Hatchling Observations

[Neal]

I'm sorry to post this without any pictures. My camera has apparently walked out on us....

My hatchling enclosure has been set up for over a week now, and she's been sleeping in it for about 5 days. Got the air humidity around 70 - 80%, and temps range from 80 - 104ish. If you looked at my enclosure pictures I have a lot of growing grass in there with piles of cypress mulch and peat moss here and there, there's also a humid burrow.

As soon as the light turns on she is up and running and eating. She'll do this until about 10 - 11am, then she completely disappears. She then picks up again around 3 and ends up disappearing after the lights are out at 6:30. I try not to disturb her too much, but just by looking in the enclosure I would never be able to find her. Tonight I did move things around in there, and noticed she dug a burrow in the side of one of the mounds. Not too deep but she was completely submerged with moist mulch all around her. So, leopards are known for not digging, but this little baby surely does and I thought it was worth a post. Sorry again for no pictures, might have made things more interesting.

 

[RianSeeking]

It sounds as though she's quite happy.

 

[Tom]

Very interesting Neal. We know adults really don't dig much, but apparently babies are a different story. Posts like yours have me constantly re-thinking my set-ups and re-evaluating the things that I've "known" for years. I can't wait to see how this one turns out. I'll bet money it will be the smoothest captive raised leopard ever. I don't know of anyone whose ever raised a leopard like you are. Your name will go down in history Neal Butler...

 

[Yvonne G]

Both of the babies I got from Tom bury in their substrate.

 

[John]

hey nael ,great post,in my enclousures i have three different hides,and my loepards all coose too hide under a pile of timothy hay in the corner,they bome out too eat,maybe hang out in different places but at the end of the day its back under the hay.

 

[coreyc]

The two I got from Tom do the same thing you can only see the top of their shell I find myself watching my wife looking all around for them she hasn't figured out to look for the top of the shell its funny to watch I'm not going to tell her the trick

 

[ElfDa]

Sounds about like what Penny does; she loves to burrow down at night.
She gets up, chows down, then goes to bed in the hot end of her tank, gets up, has lunch, back to bed, rinse and repeat.

She actually seems to wake up with us, and is often awake and looking for us at 6am, before we turn her light on.
Maybe she hears the shower water?

Sounds like your tort is happy, happy, happy!

 

[lincoln3313]

No worries, Neal! My Gpp eats, sleeps, hides, eats, sleeps, hides, etc.. He is ALWAYS deep in his substrate, or in his hide, unless he is eating. I would say your guy is on track!

 

[Neal]

Thanks, no concerns just sharing that my hatchling is digging and getting down to where the moisture is in the soil. Leopards are popular because they don't dig like sulcatas, but mine (and others) has done just that. The theory is that hatchlings will live in burrows or root and grass clumps where there is more moisture thus preventing pyramiding. No one knows for a fact if they actually do this, but based on the feedback on this thread it seems very plausible.

 

[ticothetort2]

Tico our Gpp loves to burrow in his humid hide, it's pretty neat to see! The humid hide is filled with sphagnum moss and you can actually see where he tunnels into the thick areas of moss. It seems to do the trick, whenever he come's out of the humid hide it looks as if he has just been sprayed.

I would definitely say that they can and will burrow...

 

[ALDABRAMAN]

Sounds normal.

 

[Badgemash]

Our gpp babies (from Tom) are both avid little diggers. Neither of them seem bothered about being in the hides at all, they just want to dig and then sleep in the holes. The babs don't dig, but they will park themselves in the pre-dug holes the other babies leave behind and sleep in them.

-Devon