Re: Turtle Care

[keith]

Hi Terry, Great intentions of head starting the DBT you found. I would agree w/ Todd that what you should do is bulk the turtle up in size. Therefor hibernating it would not be the way to go. Hibernation is often difficult in hatchlings, since they have little fat reserves. The winter time can be a good opportunity to add size and weight to your hatchling in the right set-up. I usually add a little more heat than Todd was saying, but that is just a personal opinion from my own experiences.I would try both temp ranges & see which one your hatchling responds to better (After all Todd is a very reliable source 😉 )…..Water temp 80-82, Basking area…90-92 F. I would increase the water temp gradually as to not shock the hatchling w/ a sudden change in water temperature. Make sure the basking area is large enough to have the high temp only on one end of it. The Hatchling can then suit itself to it’s preffered basking temp. I’ve had good results w/ baby reptomin as a main diet. Most importantly is that it is eating ! If you plan to release it when it is of size I highly suggest you look into finding natural food sources to feed it. Also you may want to cover the tank so it will not be able to see you. Turts/Torts and especially DBT’s can be quick to associate people w/ being fed. If it gets acustomed to seeing movement, it will likely loose it’s self preserving fear that objects moving = Danger. Hope this helps, Keith in AZ Message: 1 Date: Sun, 4 Jan 2004 19:35:07 -0500 From: “LOUIS MACERA”

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