What age should a hatchling be

[Shelli]

when I get one? I have been told they are just over 3 months so I want to make sure that is old enough. I wont be picking him/her up for another 2 weeks either...
I am thinking of getting the room up to the high 70's and then having a black light bulb clamp for a warm spot in the enclosure, keeping the room light on with a 40 watt bulb just for light.
I will have the digital thermostat/humidity and am planning on using the Sphagnum Moss I may use some soil too if I can find any that is suitable.
A dish for water soaking and probably a slate for food.. and a hidey.
The room in question is actually our spare bathroom it is small so it will be easy to maintain temp..
We have an outdoor enclosure with lots of shade where I would like to let it out once a day temp/weather permitting for 20 minutes a day..

Does this sound ok for a 3 - 4 month old baby or am I on the wrong track..
I'm in Ontario Canada so I'm going to stock up on the moss to get me through the winter,, it will keep in it's bags correct?

Thankyou for reading...

 

[Madkins007]

when I get one? I have been told they are just over 3 months so I want to make sure that is old enough. I wont be picking him/her up for another 2 weeks either...

3 months should be fine as long as they are eating well.

I am thinking of getting the room up to the high 70's and then having a black light bulb clamp for a warm spot in the enclosure, keeping the room light on with a 40 watt bulb just for light.

Black lights throw off a lot of UVA and not much UVB (It is cheaper to make UVA bulbs, so you can kind of go by price.) Otherwise a warm room with soft room lighting is fine.

I will have the digital thermostat/humidity and am planning on using the Sphagnum Moss I may use some soil too if I can find any that is suitable.
A dish for water soaking and probably a slate for food.. and a hidey.
The room in question is actually our spare bathroom it is small so it will be easy to maintain temp..

We have an outdoor enclosure with lots of shade where I would like to let it out once a day temp/weather permitting for 20 minutes a day..

Does this sound ok for a 3 - 4 month old baby or am I on the wrong track..
I'm in Ontario Canada so I'm going to stock up on the moss to get me through the winter,, it will keep in it's bags correct?

Thankyou for reading...

 

[Traveller]

Congrats on getting a tort!
And welcome to the site great people here and info also.
You didn't say what type you were getting.
We're in Ontario Canada also and you can get the sphagnum moss
year round and any of the higher end greenhouses. It comes in small bales
dry and just needs to be soaked for a bit. I like to use the long fibre
moss, seems to be cleaner.
For keeping your enclosure warm, I'd go with heat emmiters,
they're great and work well.
As far as age goes make sure the tort has no egg sac,
and is eating like a trooper.
If you can drop in and observe the torts when it's
feeding time.
Hope that's of some help. I'm pretty new at this too.

 

[Maggie Cummings]

I'm kinda confused here...but in my humble opinion the room itself should have nothing to do with the hatchlings enclosure. He needs to be in his own separate habitat with nothing to do with the room. Then you set up the habitat to what ever needs his specific species has. I use black light bulbs for heat instead of a heat emitter because they are just as hot and they are cheaper. I have UVB bulbs over most of the habitats and I put them outside daily. Your hatchling should not have the run of the room and the room should have nothing to do with the tort. Hatchlings are very fragile so you need to make sure his habitat is set up correctly before he arrives at your house...good luck with him and be sure to post pictures when he gets there...

 

[Shelli]

I guess I figured stable very warm room temp would help with the enclosure but yeah now I think about it some more that might just be making things more complicated when all that matters in the enclosure itself..

This morning I did great I got some Mosser Lee Moss locally which was great as I'm in Canada and thought it would be hard, but it was the last bag so I have ordered in 5 more, how often should it be changed for a hatchling?
I also got 5 big bags of top soil/peat moss mix incase the Moss takes a while to come in.. (I need to stock up for the winter you never know availablity) I called the company on the bag it said organic etc, but they had a 1 800 # so I called that from the store and they said there are no added ferts or anything..
I got a nice little humidity temp thermometer from home depot and the clip light which I might have to get two of because the enclosure it really big, I may section it off to begin with if my tortoise is really small.
I got two black lights I think I'll go back and get more since they were on sale.
If everything goes to plan I should be picking up my lil' guy/gal a week today!! Next Friday am.
I am just going to start looking into plants now so that I can have them in the enclosure and settling as of tomorrow..
Sorry for the essay I am just so relieved sometimes living so far north it can be a nightmare trying to get things locally so I am happy for my torti and I can get it sooner than I originally thought

 

[Crazy1]

Shelli, hi and welcome. I assume from your posting you are getting a Redfoot? a 3 month old hatchling will be about 2 to 2.5 inches. (I think) So yes it will be tiny. Check out this site www.redfoots.com or www.turtletary.com. it has great info on Redfoots. the peat moss mix make sure it does not have perlite or vermiculite in it. This can be a hazard to hatchlings and if ingested can cause impaction. Congratulations on getting your tort (next friday).
As far as plants if you are not buying organic plants you will want to give them time for the fertilizers and all the other chemical to leach out of the plants before putting them in the enclosure. about 3 months but you can put silk plants in for your little one to hide in until then.
Again Welcome and Congratulations looking forward to seeing pics and hearing of your little ones adventures.

 

[Shelli]

Crazy 1 Yes a baby red-foot, you had me worried all over again so I called them again about the perlite or vermiculite now I have the specifics and no it does not contain it, non of their products contain vermiculite and the perlite she explained to be is in something els but she called her supervisor to be sure... phew... Very helpful Also I have a moss company in Canada that will send to me directly and she says that their moss is 100% safe and many people use it for their reptiles and she can ship it same day.. So my future baby will not be on anything it shouldn't..

The plants could be full of stuff you're right... I have some pansies outside but I don't think they will live indoors..
p.s I have been back and forth to redfoot.com it was what made me decide a red-foot would work for us with living indoors all winter etc..

Now I'm going to start working on diet, I have a chart already for weight so I can be sure he's not going down hill....

Oh and I have one question..
I am going to try and find the answer later but incase
When you are all talking about soaking i'm assuming you are just talking about the underside... and misting the tops you wouldnt' turn it upside down and soak the top of the shell.. would you? :/

 

[Seiryu]

Oh and I have one question..
I am going to try and find the answer later but incase
When you are all talking about soaking i'm assuming you are just talking about the underside... and misting the tops you wouldnt' turn it upside down and soak the top of the shell.. would you? :/

Welcome!

And no, you do not flip the tortoise over to soak them. You put water in that will go up to just under their chin. They'll drink and soak up some water that way.

I don't think many mist the tops of their torts shells either. I imagine you could and if the dirt bothered you, use a very soft moist (not really wet) paper towel or wash cloth and gently rub off the dirt. Torts get dirty, it's just the way it is .

 

[Itort]

With my redfoots I mist them until water runs off shell. I believe that in the forest where it rains almost daily. they get soaked. They also all have a wading/soaking bowl which they utilize often.