My hatchling technique

[diamondbp]

I keep my gulf coast in a cement tub on a slight incline with a quarter inch of water. The slight incline will keep one side dry with 3/4 of it having water. I use large leaves laid across some sticks to create simple hiding spots. Every few days I will give them a "dirt day" where they can dig down in some dirt/leaf litter mix that contains alot of worms and bugs. On their "water days" I will alternate between feeding reptomin&catfish chow to feeding worms/grubs. As they increase in size I will start introducing other foods periodically . Here is a few shots of this simple but affective method with Gulf Coast hatchlings along with a picture of how nicely they grow out as juveniles.

 

[edwardbo]

Please , diamond bp , I've been reading your posts all night and I am swooning over your honest expertise . Please advise me ; I've been looking at buying some gulfies . There are adds on fauna for a large nine inch specimen, I like him but then I'll need females, could you take a look ? . Where can I get beautiful specimens ? After seeing your post on gulf being gulfs I'm positive they are what I'm looking for , to occupy my slow moving ,man made brook . They fit the bill ,the best of both worlds , with the personality of box turtles and their love of water . Are you willing to sell any ? Thank you very much for your informative posts .

 

[Levi the Leopard]

Is this a common practice for keeping this species? I know nothing about them

 

[diamondbp]

I'm not sure if its common, I doubt it is. But it's the most affective method that I've tried. Here is some pics from their worm breakfast this morning

 

[Levi the Leopard]

I just saw the thread of your adults and their pens. Seeing how much they are in the water, I now get why you keep the babies like this.
Very cool. Thanks for sharing!

 

[diamondbp]

Lol yeh gulf coast are unique. I do keep my 3toed hatchlings in the same way and they do great. I'm unsure if this would work for Easterns/floridas/ornates . I suspect it would for floridas and possibly Easterns. I have doubts that ornates could handle so much water.

 

[kbaker]

What temps do you shoot for?

 

[diamondbp]

They experience normal daytime-nighttime temps until October. They spend 95% of their time in the shade only experiencing reflected light for the majority of the day. They get direct sunlight for roughly 10 min in the morning while I change out their water.

Soon I will be moving them to their hibernating quarters of a mulch/soil/leaf mix . But even that will be loaded with worms/grubs/pill bugs etc.

I have ,in the past ,kept them in warmer enclosures throughout the winter time for continuous growth, but I don't see myself having enough time to devote to that this year. They will be put into hibernation with my fingers crossed. =P

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So their temps range from day times of 80-95 with the night temps between 68-80. That's the beauty of South Louisiana temperatures lol