Help new adoptive parents

[riptide]

Hello - new member, and new to the tortoise world until my daughter wanted nothing but a tortoise for a pet/new family member. Well we've done lots of reading and preparation prior to obtaining our new friend, and now that he/she's here realize that there are some things nobody seems to write about much. Mostly, we want to give our tort the best environment we are capable of, and ensure we are doing things correctly. So if I could tap into the collective wisdom of the forum that would be of much help.

First some background:
Housing is a Tort Table.
Substrate is cypress mulch mixed with coconut coir
Tortoise is testudo graeca ibera (a diminutive baby just delivered)
Lighting via sun when possible and 100w reptilamp with heat/UVB.
Feeding spring mix greens, turnip greens, clover
Giving him 15min soak once a day.

Had our new friend for only 3 days. I'm sure he's a bit spooked with the new surroundings. He is mostly hiding by way of burrowing (actually a bit of where's Waldo to try and see where he is in enclosure!).

Here are the questions:

1. Is it normal for the baby tort to hide/ burrow most of the day? No basking as yet in either sun or lamp lighting. When should we expect him to rove around his new home during the day (is this a maturity issue?)?

2. How thick/deep should the substrate be? Currently I have it at 2-3inches.

3. In the morning we have removed him from the burrow, given him a short soak, then meal. Should we wait for him to spontaneously come out (though we may not be around then), or continue with what we are owing? I don't like getting rousted from my bed, so maybe tort doesn't either (though babies do need some care/nourishment).

4. I have assumed its ok to mix cypress and coconut mulch, though haven't read about that anywhere. Is this ok.?

Thanks in advance for any help.

Marissa

 

[shellysmom]

Congratulations on your new family member! I'll give your thread a bump for the Greek experts. Sounds like you are off to a good start, but I'm sure someone will chime in with some more helpful info soon. I know someone is going to tell you how important temperature gradients are in the enclosure, so do you have a thermometer or temp gun? Also, it's extremely common for torts to get a bit stressed in a new environment and hide until they start to feel comfortable. The important thing is that s/he is eating and staying hydrated.

 

[mainey34]

Hello and welcome. I am sorry I do not know anything about Greeks. But I do know that the burrowing and hiding is normal. Its a new environment. They have to adjust. Good luck. And I hope you get some answers soon

 

[Yvonne G]

Welcome to the Forum, Marissa.

 

[riptide]

Well, honestly little help received here, but thanks for the good wishes and welcome. I'm getting worried about our tort in that he is getting very little sun/lamp time each day. Haven't tried to force the exposure. His eating seems poor but I have no frame of reference. Hope he makes it, we are doing our best.

 

[Utah Lynn]

Well, honestly little help received here, but thanks for the good wishes and welcome. I'm getting worried about our tort in that he is getting very little sun/lamp time each day. Haven't tried to force the exposure. His eating seems poor but I have no frame of reference. Hope he makes it, we are doing our best.

Hang in there Marissa. Sounds to me like you're doing everything right.
I would increase the depth of substrate to 4-5 inches tho.
Someone with more knowledge WILL be here to help you, I'm sure.
WELCOME and GOOD LUCK.

 

[CGKeith]

Do you know how old the baby is? When mine first hatch they tend to stay buried for most of the first 2 to 3 weeks before they really start getting up and eating every morning.

What is the room temp and how cool do you let it get at night?

Do you turn the lights on and off at the same time each day?

 

[Sonja215]

Hi and welcome! Sorry that there hasn't been enough responses to your questions. I am a newbie, so I don't know much but can tell you what I've read. A lot of regulars have some very important threads in their signature blocks. "Wellington" for one. Look him up and check out his threads, they are useful for us beginners. "Tom" always has something very educational to talk about, you can look up his threads, and I've sent some people private messages just because I may have not been totally clear on a response that I've gotten or read somewhere in a different thread.

I have a good three inches in my substrate, I went from coco coir to Cyprus mulch. No real reason, just wanted to try something else. You can use regular dirt, peat moss/spagnum moss mix, top soil, etc. just make sure no pesticides or plant food. I also have an area in my terrarium where Herbie's hide is, there is a way for Herbie to climb up, and she likes to occasionally. I ordered some Mazuri from one of the members on here, came in a zip lock bag and I don't know why some others couldn't fathom it coming in a ziplock bag but its fine. Herbie didn't fall over and die in the past 6 months I've been feeding it. Read about temperatures, you might see some conflicting answers but I went with some pretty knowledgeable people and Herbie isn't such a baby anymore so I've loosened up on the 80-90 degree temps and let it get down to the 70's at night. But if you have a baby, I would probably read and make my decision from what you feel sounds right to you.

Soaks daily are good, or at least every other day. I usually wait till Herbie goes to the bathroom before I take him out but make sure she's in there at least 15-20 minutes. Some people I've heard leave them longer, most about 15-20 though.

I had a whole paragraph added to this but I'm on my phone and hit a button and when it refreshed it didn't save my last statement. Look up "Tlady" on google for her plant database, parsley is a natural dewormer & that's all I know about worms. Read up and don't take offense if you don't get any quick responses. People on here generally want to help! It might just be a busy time when you first posted or too late/early for some people.

 

[shellysmom]

Well, honestly little help received here, but thanks for the good wishes and welcome. I'm getting worried about our tort in that he is getting very little sun/lamp time each day. Haven't tried to force the exposure. His eating seems poor but I have no frame of reference. Hope he makes it, we are doing our best.

It's normal for them to be a little stressed in new surroundings and want to hide, and it's not going to hurt him to get very little UV for a few days. The most important things at this point are warmth, hydration, and appetite. If you are soaking him daily, that's good. You could do a little longer soak, like 20 or even 30 min., and you can put him under the basking light for a few minutes while he's soaking to warm him up, but don't leave him unattended under the light if he's not able to easily walk out of the soaking dish, or if there's a chance he might flip over while trying to climb out of the dish. If his eating seems poor to you, it very well might be. If you are feeding him mostly greens, but he was started by the breeder on tortoise chow, such as Mazuri, you may need to incorporate that into the diet to get him to eat better. I know some tortoises don't handle sudden changes in diet well, i.e., from commercial tortoise chow to grasses/greens and vice-versa. Also, depending on the breeder/source of the tortoise, some babies are raised under fantastic conditions, and cared for in a way that all but guarantees they will thrive in their new home. Other breeders can be missing something important in the husbandry, such as ensuring proper hydration of hatchlings, and they develop poor health as a result. In some cases, they fail to thrive or do well in their new homes, no matter how good the care.

---

The temperature gradients are also important to stimulate proper appetite and activity. What temperatures are: the basking spot, the cooler end of the table, and the ambient night time temp when the lights are off, and/or does this guy have a source of night time heat, such as a red bulb or Ceramic Heat Emitter?