Box Turtle Baby

[hegar]

Hello everyone,
when I returned from work shortly before 7 p.m. (19:00 h) I took one of my large prickly pear cactus fruit out in order to feed it to my box turtles.
I should actually call them "box tortoises", because they are land turtles and belong to the genus Terrapene.
Well, when I looked behind a lattice screen, where these guys like to hide I noticed a tiny new member. Except for one old female all my tortoises have been born in my back yard. There are four siblings. The new one must be the offspring of the only male that was hatched at my location and the old female. It was not easy to spot and I most likely would have stepped on it had it not been protected by the screen.
This little reptile does not look as colorful as the older animals. Its carapace is more cryptic and also seems to be more rounded (higher backed) than those of the other box turtles. I just hope, that this is not the only hatchling and that it will survive. I have never done anything to help the hatchlings and would not even know what to feed them. OK, here are four images showing the little fellow in my hand.

Harald

[Onzuka]

Congratulations, Hagar, a beautiful baby!

I'm a keeper of tortoises but mine are all from the Testudo genus. Baby and juvenile care is exactly the same as it is for adults. These creatures are born with a full set of life skills and don't need any special care at all. Nobody pampers them in habitat.

Steve

[gemhunter178]

Congrats! Very cute!

[Heather]

Awwwww. Lovely little baby!

[hegar]

Thank you all for your replies and the encouraging words. I do know, that these reptiles are able to fend for themselves, but they also do have a high rate of mortality. Today I went out and could not find the little hatchling. Most likely there are more of them, but they are very good at hiding.
My former box turtle babies did have much more colorful carapaces and were easier to spot.
Well, it looks like I will have to get rid of the male, because I do not want him to breed with any of his three female siblings.

Harald

[John C]

Adorable! Happy tortoise raising! I hope he does well for you!