Marginated baby behavior, is this normal?

PixelAdams

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I have a few questions about some behavior I've observed in my baby marginated. Just want to check and make sure everything is normal.

First, I've noticed a shoulder bobbing motion she does a lot. It almost looks like she's shrugging, mostly she does this while she's resting. Is this a normal motion for tortoises?

She tends to bask a lot, basically all day. She goes into her humid hide at night, wakes up and comes out mid morning, and spends the rest of the day snoozing on the hot side. (Temps are 80 in the hide, 95-100 in the hot spot, with a gradient down to 65 on the cool side.) I haven't seen her explore the cool side of the tank at all yet.

She'll eat about 1 leaf of spring mix a day. I gave her some mashed up zoo med pellets mixed with the spring mix, but she didn't seem to touch that. Should she be eating more? She's only 7 weeks old, and has been with me 4 days, so I figure she might warm up to me and eat more after a few weeks, but I want to know if I should try to encourage her to eat more now, or just let her do what she wants.

I know everything is probably totally fine with her, she doesn't seem to be having too many adjustment problems to her new home. I'm just a worried new tortoise parent, and thought I'd document some things I've noticed for you all to comment on. So if any of the above seems out of the ordinary, please let me know!
 

stojanovski92113

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Hello :) I think what your observing when you see the "shrugging" is normal/typical breathing. I see that in my babies too. I don't have marginated tortoises as someone here will give you more information on them. Soaking is crucial for baby tortoises.
 

tglazie

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How often do you soak your little one, because if there's one thing I know about baby marginated tortoises, it's that they need water. They can tolerate periods of environmental dryness so long as they are soaked regularly. I soak mine daily, especially when they're that young. Once they pass the fragile stage at around six months, I decrease the frequency to every other day, and once they pass the three year mark, I reduce frequency to once every three days. Sexually mature adults I soak once per week, giving them regular access to a water dish. Since you live in the Chicago area, I'm sure it's too cold out to allow him outdoors. Even so, some sun through a window is psychologically beneficial. Give him some time in a small plastic box near a window for a few hours if possible, keeping a regular eye on him, of course. Your temps seem fine. This time of year, mine tend to spend a lot more time basking under the heat lamps than they would if they were outdoors. I don't know if this is because the only time I keep mine indoors is during the winter or why. All I know is that they will sit under the lamp all day if you let them, which I usually don't. For ones that young, I usually interrupt the lamp bathing session with a bath and a little food to follow. They usually eat, then immediately start kicking around. Luke warm water is the best thing for baby tortoises. I can't stress this enough. I can't tell you how many people I've seen kill their babies by not offering them enough water.

T.G.
 

PixelAdams

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Thanks everyone! I'm glad to know the "shrugging" and all day basking is normal. I soak her everyday for about 20 min. She doesn't really like it, spends the whole time trying to get out.

photo 1.JPG

I think she'll probably eat more as the weather improves too; I've read that tortoises slow down in the winter even if they don't hibernate.
 

Tim/Robin

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That is a nice looking little baby! I have a bunch of babies right now from my adult pair. They are very consistent. They all hide in the afternoon and sleep. Not long after their lights come on, they move to the basking area. They eat like crazy. I am amazed at how much they will eat. I soak the babies every day or so. Additionally, they have a shallow water dish in their enclosures all the time. They do visit it regularly. They are by far, one of the most outgoing of the tortoises we raise here.
 

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