REPRODUCTION AND HATCHLINGS

Building a Hatchling Enclosure

Hatchlings must not be able to see through the side of an enclosure, so we suggest walls of cinder block. The walls need be only two cinder blocks high, plus an important single top row of “half blocks” 16” x 7 1/2" x 3 1/2" – wider than the top of the cinder blocks.

Place the half-blocks so they hang over the inner edges of the cinder blocks, as in Figure 35. This will prevent escape, and hatchlings will try. They have long nails and will climb up the corners and escape or fall into the holes in the cinder blocks and die if they are not covered. Covering the cinder blocks also makes the enclosure more attractive and good for sitting.

Figure 35. Cinder block structure topped
with overlapping half blocks prevents
escape. Reed mat shades the water dish
at the irrigated end of the enclosure.

1. Stack two courses of cinder blocks without mortar to create an enclosure at least 5' x 20' , or 100 square feet.

2. Create the overhang using a single row of solid half blocks placed so they hang over the inner edge of the cinder blocks.

3. Build a burrow for each hatchling using rounded rake roof tiles, different from regular roof tiles. See Figure 36 and Information Sheet #14.

Figure 36. Rounded rake tile, A, provides
snug fit for good insulation. Compare to
B, which allows easy entry of hot air and
breezes that dehydrate

a. Use two or three ceramic roof tiles set end-to-end in a downward-sloping trench filled with rock-free soil. Cover each seam between the tiles with a strip of plastic.

b. Use a broom handle to create a channel that is a just large enough for the tortoise to move the entire length of the burrow. With the broom handle, pack down the soil just enough to create a firm surface for the juvenile to walk easily and not sink into the soil. See Figure 37.

c. Cover the tiles with at least 18–24" of soil with high water-holding capacity, not sand or gravel. Pack down the soil firmly.

d. Beyond the end of the burrow, create a pile of rock-free, well-packed soil that you know will hold its shape when the juvenile attempts to extend the burrow and/or create a turnaround. You can test this with your hand. This pile should extend at least two feet beyond the burrow, be two feet wide, and as high as the soil covering the tiles.

4. On the end of the pen to be irrigated, use soil with added organic matter for growing food plants. See Figure 35.

a. Plant a small patch of common Bermuda grass and keep it very short. Transplant dandelions and low perennial ornamentals listed under Food and on Information Sheet #21.