# Help! Baby Hermann Tortoise hatchling



## ITSJOYCEDUH (Aug 8, 2020)

Hello! I am looking for some help. A few months back, we found out our tortoise laid eggs. We have had these two hermann tortoise for 6 years and did not expect one would be a male and one would be female.. anyways long story short they laid eggs. I purchased an incubator and 2 months later one baby tortoise hatched! The yok sak is no longer there, so I believe it had already absorbed it, but there is still an opening..? Is the baby ready to be moved to another enclosure? If so, would it be okay if i just put wet paper towel inside the enclosure just until that hole closes? What substrate would you guys recommend for the babies? Also, would the baby tortoise need a night time heat lamp or will it be fine with the basking light & and uv light in the daytime? Please give me your advice as this is completely new to me and did not expect this at all. Thank you !


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## saleena.lewis (Aug 8, 2020)

ITSJOYCEDUH said:


> Hello! I am looking for some help. A few months back, we found out our tortoise laid eggs. We have had these two hermann tortoise for 6 years and did not expect one would be a male and one would be female.. anyways long story short they laid eggs. I purchased an incubator and 2 months later one baby tortoise hatched! The yok sak is no longer there, so I believe it had already absorbed it, but there is still an opening..? Is the baby ready to be moved to another enclosure? If so, would it be okay if i just put wet paper towel inside the enclosure just until that hole closes? What substrate would you guys recommend for the babies? Also, would the baby tortoise need a night time heat lamp or will it be fine with the basking light & and uv light in the daytime? Please give me your advice as this is completely new to me and did not expect this at all. Thank you !


Could you send a pictures of the torts belly? If their is still an opening then they should still be kept in the incubator. What state do you live in? Will you be keeping it indoors? If the room that you keep it in is over 70° you will not need a nighttime heat bulb. If the yolk sac is fully absorbed you could use cypress mulch as a substrate.


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## ITSJOYCEDUH (Aug 8, 2020)

saleena.lewis said:


> Could you send a pictures of the torts belly? If their is still an opening then they should still be kept in the incubator. What state do you live in? Will you be keeping it indoors? If the room that you keep it in is over 70° you will not need a nighttime heat bulb. If the yolk sac is fully absorbed you could use cypress mulch as a substrate.



Should I keep it in the incubator until it closes? It will be kept indoors. I live in CA, at night it should be around 70 degree.


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## saleena.lewis (Aug 8, 2020)

ITSJOYCEDUH said:


> Should I keep it in the incubator until it closes? It will be kept indoors. I live in CA, at night it should be around 70 degree.


I would definitely keep him in the incubator until it is fully closed. Needs a few more days in there.


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## ITSJOYCEDUH (Aug 8, 2020)

saleena.lewis said:


> I would definitely keep him in the incubator until it is fully closed. Needs a few more days in there.


Oh perfect ! Thank you, I was trying to do some research and see what I should do but I found nothing.. thank you for your help! I am going to monitor the thermometer to see if the room is above 70 degree.


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## saleena.lewis (Aug 8, 2020)

ITSJOYCEDUH said:


> Oh perfect ! Thank you, I was trying to do some research and see what I should do but I found nothing.. thank you for your help! I am going to monitor the thermometer to see if the room is above 70 degree.


No problem! You seem like a great tortoise owner. Good luck with your tort!


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## ITSJOYCEDUH (Aug 8, 2020)

saleena.lewis said:


> No problem! You seem like a great tortoise owner. Good luck with your tort!


Thank You, the whole baby thing caught us off guard. I freaked out a little bit, but after your comment I feel much better. Once the hole closes hopefully in a couple more days. This baby hatched super fast... just 2 days ago i checked on the eggs, and there was nothing, yesterday we saw a little hole and its tiny feet was sticking out. Today it completely came out of its shell and the yok sak is absorbed. I thought it takes a few days for them to absorb the yok ?


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## ITSJOYCEDUH (Aug 8, 2020)

saleena.lewis said:


> No problem! You seem like a great tortoise owner. Good luck with your tort!


Sorry one more question, It is currently in a container inside the incubator. I have removed the vermiculite and replaced it with a wet paper towel. is this okay?


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## saleena.lewis (Aug 8, 2020)

ITSJOYCEDUH said:


> Sorry one more question, It is currently in a container inside the incubator. I have removed the vermiculite and replaced it with a wet paper towel. is this okay?


Yes. That is fine. Just make sure the paper towels are not constantly like dripping wet because you don't want the tort sitting in the water. You also don't want to give him too much room though just enough to walk a little bit and turn around from all directions to prevent him from flipping over. Hope this helped! Let me know if you have any more questions


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## ITSJOYCEDUH (Aug 8, 2020)

saleena.lewis said:


> Yes. That is fine. Just make sure the paper towels are not constantly like dripping wet because you don't want the tort sitting in the water. You also don't want to give him too much room though just enough to walk a little bit and turn around from all directions to prevent him from flipping over. Hope this helped! Let me know if you have any more questions


Thank you !


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## ITSJOYCEDUH (Aug 8, 2020)

saleena.lewis said:


> Yes. That is fine. Just make sure the paper towels are not constantly like dripping wet because you don't want the tort sitting in the water. You also don't want to give him too much room though just enough to walk a little bit and turn around from all directions to prevent him from flipping over. Hope this helped! Let me know if you have any more questions


Ugh I am so sorry to keep bothering you.. When do I start feeding it food? Do I feed it while its in the incubator still or do I feed it when the hole is closed and i move it to the enclosure?


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## saleena.lewis (Aug 8, 2020)

ITSJOYCEDUH said:


> Ugh I am so sorry to keep bothering you.. When do I start feeding it food? Do I feed it while its in the incubator still or do I feed it when the hole is closed and i move it to the enclosure?


You can offer some food now. Don't be too concerned if he doesn't start eating right away. It may take him a little while. But once he absorbed the yolk sac he should definitely be eating. But I would just try feeding some greens.


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## ITSJOYCEDUH (Aug 8, 2020)

saleena.lewis said:


> You can offer some food now. Don't be too concerned if he doesn't start eating right away. It may take him a little while. But once he absorbed the yolk sac he should definitely be eating. But I would just try feeding some greens.


okay I will do that. Thanks again.


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## ITSJOYCEDUH (Aug 12, 2020)

saleena.lewis said:


> You can offer some food now. Don't be too concerned if he doesn't start eating right away. It may take him a little while. But once he absorbed the yolk sac he should definitely be eating. But I would just try feeding some greens.


Hi Saleena, Update, the baby tort hole is fully closed, we moved him to his new enlosure yesterday. Theres fresh water and food for him. He is mostly burrowed. My question is do we need to dig him up to feed him and soak him or leave him alone? Thank You!


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## saleena.lewis (Aug 12, 2020)

ITSJOYCEDUH said:


> Hi Saleena, Update, the baby tort hole is fully closed, we moved him to his new enlosure yesterday. Theres fresh water and food for him. He is mostly burrowed. My question is do we need to dig him up to feed him and soak him or leave him alone? Thank You!


I would soak him and feed him daily.


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## ITSJOYCEDUH (Aug 12, 2020)

saleena.lewis said:


> I would soak him and feed him daily.


got it. Thank You !


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## Tom (Aug 12, 2020)

Here is what you should do now. This is in the top of the "Tortoise Breeding" section:





How To Incubate Eggs And Start Hatchlings


I put my eggs in a plastic shoe box with a lid on it and put the shoe box in the incubator. You can drill a couple of very small holes around the top of the container, but not on the lid. I use vermiculite as an incubation media. I mix it in a 1 : 1 ratio with water by weight for Sulcatas and...




tortoiseforum.org





Here is even more detail, pictures and examples. Different species, but the same principals apply:





Sudan Sulcatas (This never gets old...)


My very first clutch of true 100% pure Sudan sulcatas is now hatching. I don't care how many times I see this, it just never gets old. I dig up the eggs carefully place them in my prepared shoe boxes, watch the temperature in the incubator and tend to them for months, and then... When that...




tortoiseforum.org





Once its ready to move to an enclosure, here is the care info:





The Best Way To Raise Any Temperate Species Of Tortoise


I chose the title of this care sheet very carefully. Are there other ways to raise babies and care for adults? Yes. Yes there are, but those ways are not as good. What follows is the BEST way, according to 30 years of research and experimentation with hundreds of babies of many species. What is...




tortoiseforum.org





Congrats on the new baby! Your adults really should not be living together as a pair. That is very stressful on a lone female.


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## ITSJOYCEDUH (Aug 12, 2020)

Tom said:


> Here is what you should do now. This is in the top of the "Tortoise Breeding" section:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Hello! Thank you for your post! They are most definitely helpful! Thank you for your advice, we will try to build or get another enclosure for the female.


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