2yr old hermann has had heat lamp on all night for last year

[CBill]

Hi there,
I would be very grateful if anyone can advise me. I am a total beginner when it comes to tortoise care and I'm looking after a two year old hermann tortoise for the next six months. She has been living in a (woodchip filled) vivarium for the last year with a heat lamp on 24hrs a day and a UV lamp during the day. She has essentially been hot and as a result in the light 24hrs a day as the heat lamp also gives off light. This seemed unnatural so I did a bit of research and from what I understand she should have darkness and a drop in temperature at night. (I was also concerned about air flow in the vivarium so I've drilled a couple of extra holes as we have a cat so I can't leave the top open.) I'm worried about changing things suddenly so I have started with 4 hours dark and no heat lamp at night but this morning she seemed very cold and slow. She perked up later in the day but I am obviously very anxious not to make her ill, particularly as she is still very small and we're heading into winter. Any recommendations much appreciated. Warm wishes, Chloe

 

[Bee62]

Hi there,
I would be very grateful if anyone can advise me. I am a total beginner when it comes to tortoise care and I'm looking after a two year old hermann tortoise for the next six months. She has been living in a (woodchip filled) vivarium for the last year with a heat lamp on 24hrs a day and a UV lamp during the day. She has essentially been hot and as a result in the light 24hrs a day as the heat lamp also gives off light. This seemed unnatural so I did a bit of research and from what I understand she should have darkness and a drop in temperature at night. (I was also concerned about air flow in the vivarium so I've drilled a couple of extra holes as we have a cat so I can't leave the top open.) I'm worried about changing things suddenly so I have started with 4 hours dark and no heat lamp at night but this morning she seemed very cold and slow. She perked up later in the day but I am obviously very anxious not to make her ill, particularly as she is still very small and we're heading into winter. Any recommendations much appreciated. Warm wishes, Chloe

Hello Chloe and a very warm welcome to the TFO forum.
Thank you that you think about how to keep this tortoise the right way, and you are right: Tortoises should sleep in totally darkness and especially Hermanns tortoises need a little drop of temps during the night. Night temps should be at 70 F for that species.
Can you please show us some pics of the tortoise and her enclosure ? It is easier to fix problems when we can see how the tort is kept.
Woodchips are not good for tortoises too. They need soil ( mayby from a not chemical treated garden ) and orchid bark.

 

[CBill]

Thanks so much for getting back to me. I’m just going to try am upload a picture now...
I recently added some soil from the garden on a tray at one end (dark end of pic) and a pot of parsley (!) a few days ago but she arrived a week ago just in the wood shavings with a nest to sleep in. I also added the rocks as her nails seemed long (among other issues) and she has been enjoying climbing over them...
Best wishes, Chloe

 

[JoesMum]

Your tort is a baby and needs high humidity and constant warmth day and night.

The substrate needs to be replaced with an earthy type like Coco Coir that can be mixed with water so all of it is evenly damp right to the bottom and into the corners.

The water dish would be better replaced with a terracotta plant saucer that has less steep sides and is less of a tipping hazard. A piece of flat rock or slate, or even the back (rough side) of a wall tile makes a great food plate that also helps with claw and beak maintenance.

Those stick on thermometers are not accurate a temperature gum like this is much better.

I recommend that you read the following guides written by TFO experts working hard to correct the outdated information widely available on the internet and from pet stores and, sadly, from some breeders and vets too.

Beginner Mistakes
https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/

Baby Testudo Care (written about Russians, but applies to Hermann's too)
https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/b...or-other-herbivorous-tortoise-species.107734/

And then ask as many questions as you need to!

 

[CBill]

Thanks so much!
I will take all that on board and read suggested articles. One thing I’m not sure how to resolve, if the temp should stay high at night (while she’s young), how do I make sure it’s dark given that the heating is a lamp?
C

 

[JoesMum]

You will need a Ceramic Heat Emitter and thermostat. You set the thermostat to 27C and just leave it running 24/7. It will only cut in if needed.

 

[CBill]

Amazing...
Thank you

 

[Chizbad]

Hopefully the soil from the garden wasn’t potting mix with perlite in it

 

[CBill]

Thanks everyone for your help so far. (the soil was untreated garden soil) We now have a ceramic heater and the terrarium is up to 32 at the hot end, 19 at the cool end and around 26 where his bed is in the middle. So it's dark and warm at night. The coco coir is on order and I have a terracotta 'pool'. I'm spraying in water to increase humidity (my partner thinks I've gone a bit mad). Last night was her first dark night and she doesnt seem to want to move from her bed this morning. Her head is up but she's not interested in eating or moving. I'm a bit worried but hope she's just absorbing all the changes? Any other thoughts welcome. I'm sure I'll be back with another concern before long. Still trying to get this environment right! Warm wishes, Chloe

 

[Bee62]

Thanks everyone for your help so far. (the soil was untreated garden soil) We now have a ceramic heater and the terrarium is up to 32 at the hot end, 19 at the cool end and around 26 where his bed is in the middle. So it's dark and warm at night. The coco coir is on order and I have a terracotta 'pool'. I'm spraying in water to increase humidity (my partner thinks I've gone a bit mad). Last night was her first dark night and she doesnt seem to want to move from her bed this morning. Her head is up but she's not interested in eating or moving. I'm a bit worried but hope she's just absorbing all the changes? Any other thoughts welcome. I'm sure I'll be back with another concern before long. Still trying to get this environment right! Warm wishes, Chloe

Hello Chloe, tortoises are a little bit slow when there are changes in their life and they don`t like changes. Give your little one a few days to accept all the new. The most important thing is that is not getting too cold at night when humidity is high. 26 C is a good temperature for night times.
Come back with every questions you have. Your questions are appreciated.

 

[CBill]

That makes a lot of sense... maybe we have more in common with tortoises than I thought! She got up a couple of hours later than expected, ate and pottered around. Hopefully she'll adjust over the next few days. Thanks again. C