Researchers have developed a new strategy to check in on the health of baby tortoises. The new method helps scientists monitor the endangered Mojave desert tortoises (Gopherus agassizii) without stressing them out as much as traditional methods.
A new paper, published in Conservation Physiology, found that using handheld infrared thermal cameras is just as good as traditional methods. Normally, researchers must handle the hatchlings and take their temperature using a probe inserted in the cloaca.
Reptiles are ectotherms, meaning they can’t produce their own body heat. Knowing their body temperature, researchers say, is important in understanding how they react to stressors like climate change.
