diets for babies

[TLWR]

So I was on the deck looking at the turtle pen. And I see something that looked like a tiny little turtle. Look again and well, it IS a tiny turtle! Um, we have a baby! Only saw one and then saw the hole I guessed it came from and see one other in there moving about. so we have babies.

I put out a shallow plate of water.
What is the diet for baby boxies? We weren't exactly expecting babies.

possible mom

baby 1

baby 2 - still in the hole

 

[LisaTurtle]

Baby1 is the cutest little thing ever!!!! Sorry can't help with info but i couldn't help commenting on that lil cutie!

 

[ShellyTurtlesCats]

Rolypolys, baby crickets, baby Dubia roaches, worms (cut up). Think meat!

 

[CharlieM]

Beautiful. Congrats. Are they in with the parents? They may try to eat the babies. May be best to separate them.

 

[TLWR]

baby 2 is out (at the top)

 

[yagyujubei]

If I were you, I would carefully open up that hole to see if there are any others. Congrats...

 

[TLWR]

They are in with 2 females. Yes. Females.

One was found in the middle of a very busy highway with very busy surroundings. How she got there.. no clue. They called me since they knew I was looking for a box turtle on CL being rehomed. I asked if they could put her back, but told where she came from, decided she had a better chance with me.
The second was very similar a few weeks later.
(guess they had already done the deed before crossing the road)
They seemed to do well and are eating what we feed (though they like NOTHING that is in their pen growing for them!!)

Do I still need to worry about babies being snacks or do I need to convince Dh that we need to build a baby pen out there too for now...

 

[yagyujubei]

Baby pen. You know, since these were unplanned and all, there are probably many members that would be happy to raise them for you.

 

[Yvonne G]

Baby box turtle dehydrate very quickly, so its best if you gather them up and keep them indoors for a year or so. A nice aquarium would be fine, but if you don't have one handy, a large plastic tub would be fine (and cheaper). I use potting soil for my baby box turtles, about 3" deep, then I put another inch of small sized orchid bark all over the top of the soil. Soak the babies every day in warm water, and keep a very shallow dish of water in the habitat.

Carefully dig around inside that hole and look for 2 more babies. The normal clutch of box turtles is 4 - sometimes more, sometimes less, but usually 4. If the hole is now empty, then look around carefully in the pen for a couple more babies.

 

[ShellyTurtlesCats]

I did an outdoor enclosure. Large wooden box with about 6 inches of potting soil (organic), plants, shallow water dish and threw a ton of worms and roly poly bugs in. Keep the soil moist. Set it under shade, lots of shade.

 

[diamondbp]

I soak all of my hatchlings for 48 hours after emerging to help their shells fill out and then repeated soaks for 20 minutes are so every other day is great.
Their enclosure MUST be very humid at all times. Feeding worms/insects is your best bet for the first year but my hatchlings will usually readily eat Reptomin if feed consistently for the first couple of weeks.

Good luck!

 

[SANDRA_MEISSNEST]

Wow that is awesome let us know if you find any more babies.
congratulations I'm very happy for you

Sent from my ZTE N9120 using TortForum mobile app

 

[TLWR]

DH isn't going to be happy about adding new digs, so I will likely clean up one of the raised garden beds and when we are out today get some bird netting or something so the chickens stay out of it. More dirt they can dig down into for the winter.

(chicken was in the turtle pen this morning. Adult turtle in the chicken's desired nest spot, so she just sat on the turtle and laid an egg next to the it lol)


Also - how far around the area where I saw the 2 babies come up should I dig around to see what else I can find. I explored a little yesterday and it seems like they tunneled out from a good bit away (well, in baby turtle size)

 

[TLWR]

As I was hanging out at the turtle pen watching a chicken lay an egg and saw 2 babies buried in a mint plant, I noticed a piece of mulch move. So I moved it the rest of the way. Turtle baby 3.
So there are at least 3 babies now. I have them marked so I know if I'm seeing new ones or the same ones. They are inside in a dish with some water and floating tiny veggies. Dh is going to have to cut up worms.. my stomach churns just thinking about that....

 

[reagansymone]

Congrats on the new family members!
I just got two surprise babies last month (and I started a blog about them, ahah. You should check it out, and follow. We can learn together! www.TinyTurtleJourney.com). Mine are Florida box turtles.

Anyway, yes, as everyone else has said, definitely separate them from the mamas. Better safe than sorry.
When mine came out, I identified the hole they came from and excavated it to see if there were any more (we were having REALLY heavy rains at the time, and I was told they could drown. So I dug it up). Really gently with my fingers I moved dirt away, in a pretty wide area around where the hole had been. And I found two egg shells. I had only found one baby at the time ... and I found the second baby 5 days later. But I knew I was done looking because there were only two egg shells. That helped with peace of mind haha.

My babies still are pretty much only eating their protein (roly poly bugs, small wax worms, small butter worms, small snails, and phoenix worms...I don't do the whole cut up nightcrawler thing because I did it once and they didn't even eat them and it scarred me, worm blood everywhere). But always offer fruit and greens as well--they may not eat it, but sometimes if they want it it should be available. I've had my babies eat strawberry, peach, and fig randomly...so just always make sure it's offered for them at feeding time just in case. Cut up reaaaaalllly small, because they have teeny tiny mouths. For greens I offer organic romaine lettuce.

And definitely soak daily, in warm water. Babies get dehydrated easily, and soaking often encourages them to eat. And they tend to rid themselves of waste when they're soaking in warm water, which helps them make room for dinner.
The first couple weeks I would soak them and have food available for them while they were soaking. And then I'd remove them from the water and put them in a small tupperware with live food and fruits/veggies to let them eat. I'd usually let them soak for a few minutes again after eating, in case they got thirsty or needed to poop. Now they have a soaking area and a food dish in their enclosure, and they come out and do what they want when they want...I do still take them out once a day to let them soak if I see nobody has gone in the water.