise Keepers
Trying to keep the fun in Chelonian care

yeah...it is very different...you are right about what it could become...not sure if i would want to sell it. I have a friend that has cherry heads in South Florida that if he wanted it I would sell to him for sure that way I could keep an eye on it to see what it becomes...but I will have it on display in Daytona.
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Michael Enriquez

Hard to say if it is a hypo though. Do you have front-on shots of the face and front legs? Is the color on the body lighter than a normal one?
Gorgeous hatchling regardless.

Well...the hypos i have seen labeled as hypos generally have normal colored skin...this baby is really bright...hoping it is something special...just not sure what it is...thanks for the thoughts.
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Michael Enriquez

True. I should have said what color are the leg and head scales.
In hypos aren't they lighter?
I get a lot of variation in my hatchling cherryheads and I recently hatched one that has a faded color to the head and legs. The plastron is also faded out but not bright yellow. The rest of the clutch looks normal but the one hatchling in question appears to have a washed out peach color.

I would love to see a picture...all of our Cherry Heads pretty much look the same...then this one pops out. We have had the group for 5 years...22 animals. This past fall was the first time we were able to collect a bunch of eggs...hoping for more eggs this year...and maybe this is special and we will have a few more specials this year.

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Michael Enriquez

I have hatched out a fair amount of cherryheads in the past five or six years also and I don't recall ever seeing one like that. Let me see what pics I have....

...from my group.
It is nothing like that yellow one of yours though. But it was a really light cherryhead from my breeders.

This is what most of my hatchlings look like. Some are brighter red, some are more orange. Some have much more yellow in the carapace than these, but sometimes others have less.
There is a huge amount of variation even from the very same breeding pair.

How many adults do you have?
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Michael Enriquez

1.2 right now but I lost my best male after Hurricane Frances when my gate was broken without me knowing it. When I returned my group outside after the storm he escaped and was never seen again.
I also have a young adult female that has been isolated for the past 30 months while she finished growing up to breeding size. I have yet to allow her to be bred.

you know when these where being imported...we bought many sub adults...from 2 different importers...we lost a few for various reasons...I saw some screamers come in...engorged with red...all over the legs and neck. Joe Terry has a few like that...most of ours are average looking cherry heads.
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Michael Enriquez

In all of the large groups of cherryheads I have seen imported (including those from the early 80s that many people still wrongly call 'Paraguyan') there was a number that were incredibly red faced. Joe T has some and so does Rob MacInnes. I had several like that myself twenty years ago but I sold them all. However, most cherryheads are not that exceptional colored and instead are some shade of orange---not red.

The heads on ours is red...some have a little less red than others...but it is red...we have a few pics on our web site.

herpfaunaplus.com
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Michael Enriquez

Carl, I think you have some of the BEST looking baby Cherry Heads! Too bad I can't take on ANOTHER project! The wife really would have my killed... Great looking torts!

Matt
p.s. - Dumje: Raise it up and get it outdoors. You will know if it's hypo in a couple years for sure. VERY nice looking baby!

Actually, some of the ones that I had sold off have turned out to be pretty nice. It is really frustrating to have someone send me photos of a screaming red headed one with a marbled shell and then when I ask where they got it they say "Oh, its the one I got from you in 2003."
My reply is always "DANG!" or something to that effect. Especially since I only have two that I have held back for myself and although nice, they are not that extreme.

My partner and I have discussed it already and unless someone lays down an insane amount of cash...it is a keeper. As far as keeping it outside...I am fearful because of the raccons and possums in my neighborhood. I am looking into building some small enclosures for outside that will be predator proof.
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Michael Enriquez

Good thinking.
Your partner wouldn't be Joe Terry by any chance would it?

No...not Joe...but I know Joe very well and he is excited to see this baby in person...I help him clean rat cages once a week and I will bring it to him next week so he can take a look at it.
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Michael Enriquez

Joe is a nice guy. I have known him for many years.
He was the first guy to really produce Bolivian boas.

OMG! Adorable!
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*newbie*