Waking tortoise

[Tobythetort]

Hello,
I have had a new hatchling Russian tortoise for about 2 days now. All is going well and he is eating, sleeping, and pooping/urinating normally. But I have one question, Should I wake him up before I leave for work? I wake up around 6:30 and immediately turn his UVB and heat lamp on. And then after about 45 minutes I have to leave for work. But by that time, he’s still burrowed and asleep. So I’m basically wondering if I should wake him up in the mornings before I leave and give him food, or should I leave him asleep with food in the enclosure and let him wake up on his own?

 

[Lyn W]

What has he been doing in the 2 days you've had him?

 

[Tobythetort]

I have been waking him up, soaking him, then putting him back inside the enclosure under his heat lamp right next to his food, then I leave for work. When I get home, he’s either sleeping or wondering around.

 

[Tobythetort]

I’m just afraid that if I don’t wake him up, then his greens will shrivel up from the heat lamp before he wakes up on his own. Any responses are appreciated!

 

[SweetGreekTorts]

I'm in a similar boat. I'm currently raising 16 babies (Greeks and Russians), all under a year old. And I leave for work at 5:30am.

My daily routine is I have all their lights on timers. On at 4am and off at 4pm. I get up at 4am and soak them all for 30 minutes. While they soak, I prepare their breakfast. They all go potty during their soak too, which is less mess for me to clean in their enclosures. When I put them back in their habitats, I place them right in front of their food, which is near their basking lamps. Every single one starts to chow down immediately, and most are still eating when I'm leaving the house. They continue to graze throughout the day.

I get home around 3:45pm and they are already hunkered down in bed for the night. I clear out their empty dishes to wash for the next morning.