I Need Help with heating for my 6 month old Hermanns

John And Ted

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I am getting a 6 month old tortoise off Tortoise Town and I don't know what heating and lights should go in the Zoo Med Tortoise House. Thanks
 

Jimb

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I use & recommend the MegaRay UVB/UVA bulb in my Hermann's Table and since the room he's in never gets below 68F at night, I don't use a nighttime heat source. I do use & Recommned a MegaRay Heat Projector for my other Tort (Leopard) for nighttime heat. Just ensure that you can keep your bulbs at the recommended distance from your Tort.
Here's my set-up. It's not perfect but it has worked for me. Mudflap has lived in this since getting him as a Hatchling an
d is now 21 months old and a super Tort. :)

MudflapHome8_1_17.JPG
 

Tidgy's Dad

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hello, John and a very warm welcome to Tortoise Forum to you and Ted.
Not sure about Zoo Med houses.
They always seem a bit small to me and I believe the wood is prone to rot in the humid conditions that you will need.
Have a look at http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/
and http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/russian-tortoise-care-sheet.80698/
the latter is written for Russians but the care is essentially the same as for Hermann's.
This will give you an idea of heating/lighting requirements and much more useful stuff.
 

John And Ted

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Thank you for replying! I am so surprised, so is there a tortoise table or house that I can buy online that won't rot and is good size? Will my 6 month old tort need a smaller house in the beginning? Thanks,

John (Ted is the tort)
 

Tidgy's Dad

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I wouldn't buy a tortoise table online, myself.
It's cheaper and fairly easy to make your own or to buy a nice big bookcase or two, lie them on their backs, bosh the shelves out and line them with polythene, shower curtains or the like.
You can cover your enclosure, with gaps left for the lights which will help keep in the humidity, plants help too, plus the terracotta plant saucer for water, big enough for the tortoise to soak in and sunk into the substrate.
Keep the substrate properly moist (not wet) by mixing in water by hand.
 

John And Ted

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Thank you I will probably get a book case, I did not mean to post another reply . But do you think tortoise town is trusted and reliable or should I buy it at a pet store?

Thanks,
John and Ted
 

Tidgy's Dad

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Thank you so much, where did you get your tort?

Thanks a lot,
John and Ted
I live in Morocco, where Greeks occur naturally, I own a bit of land with some tortoises living wild and look after tortoises in local houses.
My house tortoise, Tidgy, was a rescue from a family who were treating her abominably. She was very sick, bruised, fed on meat and fat, had a scute cut out for jewellery and used as a toy car by the children. She was only a tiny thing. I took her 6 years ago and after spending hours a day with her and doing a lot of research, she wanted to live and got slowly better.
Now, she is my happy perfect little superstar, the daughter I never had.
 

John And Ted

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Wow, I am so happy that Tidgy is okay! Your lucky you have torts in the wild. Here in America where I live we only have turtles. (In my region) Reading how that family treated her it makes me so mad! I feel so bad for Tidgey
 

John And Ted

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In my state New Jersey, there is a law that you cannot buy or sell a turtle or tortoise. But you can buy one in other states and bring it in. So I have to travel a little bit to get a tortoise. It's hard because there are not a lot of pet store that sell hermanns so I might get a Russian.
 

Tidgy's Dad

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In my state New Jersey, there is a law that you cannot buy or sell a turtle or tortoise. But you can buy one in other states and bring it in. So I have to travel a little bit to get a tortoise. It's hard because there are not a lot of pet store that sell hermanns so I might get a Russian.
Russian's are great, it would seem, small, but active, personable, need a lot of space and are great diggers, climbers and escape artists.
 
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