So I got a hatchling earlier this month and wanted to share pictures of his enclosure as well as what I do to take care of him so that more experienced people can point out if I'm doing a good job or if there are things I should change. Let's start with his enclosure:
It is a glass enclosure I found on clearance at PetSmart for only 30 bucks. For substrate I fill it about an inch deep with loose coconut fiber and cover the top with a thin layer of fir bark. I have 75w lamps on the right side (one normal, and one infrared for night time). There is also an UV light which you can see on top of the enclosure towards the back. I wrapped the entire thing (except the front) in a blanket so that the glass does not get cold. Every night I soak a hand towel in hot water and place it over the mesh to help keep the humidity up. I leave the UV and regular lamp on about 12 hours per day and the infrared light on for the other 12 hours. The temperature is pretty constant at about 90 degrees. The humidity fluctuates a lot (40-90%), but I spray the enclosure about three times a day to keep it as high as possible.
He has a food dish and a little pool. His diet is: kale x2 a week, tortoise food from the turtle source x2 a week (http://www.theturtlesource.com/i.asp?id=32510&p=Tortoise-Diet), tomato once a week, and banana once a week. I sprinkle his food with calcium 2x a week. For his pool, I drop de-chlorinator in there (as well as inside the mister). He tends to not go inside his pool, but I soak him once a day for 10-30 minutes in a tupperware with warm water with the de-chlorinator.
I have also planted two different types of plants in his enclosure: chinese cabbage and georgia hybrid collards. He nibbles on them, but does not significantly eat them.
He has a flat rock on which he can bask on and a half log hide. If I lift up his log, you can see that he loves to dig in deep.
Now, I want to write a little bit about his behavior because I don't know if it is normal or not. He sleeps all day inside his hide. I have never seen him come out for food or water on his own. Every day, I take him out of his hide and place him in front of his food so he will eat. He usually eats a good amount, but on kale day, he only eats a little for some reason. I also soak him every day. I've never seen him come out of his hide to explore, or use his basking rock. Is this behavior normal? He buries himself really deep in his hide (sometimes I can barely see the top of his shell).
Thanks for reading. Any advice is appreciated.
It is a glass enclosure I found on clearance at PetSmart for only 30 bucks. For substrate I fill it about an inch deep with loose coconut fiber and cover the top with a thin layer of fir bark. I have 75w lamps on the right side (one normal, and one infrared for night time). There is also an UV light which you can see on top of the enclosure towards the back. I wrapped the entire thing (except the front) in a blanket so that the glass does not get cold. Every night I soak a hand towel in hot water and place it over the mesh to help keep the humidity up. I leave the UV and regular lamp on about 12 hours per day and the infrared light on for the other 12 hours. The temperature is pretty constant at about 90 degrees. The humidity fluctuates a lot (40-90%), but I spray the enclosure about three times a day to keep it as high as possible.
He has a food dish and a little pool. His diet is: kale x2 a week, tortoise food from the turtle source x2 a week (http://www.theturtlesource.com/i.asp?id=32510&p=Tortoise-Diet), tomato once a week, and banana once a week. I sprinkle his food with calcium 2x a week. For his pool, I drop de-chlorinator in there (as well as inside the mister). He tends to not go inside his pool, but I soak him once a day for 10-30 minutes in a tupperware with warm water with the de-chlorinator.
I have also planted two different types of plants in his enclosure: chinese cabbage and georgia hybrid collards. He nibbles on them, but does not significantly eat them.
He has a flat rock on which he can bask on and a half log hide. If I lift up his log, you can see that he loves to dig in deep.
Now, I want to write a little bit about his behavior because I don't know if it is normal or not. He sleeps all day inside his hide. I have never seen him come out for food or water on his own. Every day, I take him out of his hide and place him in front of his food so he will eat. He usually eats a good amount, but on kale day, he only eats a little for some reason. I also soak him every day. I've never seen him come out of his hide to explore, or use his basking rock. Is this behavior normal? He buries himself really deep in his hide (sometimes I can barely see the top of his shell).
Thanks for reading. Any advice is appreciated.
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