Good luck with your new guy (or gal). I have one egg I hatched almost 5 years ago that is now an almost mature handsome male EBT. I also have two sibling yearlings from egg I removed from a roadkill EBT that are doing great! Unlike birds, the egg may hatch slowly. It may even stay in the open egg for a while. Hatchlings are TINY and dry out quickly. You may want to keep in something like a shoebox for the first couple months, in a semiaquatic set up. This worked well for me, very shallow water and a pile of Sphagnum for it to crawl on and inside. It may not start eating for a week or two. Try small, live foods. Small earthworms or pieces of earthworm worked good for me, as well as small aquarium snails (shell and al!).

I don't use UVA/UVB lights on my boxies. I do get them out, for 10 or 15 minutes of natural sunlight every week or two. I do feed a very varied diet, and collect a lot of live food when they are small (sow bugs, centipedes, earthworms, crickets etc.). The shells are smooth and well formed and perfect. This is just what works for me, you may do something different. They don't move much when they are small like that, preferring to hide. I kept my first hatchling inside for 3.5 years. He went outside last Spring and hibernated outside for the first time last winter. I think he will be fully mature, and about fullgrown, by next Spring (age 5.5 ). Enjoy!

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