How long is too long?

[Jami]

Hi. Day two of new hatchling and he's been in the burrow he made last night all morning. He has not come out. So now we're going on 11 hours. I have to go out for a few hours. Do I leave him in the burrow with food and tiny bit of water in his dish? Do I get him out? I'm leaning towards leaving him. I checked on him and he moved a bit. I can get him out in a few hours when I'm home.

Opinions please?

 

[tortadise]

You can leave him in there for now. The thing with tortoises though, is they are creatures of habit. Your going to need to keep consistent with removing him routinely for soak and food time. So getting the little bugger in a routine of you picking him up, or digging him up(ha) and soaking him, then placing him in front of the food. He will soon realize this is what needs to be done. Soon will adjust and begin growing like crazy and be an adult before you know it. With babies you kinda have to jump start them with familiarization of the surroundings and what protocol happens throughout the day. Eventually he will take to his own.

 

[Jami]

You can leave him in there for now. The thing with tortoises though, is they are creatures of habit. Your going to need to keep consistent with removing him routinely for soak and food time. So getting the little bugger in a routine of you picking him up, or digging him up(ha) and soaking him, then placing him in front of the food. He will soon realize this is what needs to be done. Soon will adjust and begin growing like crazy and be an adult before you know it. With babies you kinda have to jump start them with familiarization of the surroundings and what protocol happens throughout the day. Eventually he will take to his own.

Thank you sooooo much!

 

[tortadise]

Your welcome. Gotta get that routine established for the little bugger. Lots of times it becomes very easy because most people are on a routine anyways, with work, school, or even getting children up and going for their routine.

 

[Jami]

Your welcome. Gotta get that routine established for the little bugger. Lots of times it becomes very easy because most people are on a routine anyways, with work, school, or even getting children up and going for their routine.

Hi again. He's so funny. He did not want to soak (but he did anyway for a little bit) and he won't eat. He sniffs everything but no chomping yet. Instead, he's been trying like crazy to get out of the enclosure. I have cardboard all around the outside. He isn't buying it. So I put scrapbooking card stock paper inside around the end he's trying to get out. Ha! He's a little ticked off. It was kind of funny. He's still walking back and forth and looking at it all. Cocks his head like a puppy and digs at it a second then moves on but goes right back. He's goofy. I so him!

 

[tortadise]

Sounds like typical baby tort behavior.

 

[Jami]

Sounds like typical baby tort behavior.

I'm glad to know its typical, HermIt, the hatchling I had with the mystery infection, never really acted like this. He was not nearly this active. In the first week I had him I thought he was thriving and he did nothing like this baby. So I feel like I'm totally brand new again, if that makes sense. I hope this means good things for us!

Thanks also (again) for the schedule info. I will put him on the early morning schedule I have when I go to work. I'm usually up with my dogs getting them started so I will do with him what I'll be doing in September.

Thanks again....he's eating now. Plantain from our yard. Yay!!!

 

[THBfriend]

Do you know how old exactly your hatchling is? As was already said, it's normal for very young hatchlings to stay buried for a few days. They can also be surprisingly active and try to climb up everywhere. I wonder if that's because they normally hatch underground and have to dig/climb to the surface. And they have to explore their new environment.
I also wouldn't worry if they're not eating for a few days. They can survive more than two months on their yolk reserves without any new food. (I know that because I had a hatchling once that developed with some sort of jaw or muscle problem and couldn't eat... I only noticed after two months while checking weights and seeing that it wasn't gaining any like its siblings.)

I don't know if they can get any "routine". I avoid picking up my tortoises as much as possible. I don't soak them - they have a water dish, and they get wet when I water the enclosure. Here are some hatchlings trying to scale cork bark and sitting on top of a plant:

 

[Jami]

Do you know how old exactly your hatchling is? As was already said, it's normal for very young hatchlings to stay buried for a few days. They can also be surprisingly active and try to climb up everywhere. I wonder if that's because they normally hatch underground and have to dig/climb to the surface. And they have to explore their new environment.
I also wouldn't worry if they're not eating for a few days. They can survive more than two months on their yolk reserves without any new food. (I know that because I had a hatchling once that developed with some sort of jaw or muscle problem and couldn't eat... I only noticed after two months while checking weights and seeing that it wasn't gaining any like its siblings.)

I don't know if they can get any "routine". I avoid picking up my tortoises as much as possible. I don't soak them - they have a water dish, and they get wet when I water the enclosure. Here are some hatchlings trying to scale cork bark and sitting on top of a plant:

Hi there,

Thanks for the info. He/she hatched at "the very end of May." So almost 6 weeks old would be my guess. He seems very strong and very active. He had very puffy eyes when he got out of the burrow and was filthy dirty and cute! He has a water dish but doesn't seem to want it. I placed him in it one time to make sure he could get out of it. He had very short soaks today. His eyes looked much better after he soaked. Granted, he could have been getting in it, but nothing around it was disturbed, whereas he made a path around the tank and seemed to be enjoying going all over. He really scratches at the glass. I don't want him to get hurt or frustrated. Should I cover it with something else? I'm not having luck with any paper I have that is anti reflective. Will he grow out of it? Thank you...

 

[Jami]

And those pictures are great!! They made me smile!

 

[THBfriend]

Thanks.

At 6 weeks, a hatchling should already be rather active and hungry. You said he is, so that's fine.
If the walls of your enclosure are transparent, then yes, I'd cover them them at least at eye level of the tortoise. Paper should do, but perhaps it's not opaque enough. How about cardboard?

 

[Jami]

Thanks.

At 6 weeks, a hatchling should already be rather active and hungry. You said he is, so that's fine.
If the walls of your enclosure are transparent, then yes, I'd cover them them at least at eye level of the tortoise. Paper should do, but perhaps it's not opaque enough. How about cardboard?

I have cardboard all around the outside of the tank but he can still see a reflection. The paper I put inside was dark green and he couldn't see himself - but it worried me because it had to be multiple pieces overlapping and he kept scratching at it too. I was afraid he'd get a paper cut, seriously, which would probably kill him, so I took it out. I thought about cardboard inside but people didn't think that'd be good.

 

[THBfriend]

Oh, I see, I didn't get that we're talking about the inside. I wouldn't put any paper or cardboard there either. No idea if the reflections are a problem, I don't think so.