He has arrived! Lots of pictures!

[Seiryu]

Well, at about 10:30am my little guy arrived! They packed him in a mini-sock, with holes for comfort and then styrofoamed around it. Was packed very snug, no way he could move or get flipped.

Let him soak for about 15minutes. When I put him in there, he was sort of making sounds like he was licking his lips. I imagine thirsty. He did take a few drinks though so that's good!

Him soaking and nibbling on a piece of day lilly petal. He didn't do much with it though.

Him soaking again just walking around. He was VERY active when I took him out.

Just a back picture. My camera decided to be pretty fuzzy today.

Placed him in the water so he knew where it was and to see if he could get out. He could very easily.

He went straight to the food lol! I gave him a few pieces of spring mix and the rest of the day lilly petal I picked. He got at least 7 bites of food I could see.

And another. That's not the temp for the tank with the gauge there. I just opened the windows for some fresh air and it went down to 77ish. Just sitting next to it.

And here's the enclosure. I had to use my 14in x 38 in tank for now. A friends saltwater aquarium leaked late last night and needed a tank asap (pet shops were closed), so I gave him my 75g. He is still very small in this other tank though.

I had made 2 of these "huts" but since I downgraded there wasn't much room. They are about 6 inches wide and 5 inches long and about 4 inches tall. And his food is on a ceramic tile, i think 4x4 inches.

And here is the fake plant I got yesterday. Lots of bigger leaves and lots to work with. I plan to add some shade in the basking spot area and just put lots of stuff all over.

Again sorry for the bad pictures. My camera isn't that amazing and I wanted to get him in there as soon as I could. He is eating more as we speak (yey) and seems very very active. Already checked everything out.

 

[Maggie Cummings]

It's very good that he is eating, small babies like that go off their feed when they get stressed so it's good that the trip didn't bother him. I also feed day lilies to my animals, but be very care NOT to feed Asiatic Lily, they look almost the same but they are toxic...

 

[Crazy1]

Rob, he/she looks great. As far as the enclosure goes you might want to put something like hay in his hide so he feels like he is hiding in it. They often like to burrow into the hay. Just a thought. Congratulations have you picked a name yet. always takes me forever to get a name.

 

[Seiryu]

It's very good that he is eating, small babies like that go off their feed when they get stressed so it's good that the trip didn't bother him. I also feed day lilies to my animals, but be very care NOT to feed Asiatic Lily, they look almost the same but they are toxic...

Here's a picture of the day lillies I have. Took a leaf, and flower shot if you could help me figure it out maggie, thanks.

Flower

Flower again. You can see the little pointer thing on this shot better.

And then the mass of green underneathe the day lillies is their leaves.

Also, he made his way over to the water dish and is just sitting in it, this is OK I imagine. He isn't drinking anything, but he's inside his shell.

 

[Greg T]

Rob, Congratulations! He looks fantastic.

 

[Seiryu]

Thanks all, it's been fun watching him so far! He doesn't seem too nervous or scared.

Robyn - I have not named him yet. Naming is hard for me too!

Well some good news.... He pooped! He sat in the water for about 10 minutes and let it go. Very happy (hah).

He sat in the water for a while, so I had to remove him to get rid of the poop, there was a lot. I was hoping he'd move on his own, but he seemed pretty content on just sitting there.

I placed him down and when I turned the basking light back on. He just sat there. Now he's still sitting there but his head is out of the shell. Been there for maybe 20 minutes as well.

I will go out to get some Hay today. Do they have any smaller amounts at the usual pet stores or do I need to go to a feed store? Timothy Hay is what i'm looking for I imagine? He hasn't actually gone into the hide yet. Seems pretty comfortable just walking around his enclosure.

Spring Mix: Should I keep this refridgerated or keep in like a pantry / in a cool dry place? Just curious, because I bought some myself (to try it) and it seemed to get a little mooshy after 3 days about. I kept it in the fridge.

And substrate question: I'm using the eco-earth coconut coi + ~25% play sand mix. I can already see, he's dragging it into his water and onto his ceramic food tile. Is this ok if he gets the stuff on his food and eats it?

And same with water, is it ok if he drinks water with a little substrate in it? (it goes to the bottom anyways and isn't that much).

 

[raYchiLL]

for my lil guy when he is inside I use sani-chips and wood chips with hay in the home. The hay never stays in there long tho its always all around the enclosure lol.

 

[Isa]

Congratulations
Your little baby is so cuteee.

 

[Nay]

Hi Rob, what a beauty!! Was it you who was asking which sourse to get the leopard from?? I guess they steered you right eh?
I would stop and see when you see someone baling hay, not sure where you are, but that would be the freshest and so nice this time of year, (or in a few weeks around here, Mass.). second cut hay is so grassy and sweet. You can keep it someplace cool and dry for a long time, it will get a little bit stiffer, but the stuff in the bags, while it's fine, is just not so fresh. It will just end up the same..
Or you can get one from a grain store, but they do jack up the price. And a farmer would probably give you a bale..
Nice tort.
na

 

[Seiryu]

Hi Rob, what a beauty!! Was it you who was asking which sourse to get the leopard from?? I guess they steered you right eh?
I would stop and see when you see someone baling hay, not sure where you are, but that would be the freshest and so nice this time of year, (or in a few weeks around here, Mass.). second cut hay is so grassy and sweet. You can keep it someplace cool and dry for a long time, it will get a little bit stiffer, but the stuff in the bags, while it's fine, is just not so fresh. It will just end up the same..
Or you can get one from a grain store, but they do jack up the price. And a farmer would probably give you a bale..
Nice tort.
na

Thanks guys! He seems to be doing great. He has pooped twice now. And is an eating machine.

And yes I was the person looking around to see who to buy from. Glad I went with them .

Nay - I need to be careful that they did not use Manure though for fertilizer right? I see people on craigslist all the time selling bundles for like 3$.

So do I need to stay away from Hay that had fertilizers used and manure from ANY animals? Or just certain animals.

 

[tortoisenerd]

Some substrate in the food and water is ok. I change the water at least once a day, have a large tile to lessen the amount of substrate on the tile, and brush off the tile with a grout brush between cleanings of it. The reason certain substrates (like what you have) are used as they are digestible. You just want to minimize the amount.

Spring mix is kept in the refrigerator. I try to buy the freshest stuff possible. I keep it in a tupperware with paper towels and keep it as dry as I can. When it's moist it gets mushy quicker. A week is typical for the life of it, but 10 days if I'm lucky. I can buy it by the pound at some places near me, or I help the tort eat some to minimize the amount I toss. What else are you feeding?

Timothy Hay is great. My tort loves some as a hide just by itself in the warm area. He sits under it in the high 80s much of the day.

Any plans to not use a tank?

Best wishes! Congrats on the little one. Hatchlings are so tiny.

 

[Madortoise]

Rob,
Congratulations on having a tort in your home. He is just beautiful!!
The flower looks like a wild day lily to me but look below, Maggie is right about Asiatic lily looking very similar.

http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&q=asiatic+lily+vs.+day+lily&gbv=2&aq=f&oq=

 

[Traveller]

Awwww what a cutie!
You must be so happy and relieved that your little one arrived
safe and sound.
I remember the day our leopard arrived by courier, I was so worried,
it was like having a lost child.
Anyway congratulations.

 

[Seiryu]

Awwww what a cutie!
You must be so happy and relieved that your little one arrived
safe and sound.
I remember the day our leopard arrived by courier, I was so worried,
it was like having a lost child.
Anyway congratulations.

Thanks! I think I may have a name for him. I'm pretty big into Mythology. So I figured if he was a boy his name would be "Thorhelm", because well he looks like a helmet . And if a girl "Thorshell". He will mainly be called Thor though.

He is doing good so far. He had some chopped up hay and grass today with some spring mix and a dandelion green (and some dandelion flower).

He seems to have a little bit of trouble with the hay and grass, but does get bites off. Just has to work a little harder. If I see him continuing to have some more issues with it I may grind some grass, hay, clover, and dandelion into a fine sprinkle and just add it onto his greens like I do with his calcium.

He did try to take a bite out of my hand today when I was going to weigh him. It actually hurt more than I thought. Well it didn't hurt, but I was surprised at how much force the little guy had.

He weighs 70 grams and his SCL is 2.5 inches. I made a little chart too. Going to check them every week.

 

[Crazy1]

Rob if you are getting him to eat hay good for you most hatchlings won't touch it. I have use the grind and sprinkle method. You may also wan't to try soaking the dry hay a bit to see it that helps him.
Thor is a cute name. I am sure he/she will live up to it. Oh and if that bite pinched now just think what it will do when your tort is full grown

 

[Seiryu]

Rob if you are getting him to eat hay good for you most hatchlings won't touch it. I have use the grind and sprinkle method. You may also wan't to try soaking the dry hay a bit to see it that helps him.
Thor is a cute name. I am sure he/she will live up to it. Oh and if that bite pinched now just think what it will do when your tort is full grown

Ya, looking forward to him biting my toes and fingers yep...

I tried sprinkling some hay (not grinded, but smaller pieces) onto his food today. It seems if he got a piece in his mouth he used his arms to take it out. So maybe him nibbling on the hay was a one time deal for now lol.

So tomorrow i'm going to cut it into pieces that if he gets a piece, it's too small for him to get it out of his mouth hah! And if that doesn't work, i'll just grind and sprinkle.

I'm going to order grass seeds soon, but I still don't know what one to go with, the carolina grazer seed mix or the forage mix from turtlestuff.com

Any recommendations. I am sure both are good. But I imagine, since the forage stuff has the good weeds and such it probably is better?

And if anyone could point me to what stuff is actually in the forage mix from turtlestuff.com that'd be great. I can't find it anywhere, not even the description.

 

[Crazy1]

Rob, I just sent a message to turtlestuff to find out what seeds are in the forage mix. I wouldn't buy it if I didnt' know what was in it. Hopefully I will have a response in a day or two. I know some people have had difficulty getting their orders quickly from them, others have not.

 

[Seiryu]

Rob, I just sent a message to turtlestuff to find out what seeds are in the forage mix. I wouldn't buy it if I didnt' know what was in it. Hopefully I will have a response in a day or two. I know some people have had difficulty getting their orders quickly from them, others have not.

I'm not too worried about speed. Still have to outline the outdoor enclosure with the cinderblocks and landscape rocks and put the soil down.

Yvonne was the one that brought my attention to the forage seed mix. She said she uses it. I'd prefer more grasses than weeds in his enclosure. But I *hope* he will eat the grass more than just the weeds once he's used to it.

I tried e-mailing them twice, asking about where their ingredient page was and what was in the forage mix. This was weeks ago and still no response.

Oh and yes, it will be enclosed. I have a nice Vinyl Mesh that will go around it and on top. I just want the outline done so I can plant the seeds.

 

[Crazy1]

Sounds great I will keep on them. They actually are over a hill from me. Maybe I need to make a visit if I can find the actual physical address.