Tortoise Hatchling Caresheet
Suited to all Mediterranean tortoises in general, ie hermanns, spur thighed and marginated. There is a separate page for russian/horsfield hatchlings.
It is now generally accepted that a mix of soils is the best substrate for tortoises, which closely resembles their natural terrain. I use bagged topsoil for indoor enclosures, add a few rocks and logs for interest and water it frequently, in the same way you would a plant pot and allow it to dry naturally, but never completely, just the top. Soil which is dried out artificially and then added to the enclosure tends to be very dusty and can irritate the eyes. When allowed to dry out naturally it will form a more solid top and not give the same problems. It is important that no fertilisers or chemicals of any kind are employed as baby tortoises are adventurous and like all babies, apt to taste the most unlikely things, including lumps of substrate, faeces of other animals, stones and other unsuitable objects. Soil has excellent thermoregulation properties when the tortoise buries down overnight. Temperatures, and just as importantly, humidity are maintained suprisingly well. There is no need for additional bedding such as hay or shredded paper as the tortoise will naturally bury itself into the substrate. Indeed pieces of hay or paper can become entangled around tiny legs or necks. Another substrate that I have used more recently in indoor situations is compressed coconut fibre. It comes in small blocks that are hydrated with water which makes them swell to a decent sized bucket of substrate. It dries quickly but can be rehydrated easily and the babies love to snuggle down into it. It is lightweight for indoor use without being dehydrating in any way.
There is a lot of confusion out there as to what outdoor temps are warm enough for tortoises. Basically it does not matter what the temperature is outside so long as there is somewhere for the tortoise to warm up first. If the weather is sunny it will warm up naturally from the suns rays whatever the temperature. I have known tortoises to go outdoors on snowy days for a short time and stay quite warm while the sun is still shining. The dangers lie with leaving the tortoise outdoors in dull weather, if they do not return to their heated covered area.
Indoors you will require a heat source/basking lamp and a source of uvb. This can be provided either by separate heat and uvb sources or by a uvb/heat lamp combined. There is little difference between the two, results wise, but if using seperate sources, I use a 100 watt spot lamp and a 10% full spectrum uvb tube. There is no need to spend extra pounds on basking bulbs from a reptile shop with glossy picture packaging, a normal 60 watt household spot will suffice or 80 watt outdoor lamps are available from Wilkinsons which are just as good as the old 100 watt spots for this purpose. Generally speaking, the more time your tortoise is going to spend indoors, the better quality of uvb you should use. The arcadia plug ins are really only suitable for small areas and must be positioned horizontally. If using the uvb tubes they are lower in uvb than the combined lamps and need a seperate starter unit to run, plus all uvb tubes need to be changed every 6 months due to deterioration. The unit will still work as a light after this time but uvb will be negligible due to build up of a film inside the tube over a period of time. Please note that the heat source needs to be at one end of the enclosure so that the tortoise can get away from the heat if need be. A constant temperature throughout the enclosure is not conducive to a natural microclimate which is why most vivariums do not work so well as open topped accomodation. So long as the tortoise is being supplemented daily with a product containing vitamin D3 there is no need to panic about the amount of uvb supplied.
Please note that if keeping in bedrooms, a tortoise will be very susceptible to illness from spraying deodorant, polish etc These propellants can kill.
Lights and any basking source need to simulate as near as possible the hours of natural daylight. Some people tend to do 12 hours on and 12 hours off but I try to adjust the times to coincide with sun rise and sunset. Any natural daylight stimulates the tortoise to emerge and go to bed too. If kept too warm overnight a tortoise can get confused and tends not to use its burying instincts.
Plenty of hiding places need to be provided in the form of cork logs, upturned plantpots etc. Try also to give different heights and depths of substrate to give the tortoise more opportunity to exercise and to make life more interesting for it.
cartoon pic here
In the wild it is rare that you will see baby tortoises. This is because they are hiding from the sun in order to preserve moisture, usually under plants or pieces of wood, rocks etc or dug down into the soil in extreme temperatures. I provide my babies with little humidity huts to simulate this environment. They are simply shelters with a piece of damp sponge on the inner roof. I also spray the bedding in the sleeping area lightly at night to recreate the overnight dew in the wild and regularly water any sand soil enclosures as though it is a plant in a pot. As already mentioned, if the soil is deeper in this area then they will dig down to conserve moisture just as they do in the wild. The soil needs to be dry on the surface, but damp enough to hold together underneath when burrowing, especially in the case of horsfields which prefer to live in their little tunnels as opposed to surface mounted hides. Although they prefer dry conditions, a certain amount of humidity is important for hydration, which is believed by some to assist smooth growth. A vivarium climate is not good as this provides continual humidity which can cause serious respiratory problems and even early death.
Another contributary factor to illness in tortoises can be the use of aerosols in the area when housed indoors. Deodorants, hairspray, air fresheners etc can kill a tortoise so please be careful to use these products in a different room or remove the tortoise from the room for several hours if their use is a necessity.
The most important thing in my opinion at this stage is hydration, even before food! A tiny tortoise can dry out in the sun surprisingly quickly which is why, more often than not they will be inclined to hide away. Even captive bred babies have the sense to dig down when things are getting a little warm for them.
I provide very shallow trays or saucers of water for the tortoise to drink from. They often urinate or defaecate at the same time so it is important that the container is easy to remove and clean. The reason that tortoises do this is because in the wild they do not chance upon water every day and so hold onto urine until they get an opportunity to replenish water supplies. The danger of allowing this in the drier home environment though, is the risk of build up of urates which could lead to bladder stones. These can require surgery to remove and may be life threatening (a vet is unlikely to perform such an operation on a baby) so you can see the importance of hydration, particularly in babies. When a tortoise urinates it will often pass a white discharge known as urates at the same time. Urates are simply waste uric acid and are perfectly normal so long as they are liquid and never dry or powdery. Liquid urates are a sign of a tortoise being well hydrated. Dry or powdery urates are a sign of dehydration and so bathing and availability to water must be increased. If a tortoise is never seen to pass urates then keep a close eye to be sure a bladder stone is not forming. It can of course simply mean that he is extremely well hydrated to the point that urates do not form so noticeably.
The water container is best placed away from the edge of the enclosure, as it is easy for the babies to tip up while climbing, with possible serious consequences. Do not place directly beneath the basking lights as the shallow water can get quite warm very quickly. If the tortoise continually makes a mess of its water dish it is quite acceptable to just soak it in a shallow bath each day instead of leaving things to chance. I leave them in (fully supervised) for around 10 - 15 minutes to make sure they have a chance to drink and eliminate waste. Do not used scrubbing brushes to clean the shell as new growth is very sensitive. If soiled the shell can be cleaned with a damp cotton bud or a soft artists brush. No drying is necessary as you will find the tortoise will bask after bathing just as it would in nature.
A piece of slate or terracotta is provided for the tortoise to feed upon. This assists the beak and claws to wear down naturally doing away with the need to trim. I place this fairly close to the basking area, but never directly underneath a lamp and on an angle/slope, facing away from the lamp so that if the tortoise does manage to tip itself up it will roll away from the heat source to comparitive safety. A heat source directly above a slate area would literally cook a basking hatchling (put your hand on a slate positioned this way - ouch!) Try not to put hides, tunnels etc too near to the corners or edges of the enclosure as they will be used to assist escape attempts. Tortoises are always looking for somewhere new to explore. One or more tortoises will use each other to climb on too so make sure that the height of walls is at least equal to the length of two tortoises if you have more than one.
Provide your tortoise with lots of hidey holes and things to climb on such as little caves and logs or a pile of stones. Live plants are difficult to maintain in an indoor setup but outdoors in a stone sink or similar, can be very effective once established. I also sow some of the tladys seed mix direct and the babies eat the seedlings as they come through. This is prepared by Herbiseed and can be found on Lin Kings website at www.tortoises.net
A word about vivarium accomodation. Vivariums are exceptionally difficult to maintain correctly for tortoises, unless very large and with a lot of ventilation. The average pet shop 2ft vivarium is totally unsuitable and can soon lead to a dead tortoise as there is not room for the tortoise to choose its own heat levels. Some people think that a tortoise will get cold if not completely surrounded. This is of course a myth, as wild tortoises get quite cold at night and come out to bask in the sun in the day, even then they will spend a considerable amount of time in the shade, where they are actually quite cool to the touch. Basking raises the body temps to a level which is optimum to feeding and digestion, but the tortoise needs to get away from the heat source once warmed up, as to have this level of heat maintained would be detrimental to it's health or worse. I therefore, do not recommend vivariums, on the ground that there is not a lot of room for error. Tortoises also do not understand the concept of glass and so if it can see out, it will constantly try to walk through the glass, causing much stress and possibly be more likely to tip itself up and dehydrate if near to the heat source.
Feeding
Tiny tortoises eat exactly the same as the parents. They do not need their food cutting into tiny pieces or mashing etc. The more difficult it is to get at the food the better, as this provides vital exercise for tiny muscles to develop. I feed daily and scatter the food around the enclosure when possible, so that the tortoise has to exercise to look for it. Whenever possible feed only weeds as this is what the tortoise would eat in the wild and more often than not, will have a better calcium to phosphorous ratio to ensure healthy bone and internal organ development. Have a look at the diet section for more on the types of weeds to feed.
Avoid at all cost, any prepared tortoise foods available in pet shops. They are far too high in protein, salts, artificial colourings and flavourings etc and believe it or not, can result in a seriously deformed or even dead tortoise. They are also highly addictive and many people who have tried these products have difficulty getting their pets to eat natural food at a later date.
Avoid fruit as this leads to loose smelly stools and an increase in gut flora, producing an unwell tortoise. Poor gut flora often leads to a ploriferation of parasites.
Do not rely on the tortoises instinct to know what is poisonous and what is not. Sometimes they will avoid toxic plants but often they develop a liking for deadly plants such as foxglove, rhubarb leaves or lobelia.
In an emergency, when weed supplies are low, organic rocket, watercress, floretti crispy salad and romaine lettuce can be given, but if supermarket salad is fed on a regular basis, loose bowels will often develop.
In this country most soils are not so naturally calcium rich as in the Mediterranean. For this reason the diet needs to be supplemented with a calcium rich food additive. I use Nekton MSA sprinkled very lightly on the food daily for hatchlings and growing tortoises and 2-3 times a week for adults. Nutrobal and Vionate are also fine for older tortoises but avoid those containing phosphorous. In addition I sprinkle the outdoor areas liberally with food quality limestone flour (available from horse feed supplies) and daily sprinkle the food with this too.
Do not use the limestone flour from Garden Centres as this often has harmful additives or traces not suitable for feedstuffs. Cuttlefish (as fed to budgies) is also a reasonable source of calcium although not many tortoises will eat it until it has weathered outdoors for several weeks to get rid of the fishy smell. I also remove the hard shell backing for hatchlings to avoid accidents.