Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My great basin gopher eggs hatched over the weekend. There were four large eggs laid, and all hatched successfully. All are strong and healthy. One escaped the incubator tote, but I found in in the room behind some boxes right where I thought he would be.

Is it a good idea to handle them much, so they tame up, or should I let them maintain their instinct to fight??, perhaps boosting chances of succsefully feeding

Here is a pic of number 4 pipping.

I would handle them often unless you plan on releasing some. If some just won't calm down after alot of handling then maybe wait a few months or years until they get a little bigger. I think handling them until they are tame keeps them less stressed overall, but there are exceptions. Cool pic!

Thanks for the advice; Three of them are calming down pretty good, but one is still a bit bad-tempered, but seems to be getting better as well.

They all have shed, and their food should arrive tomorrow. I am sure they are ready to eat, and hope that they do so willingly.