New Ibera Greek baby

[Tmo2078]

I'm new to the group and was waiting for the right tortoise to come into our life and we found a wonderful little Ibera Greek tortoise on Craigslist. He was laid on 8/8/15, 3rd and largest of the 4 to be hatched on 10/10/15 weighing in at .636oz and when we brought him home on 4/2/15 he weighed .89oz. I don't think he was being kept in the most ideal conditions but he seemed healthy and I met his Mom and Dad and they looked super healthy so the family I got him from must be doing something right but I still felt I needed to make some changes after reading through the
information on this site.

His name is Franklin (my 4 year old named him) and he is an active little guy. He will snack on weeds from the kids hands (supervised of course) and I am amazed at the little routine he has. Lights on in the morning, he is up and eating breakfast within 15min, basking and grazing throughout the day, soak time, a little dinner and then off to burrow away for bed and lights out...He seems to follow a very strict schedule. Too funny

Anyway just had a couple additional questions. I'm sure I will have more questions as I go.

How often should he poop?

How often should he pass uric acid? the first two times were kind of gritty so we started daily soakings and a few bits of cucumber. I am finally seeing him starting to drink on his own while soaking so hoping that is good. Haven't seen any uric acid since Saturday.

Should I take him in for a vet exam? Since he was born are there still risks for him having anything? Do you recommend yearly exams?

Thanks all...happy to have found this site (thanks to a manager at Petco who owns tortoises)

 

[Tmo2078]

I forgot to included some pics.

Here is the little nugget having a snack after a soak and a pic of mom Mom and Dad.

 

[JoesMum]

Hi and welcome

The care sheet for baby Testudo will help you no end
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/thread...or-other-herbivorous-tortoise-species.107734/

You should be soaking your little one every day for a good 20 minutes to ensure hydration.

Gritty urates mean that a tort is dehydrated. Urate doesn't necessarily appear every day and in tiny torts it can be hard to find - so can poop for that matter!

You don't need to take your baby to the vet - it sounds like he is thriving. Do take time to locate one with expertise in tortoises now though - many vets do not understand their care. It will save a lot of headaches if you need one in future. That said, we went 41 years before Joe had to visit a vet

 

[JoesMum]

Does your tort have a proper enclosure? Pics would be great

 

[Tmo2078]

He has been pooping daily and they are pretty big. I attached a pic if that helps.

Sorry for the poop pic. Just want to make sure we are doing the right things.

 

[JoesMum]

Poop pictures are great What goes in has to come out and your tort is clearly eating plenty

 

[Tmo2078]

Ok good. As you can see my daughter makes sure he doesn't go hungry.

 

[Speedy-1]

Hi and welcome to you and Franklin !

 

[Grandpa Turtle 144]