Kim Ogden
New Member
Hi everyone! I was recently given an Angulate hatchling from a man I met through some friends. he has 2 Angulates of his own (male and female) that he keeps in an outdoor enclosure permanently and 2 weeks ago he found a hatchling in the enclosure! He admitted to me that he actually has no experience with hatchlings as he got his torts when they were 8 and 10 years old and this is the first time anything like this has ever happened to him. I have experience raising reptiles as I used to breed with bearded dragons but have never owned a tortoise before. when I got the hatchling he was covered in ticks and it took me 2 days (and a lot of patience) to remove them all. i have already applied betidine (an anti septic) to the areas that i removed the ticks from, is there anything else i can use or do to help further prevent sickness? I have built a box with a 6w t5 UVB light and have an ordinary 60w house light for heat. I use soft sand as substrate and have been soaking the hatchling every 2 days. i am fortunate enough to live in the west coast of south africa right on the beach and most of the Angulates natural food grows in my garden, because of this i have been feeding the hatchling a variety of natural food everyday fresh from my garden. I have done a ton of research on Angulates but still have a few questions...
First, i want to build an outdoor enclosure for the hatchling but i am afraid that he may be too young? I am also a little scared to leave him outside all day without supervision as we have a problem with snakes in the area and my next door neighbors have a family of wild mongoose that live under their porch (my poor cat has already had a few run ins with them) so should i wait until he is a little older? And should i still keep an indoor enclosure for night time or particularly cold days after i have moved him outside?
Should i be adding fruit and veg or calcium powder to his diet?
Any other advise you may have will really be appreciated. Sorry for the long post and thank you for your patience.
P.S. I know that i need a permit if I want to keep the hatchling and have already started the application process.
First, i want to build an outdoor enclosure for the hatchling but i am afraid that he may be too young? I am also a little scared to leave him outside all day without supervision as we have a problem with snakes in the area and my next door neighbors have a family of wild mongoose that live under their porch (my poor cat has already had a few run ins with them) so should i wait until he is a little older? And should i still keep an indoor enclosure for night time or particularly cold days after i have moved him outside?
Should i be adding fruit and veg or calcium powder to his diet?
Any other advise you may have will really be appreciated. Sorry for the long post and thank you for your patience.
P.S. I know that i need a permit if I want to keep the hatchling and have already started the application process.