Hatchlings not eating and not active

[tortoisesincyprus]

I have had my hatchlings for a couple of days now and just wondered if their behaviour is normal for tortoises that are this young. I can't find much information because most "babies" that are discussed are at least a few months old.

My two were born on 15 August so they are 3 days old now. They aren't eating yet and they just want to hide in the corner of their enclosure under some shredded newspaper.

They seem to enjoy their morning soak (10 minutes in lukewarm water) and then I put their enclosure outside half in the sun and half out of the sun.

The weather here is 35 degrees C, 29% humidity during the day and at night it goes down to about 26 degrees.

This morning I did take them out of their little bed area and put them in the open area of the cage in the sun. They waited for a minute or so and then just made their way back to their bed and dug under the newspaper. Do you think this is because they are so young and don't want to be out in the open or do you think it's too hot for them outside?

When should they begin to eat normally?

Thanks for any help

 

[TurtleTortoise]

I don't know but maybe they still have the yolk sack thing still underthem? If they do that might be why they dont eat. I don't know much about just born babies though. Give them time to get used to you and their enclosure.

 

[mommytoeandj]

My understanding is that you want to keep offering finely-chopped greens to them, but don't anticipate that they'll eat very much at all. When we got our several-week old baby it hid ALL the time and refused to eat in front of us, but did eat when not watched. Keep up with the daily soaks and make sure the temps are good - 95ish F on the hot side and 75ish F on the cool side. Good luck!

 

[tortoisesincyprus]

Thank you both. The yolk sacs seem to have been absorbed now. When I got them there were 3 babies. One had a big red squidgy thing underneath it (possibly the yolk sac although not yellow!) and the two I got had already absorbed it. The shell hasn't completely hardened underneath but the area where the yolk sac was has sealed up.

I found a couple of good links today after some intense googling effort

http://home.earthlink.net/~fridjian/id17.html - Not related to Greeks but useful anyway.
http://animal-world.com/encyclo/reptiles/tortoises/GreekTortoise.php - more for adult greek care
http://www.britishcheloniagroup.org.uk/caresheets/hatchlings.htm

The thing I am most confused about is whether they should be in their enclosure that I made them with sand/top soil substrate or if they should be on paper towels for a few months and also whether they should be humid or dry.

I think I'm going to just leave them where they are, keep the daily soak and offer them chopped up leaves every day after the bath. If they want it they can take it, if not I'll just keep trying everyday until they feel like eating. I'll keep them inside at night and outside (part shade part sun) during the day.

I guess in the wild they wouldn't be fussed over like this so I'll just let them decide when they are ready and give them peace and quiet until they settle in.

I'm more worried about these baby tortoises than I am about the dogs or the fiance

 

[HipsterTorts]

You don't have to keep them on the paper towels. After the yolk sac is absorbed and everything's closed up I'd move them to the enclosure you made for them.

You need to keep the enclosure somewhat humid and also provide a humid hide. For my two baby greeks I just spray down their dirt once a day and keep sphagnum moss in their hide to keep it humid.

Also, when I received one of my torts she was about 4 weeks old. She would sleep all day and didn't touch her food for the first few days. I was given some advice to put a liquid bird multi vitamin, Vita-Sol, in her water when I soaked her. A day after I started doing that she was very active and slowly started to eat more and more.

 

[Laura]

i wish the breeder had not sold them so soon...
give them time to adjust, keep them hydrated and warm.. offer food and fingers crossed..