Greetings All!

[Sosakan]

my name is Chace AKA sosakan and I live near Washington D.C. And I have been the proud owner of a baby hermanns tortoise named "Einstein" or Einy for short. I got him/her on June 2nd and have loved him since.

My setup is a cement bin, lamp stand with exoterra multi-bulb (UVB and basking), a slate basking/feeding rock, fiddlesticks hide, water dish and exo terra Eco earth as a substrate.

To kick off my first post I have a question. I live in a basement apartment where the temp is around 60-65F (unverified) and the basking lamp gets the rock pretty warm, but Einey seems to eat only twice a week and sleeps most of the day. I've gone two days with him buried and finally searching around for him. Is this normal? I know babies sleep/hide a lot, but I feel like he should be more active and eating more. Within a month I have seen him poo twice and pee three to four times.

I soak him 3x a week and have been feeding him spring mix greens, no good weeds that I feel are safe.

Thanks and I am very happy to be on here with you all!

Sosakan

 

[wellington]

Hello and Welcome. He needs a wider variety of food offered every day. What are the temos in his enclosure, the apartment temp is too cold, they need to warm up past 85 degrees to properly digest their food. What kind of bulb are you using for uv? If it's a coil bulb, this may be the reason for him hiding, that and temps. The coil bulbs cause eye problems.

 

[Sosakan]

Hello and Welcome. He needs a wider variety of food offered every day. What are the temos in his enclosure, the apartment temp is too cold, they need to warm up past 85 degrees to properly digest their food. What kind of bulb are you using for uv? If it's a coil bulb, this may be the reason for him hiding, that and temps. The coil bulbs cause eye problems.

It's a solar glo 125 watt bulb, no coils here! I bought a heat mat which comes in tomorrow, I know it's not ideal because they dig to cool off, but I can't afford another lamp setup at the moment. I'm working on a better source of food, but I'm trying to be careful with picking plants because they use pesticides around here and I don't know which lettuces at the grocery are appropriate. Any input is appreciated, I'm afraid it's trial and error with me at the moment but I've done a lot of research, it's just that my setup needs tweaking.

Thanks

 

[Tidgy's Dad]

Hello, Chace and a very warm welcome to Tortoise Forum to you and Einstein.
Photos of the enclosure would help people address any problems, but as wellington says, the most likely reasons for not being more active are too low temperatures, coil bulbs and a poor diet.
Have you read http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/
and http://www.tortoiseforum.org/thread...toise-care-sheet-updated.101410/#post-1131311 ?
There's lots of good advice in these.

 

[Sosakan]

Hello, Chace and a very warm welcome to Tortoise Forum to you and Einstein.
Photos of the enclosure would help people address any problems, but as wellington says, the most likely reasons for not being more active are too low temperatures, coil bulbs and a poor diet.
Have you read http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/
and http://www.tortoiseforum.org/thread...toise-care-sheet-updated.101410/#post-1131311 ?
There's lots of good advice in these.

Yup, read both and a lot more, will try to get a pic up tomorrow. Thanks for the advice!

 

[wellington]

Some other grocery greens are endive, mustard and collard greens, dandelion greens, spring mix. Also check out the tortoise table .org .uk for other edible items.

 

[Yvonne G]

Welcome to the Forum, Chace!

 

[Sosakan]

Welcome to the Forum, Chace!

Why thank you ma'am!

 

[Grandpa Turtle 144]

Hello Chace
Hermanns rule ! It sounds like you need more space and more heat for that poor tort . And it will eat a lot more . Mine I think they would eat s bike if I put it in there enclosure have a great tort day !

 

[Sosakan]

Thanks grandpa! Really you think more room? I was told in several good sources a cement bin would be enough for a baby!? Right now he rarely uses more than half of what he's got, but he is lethargic... I know it's sparse, I've got flowers to the right to put in, I'm still gathering all of the good stuff for him.

 

[Sosakan]

 

[Grandpa Turtle 144]

View attachment 137260 Thanks grandpa! Really you think more room? I was told in several good sources a cement bin would be enough for a baby!? Right now he rarely uses more than half of what he's got, but he is lethargic... I know it's sparse, I've got flowers to the right to put in, I'm still gathering all of the good stuff for him.

Don't get mad at my comparison but you and I only use half of the bed but in my sleep when I roll over I don't want to fall out of bed

 

[Carol S]

Welcome to the Forum. You will learn valuable information on here to raise a healthy, happy tort.

 

[Sosakan]

Don't get mad at my comparison but you and I only use half of the bed but in my sleep when I roll over I don't want to fall out of bed

Not mad, interesting comparison, but I'm afraid he'll have to be like me for a while anyway, in a smaller habitat than what we'd like, but we'll make the best of it for now.

 

[Cowboy_Ken]

Howdy Sosakan,
I know it's not your name just seemed fun to put in. So I'm not sure if the links provided covered raising babies in warm/humid habitats or not, but one of those can be made very easily and with little cost involved. You know, using one of those long/tall plastic storage boxes. These help hold heat and moisture to ensure a healthy happy tortoise and mom. If you're unsure of the temps this would indicate to me that you don't have a proper thermometer or hydrometer. If that's true, that should be your next purchase. Keep asking questions, posting and texting are clumsy form of communication at best so it may take a bit for someone to respond right away, but someone will. And always remember, you didn't get your tortoise, your tortoise got you!

 

[Sosakan]

Howdy Sosakan,
I know it's not your name just seemed fun to put in. So I'm not sure if the links provided covered raising babies in warm/humid habitats or not, but one of those can be made very easily and with little cost involved. You know, using one of those long/tall plastic storage boxes. These help hold heat and moisture to ensure a healthy happy tortoise and mom. If you're unsure of the temps this would indicate to me that you don't have a proper thermometer or hydrometer. If that's true, that should be your next purchase. Keep asking questions, posting and texting are clumsy form of communication at best so it may take a bit for someone to respond right away, but someone will. And always remember, you didn't get your tortoise, your tortoise got you!

Hey, that's what an alias is for! I just bought a temp gun, because you are right, I do not have either hygrometer or thermo. Thanks for your advice. I try to keep the substrate moist with misting, but I know I need to KNOW what the RH is. I bought Einey to treat myself for a really rough time in my life, but I could afford only the minimum at the outset after buying the tortoise. Over time I hope to make things better for him as my knowledge and funds get better.

Thanks

 

[spud's_mum]

my name is Chace AKA sosakan and I live near Washington D.C. And I have been the proud owner of a baby hermanns tortoise named "Einstein" or Einy for short. I got him/her on June 2nd and have loved him since.

My setup is a cement bin, lamp stand with exoterra multi-bulb (UVB and basking), a slate basking/feeding rock, fiddlesticks hide, water dish and exo terra Eco earth as a substrate.

To kick off my first post I have a question. I live in a basement apartment where the temp is around 60-65F (unverified) and the basking lamp gets the rock pretty warm, but Einey seems to eat only twice a week and sleeps most of the day. I've gone two days with him buried and finally searching around for him. Is this normal? I know babies sleep/hide a lot, but I feel like he should be more active and eating more. Within a month I have seen him poo twice and pee three to four times.

I soak him 3x a week and have been feeding him spring mix greens, no good weeds that I feel are safe.

Thanks and I am very happy to be on here with you all!

Sosakan

Hello and welcome to the forum!

 

[Gillian M]

A very warm welcome to the forum.

 

[Lyn W]

Welcome to you and Einy, Chase,
I agree with Grandpa I think that tray may be too small for your tort, perhaps he is burying himself because your cool side is too hot and it's hard to tell from the angle of the picture but make sure your lamp isn't too low - you can check those temps with your new temp gun now. The caresheets will tell you what they should be and there's always someone here to answer your questions. Best to get it right as soon as possible because there isn't much margin for error with babies. Unfortunately setting up for torts isn't cheap, but once you have everything you need it gets easier.
There's lots of good advice here and if you try to follow it as best you can you should have a happy healthy tort maybe for the rest of your life!

 

[pam]

Welcome