Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i just hatched my first ornate wood turtle !!!!!! so happy about it , its in a nice set up , it hatched on thursday last week ( 5 days ago ) and still hasn't eaten, how long do they usually start to eat ? it seems compleatly disinterested in water too ?i thought they were rather aquatic as hatchlings? ( dont worry its in a similar set up to its parents , 80 % land with a shallow dish for a pond,its parents have a much bigger water area they almost never leave )

Congratulations! I'm not familiar with ornate wood turtles, but 5 days doesn't sound like anything to start worrying about. The little guy should be carrying plenty of internal yolk reserves to keep it going for awhile. I would just keep it warm and continue offering different foods.

If you can post any pictures I think I can speak for everyone when I say we'd love to see some!

thanks for the help ! i certainly will up some pics when i have a chance to empty my good camera ! i only have some blurry pictures because the camreas on blackberry's are terrible ! watch this space !

I hatched one a few years ago & if I remember correctly it ate within a week. I fed it leaf lettuce & small worms. It would only eat in the water so it never received any vitamins. It grew extremly fast but died in 4 months! My female lays eggs frequently but the fertilization rate is extremly low. I would keep it warm with proper lights & make sure it has a shallow pan to eat in. Good luck they're awesome turles.

hi thanks brian! its a shame your turtle didnt make it , thanks for the advice , i think these days its a little easier to get the vitamins into the turtle if you use the paste from beaphar, its like thick goo and you can coat worms in it ...hopefully it'll work

I've never seen this product at any of the pet shops I visit. I'll have to keep my eye out for it as I have 3 eggs now in the incubator. It had hatched in August, so it got some outside time when days were nice. I must say I've never had a baby turtle grow as fast as that Manni (except for common snappers). I fed it twice a day & I never saw it eat on land. It may have been a respiratory issue. Literaly it stopped eating one day and was dead 3 or 4 days later. Hope this helps with yours. Good luck!
Brian

here's a photo!

just found even more eggs too !!!!!! very exciting!