You probably have a forrest hingeback and they can be tough to acclimate.

As a rule humid type tortoises (like the forrest hingeback) are notorious for carrying parasites which go nuts when the animal is stressed (as in a capture). You need to get a fecal and treat accordingly. To do this you need to gain the animal trust.

Soak it regularly and when/if it comes out of its shell SLOWLY pick it up to show it that you are not going to harm it. Keep doing this until it no longer withdraws.

This is by now means a guarenteed method but it is one that works... sometimes.

If you have a shy one of these guys they are very difficult to acclimate.

You can also try mushrooms and earthworms... see if that brings it out.

Provide a warm humid environment such as a thick layer of pine bark mulch and hay. The problem there is that you have to be careful not to let the hay mold so you have to change it out frequently. Once it is acclimated you can do what you want.

They are not easy as WC but once acclimated you can't kill them.




>>I recently acquired a hingeback tortoise but its not happy. I gave it a nice warm bath on arrival and a comfortable home. I have yet to see it come out of its shell. It is new and I understand that they are timid but does anyone know if there is a favorite food I might tempt it into making an appearance. (It did move around last night but I didn't see it do so.) Whats an average settle in time for a Hinge? I assume I'm a bit paranoid and it'll make an appearance soon. Thanks for any input you may have.
>>-----
>>3.4.0 Beardies
>>1.1.0 Crested Geckos
>>1.0.0 marbled salamander
>>1.1.0 Box Turtles
>>0.1.0 Sulcata
>>0.1.0 Ball Python
>>1.0.0 corn snake
>>0.1.0 great plains rat snake
>>0.2.0 Blue Beauty Snakes
>>1.0.0 tangerine Hondo snake
>>1.0.0 Banana King snake
>>1.0.0 Desert King snake
>>0.1.0 jungle carpet python
>>2.7.0 Guinea Piggies
>>3.6.0 Dumbo rats
>>1.0.0 Blue Front Amazon Parrot
>>0.1.0 Congo African Grey Parrot
>>1.1.0 house cats
>>2.0.0 Maine Coon Cats
>>1.0.0 Boxer
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Ed @ Tortoise Keepers
Trying to keep the fun in Chelonian care

[ Hide Replies ]

• Hinge back happiness... - weebeasties, Thu Mar 16 15:10:11 2006
• RE: Hinge back happiness... - EJ, Thu Mar 16 16:53:11 2006
• RE: Hinge back happiness... - forrest, Thu Mar 16 22:38:35 2006
• RE: Hinge back happiness... - cutesyturtle, Sat Mar 18 09:51:21 2006