Hello!
I have been reading for a couple weeks now and have a question. I have had my hatchling for 8 days now. She was incubated to be female so I am going with that. I named her Penelope an I love her!
Her current home is a 20 gallon long with coconut fiber bedding. Her basking area is about 104 during the day and ambient temps are 79-90 in non basking areas. She has a warm humid hide created from a fish bowl covered with the coconut fiber to make it dark. I have an undertank heater that keeps the hide about 84 degrees and she sleeps in it all night. I heat her with a che at night. She has a uv tube bulb every other day (shares with my 3 toed box turtle). She also get once or twice daily soaks.
She has a great appetite, eating springmix, plaintain from my yard, grape leaves, dandelion, romaine, kale, and grassland tortoise food that I moisten a bit in the morning and mix it with her "salad". I cut the greens with scissors to make it easier to eat and harder to eat around the store bought food. She only get a tiny bit of store bought food for vitamins etc.
She really is adorable, goes to bed on her own each night and comes out when I am up in the morning complete with a yawn.
Her shell length is 2.5 inches and she weighed 46 grams last Sat. Her current weight is 55. She really gained! Is that a normal amount? She eats and poops a lot!
A few days ago i brought in some grass blades and figured she could eat that as well and she started to swallow it the long way and started clawing at the mouth and bubbling. I was able to slowly pull it out of her mouth and she seems fine. She went right back to eating, but it scared me!
I worry about her and am glad I only work part time so I can check her often. My kids love her too. We have been hands off other then soaks so she can adjust without stress and she is quite comfortable now, lets me feed her and do stuff around her tank without running into her cave.
I have city water and I have also been wondering about dechloronating it. Also, I am in MI and when she is older, she will be living in my heated basement. Did I read correctly that they can go outside if they live in a shed in winter to graze? I intend to keep her inside with lights and all, but I was amazed to read that!
Thank you all for the wonderful information and I am thrilled to have my baby, I have dreamed of her for about 20 years
Sydney
I have been reading for a couple weeks now and have a question. I have had my hatchling for 8 days now. She was incubated to be female so I am going with that. I named her Penelope an I love her!
Her current home is a 20 gallon long with coconut fiber bedding. Her basking area is about 104 during the day and ambient temps are 79-90 in non basking areas. She has a warm humid hide created from a fish bowl covered with the coconut fiber to make it dark. I have an undertank heater that keeps the hide about 84 degrees and she sleeps in it all night. I heat her with a che at night. She has a uv tube bulb every other day (shares with my 3 toed box turtle). She also get once or twice daily soaks.
She has a great appetite, eating springmix, plaintain from my yard, grape leaves, dandelion, romaine, kale, and grassland tortoise food that I moisten a bit in the morning and mix it with her "salad". I cut the greens with scissors to make it easier to eat and harder to eat around the store bought food. She only get a tiny bit of store bought food for vitamins etc.
She really is adorable, goes to bed on her own each night and comes out when I am up in the morning complete with a yawn.
Her shell length is 2.5 inches and she weighed 46 grams last Sat. Her current weight is 55. She really gained! Is that a normal amount? She eats and poops a lot!
A few days ago i brought in some grass blades and figured she could eat that as well and she started to swallow it the long way and started clawing at the mouth and bubbling. I was able to slowly pull it out of her mouth and she seems fine. She went right back to eating, but it scared me!
I worry about her and am glad I only work part time so I can check her often. My kids love her too. We have been hands off other then soaks so she can adjust without stress and she is quite comfortable now, lets me feed her and do stuff around her tank without running into her cave.
I have city water and I have also been wondering about dechloronating it. Also, I am in MI and when she is older, she will be living in my heated basement. Did I read correctly that they can go outside if they live in a shed in winter to graze? I intend to keep her inside with lights and all, but I was amazed to read that!
Thank you all for the wonderful information and I am thrilled to have my baby, I have dreamed of her for about 20 years
Sydney
