New Hatchling Mommy

[herpgirl24]

I just picked up a month old hatchling at a show on Sunday. I have wanted one for a while and just couldn't resist. I was planning on adopting an older tort, so I haven't researched any hatchling care.

It was very alert and roaming around, munching on romaine when I got it. No idea if male or female.

It is very listless since I put him in his enclosure? At least when I am around. I work during the day so I cant monitor him. I soak him in the morning and then put him in his enclosure on his greens before I go to work. It seems like there is less greens when I get home, but they may just be shrunk from drying out. I am giving him a spring mix, and grass & clovers from outside. I have a huge yard and never use any pesticides.

His current tank is a plastic drawer , its about 2 feet long by 18" deep or so. He has a shallow water dish, a hide, basking spot at 90 degrees. His tank gets to about 72-75 at night, he is right above the beardie tank and next to the space heater, lol warmer than me at night for sure. I did put a dish of pet moss in if he wants to burrow, need to buy a bag so I can do the entire box.

Anything you would suggest? Tips? Things I should know?

Avid reptile lover and have lots of experience. This is my first tortoise though and he is so young I am just being careful. Thanks! I am so happy to find this site!

 

[Tom]

Here's what I think:

http://www.tortoiseforum.org/Thread-How-To-Raise-Sulcata-Hatchlings-and-Babies


Good luck and welcome to the forum.

 

[coreyc]

Welcome to the forum what kind of light do you have ?

 

[yagyujubei]

I think he is listless because he's too cold.

 

[ALDABRAMAN]

Welcome.

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi Herpgirl24:

Welcome to the forum!!

May we know your name and where you're from?

I also think he's not warm enough.

 

[herpgirl24]

Basking is at 90 degrees and the rest of the enclosure is 80. He also has a UVB strip light.

I think he was too dry. I put down peat moss, he had a great time crawling around in it. I also put his water in a ceramic dish so it would keep the peat moist.

He was much more active! I even saw him eating! I feel much better. Was just very nervous the first few days!

My name is Mandi and I am in Houston. Thanks for the advice! I will let you all know how he is doing.

 

[Becki]

Welcome Mandy!
What kind of substrate are you using?

 

[herpgirl24]

He (or she) ws on paper towel for the first few days, since I had no peat available. But he was lazy and seemed unhappy so last night I put peat moss in, it does have a small amount of sand mixed in to it. I had it mixed up for my Water Dragon, but felt the little tort needed it more.

I do have a question on feeding? I have been giving him a spring mix, clover and grasses from the yard, and some cactus. I chopped and mixed it all. How much does he need everyday? I have been putting in about 1/4 cup or a little less daily. Some places say they will overeat, others say give them as much as they want. So I am refering to you experts!

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi Mandi:

Try to find cypress mulch at the pet store. You may even be able to find a bigger and cheaper bag at Lowe's or Home Depot. I don't like to use sand because if it gets on their food and they eat it, it might cause impaction. Cypress mulch or coconut coir are a couple substrates that you can moisten. And the humidity helps them grow smoothly.

I put down a big glob of food. If he eats it all, then the next time I give him more. I give him enough that there is some left over at the end of the day. I don't care if he over eats. Just be sure he's getting enough vitamins and minerals for good growth.

 

[coreyc]

Basking is at 90 degrees and the rest of the enclosure is 80. He also has a UVB strip light.

I think he was too dry. I put down peat moss, he had a great time crawling around in it. I also put his water in a ceramic dish so it would keep the peat moist.

He was much more active! I even saw him eating! I feel much better. Was just very nervous the first few days!

My name is Mandi and I am in Houston. Thanks for the advice! I will let you all know how he is doing.
[/quote
what kind of UVB strip light do you have ? have you looked in to MVB bulbs?

 

[herpgirl24]

It is just a basic 18" UVB bulb prolly from Petco. I am in South Texas so he will be outside as often as I can. I have 4 aquatic turtles and they have no UVB just trips outside. I put the UVB on the Tort though since he is so young.

I cannot use the cypress mulch, i am allergic. The sand is a very small amount mixed into the peat moss, just gives it a better texture, there is also some clean soil mixed in. Its a mix I blend for my Water Dragon and have been for years.

Thanks for the comments! I have spent the last three days reading posts!

 

[Tom]

Lots of people use sand mixes like that and it causes no problems. Just watch for any signs of eye irritation or him eating it, since on the occasion that there IS a problem with sand, its usually one of those two things.

I really think you ought to lower the bulb or up the wattage for his basking spot. 90 is pretty borderline in my opinion for a baby sulcata. I keep mine 100-110, but only in that one spot.

Outside time with unfiltered sunshine is best, but you probably know that from your beardies and turtles already...

 

[herpgirl24]

100-110? Really. I will go get a better bulb. After reading posts on here all day, I definately trust your suggestions. Also going to add a small under tank heater, I have one laying around and they work great for raising the humidity!

I know sand can cause problems, there is probaly 1tsp per cup of peat moss, not much at all.

Soo glad I found this site! There is a lot of conflicting information on these guys out there. One site even said they were nocturnal! And the petstores dont know much more. Cant wait to open my own shop! Going to offer classes to teach people the correct care of reptiles. Hopefully will open in 2011!

Also just bought a seed mix from sulcatafood.com!

 

[Tom]

What a great concept for a store. Good luck!

I've never used undertank heaters with torts. Just watch the temps and be careful. Check to see how hot it gets if you dig down through the substrate to the glass. Your sulcata probably will. This would be a great place to use an infrared temp gun.

 

[herpgirl24]

Update:

Switched the torts heat lamp with my water dragons, and now the tort is basking at a toasty 105. Decided against the under tank heater since his enclosure is plastic, figured it wasnt a great idea.

I think he is doing good now! thanks for all the advice and I will post pictures of him soon!