Hatchling Ibera Greek tortoise care

[Mikeg]

Good morning everyone,
I have been reading throughout some posts on here lately and I recall some people talking about spraying hatchlings while also providing a humid hide. Can I get some more information on this spraying subject like why, how it works, and how long should I do this for? Once I get home from school (gotta love this app!) I will take some pictures of the tank and get your professional opinions! Thanks,
Michael

 

[BrinnANDTorts]

Hi there and welcome to TFO!!!

I have three Ibera Greeks myself along with many other tortoises I will give you my take on humidity, mistings, soakings, the whole deal lol
The most important thing you can do for your baby tortoise is mist his shell until it drips as many times as possible a day. I have set up misting systems for mine that come on A LOT and mist them, I use water heaters to keep the water warm that mists them
Humidity helps to keep them from drying out immediately, the more humid the longer the shells stay wet.
Soaks are good to keep them hydrated , I PERSONALLY do not think soaks are essential for smooth growth because I have seen many people who just soaked there tortoises everyday and still the tortoise pyramided. I have also seen that simply misting even in a dry environment will reduce pyramiding quite a lot.
Interesting fact that just providing a humid environment and hide without misting the tortoise will not stop the tortoise from pyramiding..
So after reading that you can probably tell that it takes the right combo of mistings, humidity, and soaks to keep your tortoise from pyramiding.
Now the EXACT scientific reason of why these combo of things keep your tortoise from pyramiding I am not sure, I don't think anyone on this forum is. All I know is it works and I know a lot of people say that pyramiding is just a cosmetic thing but I disagree. Pyramiding is from dehydration and while your tortoise may SURVIVE through being dehydrated that doesn't mean it is good for your tortoise, in fact its NOT good for your tortoise.

I like to keep humidity for ALL my baby tortoise , doesn't matter to me what species, around 80% humidity. I have been told that a little lower humidity is required for my Ibera Greeks but I kept them at 60-70% humidity and they seemed so dry and didn't move around much. I have changed them to higher humidity levels and they seem much happier and don't go gulping down water as much.
But you MUST KEEP THEM HOT AND HUMID , you should not let the temps any where in your enclosure drop below 80 degrees or your tortoise is put at the risk of becoming sick.
HOT AND HUMID.

You should do this for as long as your tortoise lives inside, which is very long for some small species like Greeks. Even when they move outside you should still try to get there shell wet everyday , except in the cold months because its not good for them to be COLD AND WET.
It keeps them cool in the hot months and hydrated.

I don't know what tortoise species you have because you didn't mention or the age but if its still living inside you should keep your tortoise humid and hot and hydrated so that he thrives and has really smooth growth
To keep them hydrated all you have to do is provide a really good water source in their enclosure.
It needs to be deep enough to overlap the bottom of their shells a bit, where they can stick their whole head underneath the water and drink. But not SO DEEP that they flip over trying to get back out. The rims of the water bowl need to be FLUSH with the substrate so they can climb in and out of the water bowl easily to avoid flipping over.
It is essential that they have that water source available to them and very full of water 24/7 in my opinion.

Because you are posting in the Greek section of the forum I am going to assume you have a Greek tortoise.
Greek tortoises are Grassland tortoises so they should be feed a high, high fiber diet with little protein and given calcium supplements.
Fruit isn't healthy for Greeks, I don't ever feed mine fruit. It is okay every once and a while for a simple treat

Also just incase you don't already know your tortoise needs a good source of UVB rays, whether thats natural sunshine or a Mercury Vapor Bulb like a ZooMed Powersun bulb, UVB rays provide Vitamin D that tortoise must have to process calcium to build strong bones and shells. Without proper Vitamin D and calcium tortoises develop Metabolic bone Disease that is very bad and can kill them quickly if untreated.

Greeks also like to burrow in their substrate , I find that just sphagnum moss used for substrate is very clean, light weight, easy to borrow in, easy to clean, and really good for humidity.

I have a whole bunch of links that are my favorites for helping me raise my tortoise babies, even though the care sheets are meant for Leopards and Sulcatas I think you sill find the diet information very useful. Along with the humidity information, I raise my greeks the same as my Sulcata and my leopard tortoise and they are doing very well. The only one I raise a little different is my Redfoot because her diet is different.

Here are my favorite threads
is about the best enclosures kind of enclosures http://www.tortoiseforum.org/Thread-Closed-Chambers#axzz1hkZxITMK

These are care sheets
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/Thread-How-To-Raise-Sulcata-Hatchlings-and-Babies#axzz1i4Ds8pC6
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/Thread-Leopard-Tortoise-Care-Sheet#axzz1i4Ds8pC6

This one is about hatchling failure syndrome and how to prevent it http://www.tortoiseforum.org/Thread-Hatchling-Failure-Syndrome#axzz1i4Ds8pC6

These threads are about pyramiding
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/Thread-The-End-Of-Pyramiding#axzz1i4Ds8pC6
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/Thread-The-End-Of-Pyramiding-II-The-Leopards#axzz1i4Ds8pC6

Good food links
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/Thread-Calcium-rich-gel-food-for-supplementation#axzz1kotpP3QK
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/Thread...ises-The-Balanced-Diet-Revealed#axzz1kotpP3QK

Other links
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/Thread...or-Beginner-Tortoise-Owners#axzz1lBJMwX8C[hr]
I am sorry I feel so stupid going on and on about how I didn't know what kinda tortoise you had or the age from your reading your post and then I saw the title of the post lol Had a blonde moment

 

[Mikeg]

WOW! This is a great ton of information. Thank you so much. But, when you spray, do you just take a spray bottle and soak/cover the entire shell with water until it drips? And is twice a day sufficient, or more? Thanks again,
Michael

---

WOW! This is a great ton of information. Thank you so much. But, when you spray, do you just take a spray bottle and soak/cover the entire shell with water until it drips? And is twice a day sufficient, or more? Thanks again,
Michael

 

[BrinnANDTorts]

WOW! This is a great ton of information. Thank you so much. But, when you spray, do you just take a spray bottle and soak/cover the entire shell with water until it drips? And is twice a day sufficient, or more? Thanks again,
Michael

---

WOW! This is a great ton of information. Thank you so much. But, when you spray, do you just take a spray bottle and soak/cover the entire shell with water until it drips? And is twice a day sufficient, or more? Thanks again,
Michael

---

Yea just spray, spray, spray until everything drips and I would try to do it around three

 

[Mikeg]

Wow, thank you so much! Would advise RO water or tap water (in my case, tap water is spring water, I don't live in city limits so It's chemical free.)

 

[BrinnANDTorts]

Wow, thank you so much! Would advise RO water or tap water (in my case, tap water is spring water, I don't live in city limits so It's chemical free.)

I use tap water only because we get all our water from a well

 

[Mikeg]

Perfect, thanks again!

 

[HtVic]

wow
I've learned a lot too
I am getting a Hermann, but I guess there are not much different