AriadneHam
New Member
- Joined
- Jun 28, 2016
- Messages
- 16
Hi everyone,
I'm new to raising hatchling tortoises, as I've only had an already fully grown box turtle. I got my male Burmese star tortoise, captive bred, from reputable source and have had him for a little over a week.
Anyways, I'm a bit worried about my little guy as. All he wants to do is sleep/hide in his hide. He doesn't voluntarily eat(I have to hold food in front of him), and he doesn't bask, ever. I understand that he is only a month old and will want to find a hiding spot from predators, but he doesn't get any UVB light in a day. If I don't take him outside to the backyard for sunlight, he will stay inside his hide all day, no food. When he does eat, he will eat about 2 small spring mix leaves, max, before going back to the hide. I don't know if this is just because he is still adjusting to the new environment or because he is still a baby, or if the brightness of the florescent is blinding him.
My biggest concern is that he is not getting enough calcium or nutrients through food or exposure to UVB to be able to produce vitamin D on his own. I don't want him to suffer from malnutrition or set him on a dark path for when he's older.
Here is his current tank set up.
He is in a 24" long tank. With two hides. The terra cotta has damp sphagnum moss at 80% humidity, 82F. The other side of the tank has his log hide at 53% humidity, 85F. The basking stone in the center of the tank is set at 39% humidity, 92F.
The lighting is a 40w basking bulb light on top through a mesh top and a florescent ZOOmed 5.0 UVB 15w, 18" tube inside the enclosure.
I am using reptibark as a substrate and am covering the sides of the tank so he can't see out. As for food, I have tried feeding him Timothy grass, black medic, succulents(donkey tail), dandelion greens and flowers, zoomed grassland tortoise pellets, red and green leaf lettuce, radicchio,and mushrooms( all of the veggies organic, no pesticides). None of which he seems particularly interested in. He will take one bite or a new thing and then walk away. Any advice on how to break a picky eater habit?
So far I can get the little guy to eat a bite every other day. His poop schedule is to let out a big one every three days, it is firm and long, but not dry. I have not yet seen him pee or produce white urates yet. I soak him for 15 minutes daily, then try to get him to eat. If he's not hungry I either take him outside for an hour( it's 85F) and then try again. Usually he will eat a bit more after exercising, but mostly goes back to the hide.
Sorry for the super drawn out question, but does anyone have any advice for me, or is this normal behavior for my tortoise? Feel free to ask any questions on set up or anything else, I want my little guy to grow up healthy.
Here are pictures of the setup and little Hannibal. Please let me know if he looks sick( eyes, nose, scutes). Or if I'm just worrying over nothing. Thank you all for reading and for your time and consideration.
I'm new to raising hatchling tortoises, as I've only had an already fully grown box turtle. I got my male Burmese star tortoise, captive bred, from reputable source and have had him for a little over a week.
Anyways, I'm a bit worried about my little guy as. All he wants to do is sleep/hide in his hide. He doesn't voluntarily eat(I have to hold food in front of him), and he doesn't bask, ever. I understand that he is only a month old and will want to find a hiding spot from predators, but he doesn't get any UVB light in a day. If I don't take him outside to the backyard for sunlight, he will stay inside his hide all day, no food. When he does eat, he will eat about 2 small spring mix leaves, max, before going back to the hide. I don't know if this is just because he is still adjusting to the new environment or because he is still a baby, or if the brightness of the florescent is blinding him.
My biggest concern is that he is not getting enough calcium or nutrients through food or exposure to UVB to be able to produce vitamin D on his own. I don't want him to suffer from malnutrition or set him on a dark path for when he's older.
Here is his current tank set up.
He is in a 24" long tank. With two hides. The terra cotta has damp sphagnum moss at 80% humidity, 82F. The other side of the tank has his log hide at 53% humidity, 85F. The basking stone in the center of the tank is set at 39% humidity, 92F.
The lighting is a 40w basking bulb light on top through a mesh top and a florescent ZOOmed 5.0 UVB 15w, 18" tube inside the enclosure.
I am using reptibark as a substrate and am covering the sides of the tank so he can't see out. As for food, I have tried feeding him Timothy grass, black medic, succulents(donkey tail), dandelion greens and flowers, zoomed grassland tortoise pellets, red and green leaf lettuce, radicchio,and mushrooms( all of the veggies organic, no pesticides). None of which he seems particularly interested in. He will take one bite or a new thing and then walk away. Any advice on how to break a picky eater habit?
So far I can get the little guy to eat a bite every other day. His poop schedule is to let out a big one every three days, it is firm and long, but not dry. I have not yet seen him pee or produce white urates yet. I soak him for 15 minutes daily, then try to get him to eat. If he's not hungry I either take him outside for an hour( it's 85F) and then try again. Usually he will eat a bit more after exercising, but mostly goes back to the hide.
Sorry for the super drawn out question, but does anyone have any advice for me, or is this normal behavior for my tortoise? Feel free to ask any questions on set up or anything else, I want my little guy to grow up healthy.
Here are pictures of the setup and little Hannibal. Please let me know if he looks sick( eyes, nose, scutes). Or if I'm just worrying over nothing. Thank you all for reading and for your time and consideration.
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