Newbie with dalmatian hermann's tortoise

[Jazzbell772]

Well I didn't realize how much I didn't know until coming to this website. I have a new tortoise which I only got 3 days ago. I believe she may be about 6 months old only because someone else in the forum got theirs around the same time. I have her in a 10 gallon tank right now with a strip light and a heat mat under the tank. I take her outside everyday for some more exercise and to eat some clovers. We are going to be building an outdoor enclosure so it may be a few months until she is out of the tank. She doesn't move around much in there and I guess she's bored but what else can I do other than our trips outside until the new enclosure. I have some timothy hay in the tank and have started soaking her more often after reading the posts. I am thinking once a day should be enough? I haven't noticed any poop yet but she's still new and doesn't seem too stressed but she may very well be. I am a veterinary technician but we don't deal with reptiles. I have only ever owned red eared sliders so this is a whole new ball game. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!!

 

[Jacqui]

Hi and welcome! First I would suggest a larger enclosure. My questions are what are the humdity and temperatures right at her level in the enclosure? Is that a UVB light and how long do you have it on each day?

 

[Grandpa Turtle 144]

Hello and welcome to the TFO from AZ. The tort needs a bigger enclosure then 10gal tank . But good luck. .

 

[Pittrock]

Hi Jazbell!! Welcome! I recently purchased my Dalmatian from TortoiseSupply also. My advice would be to get the baby a Rubbermaid container - fairly large with a ReptiSun (or equivalent) combo UVB/heat bulb - get a timer set for 12hrs/day - Amazon is the cheapest. Mine tends to bury himself a lot so I make sure he gets direct sun at least a few times/wk for about 20min and daily soaks.

Be sure to keep decent humidity (50-60%) Coco substrate works well - cold and damp = BAD, warm and light humidity = GOOD.

 

[Jazzbell772]

We are working on building the outdoor enclosure so I don't want to be setting up yet another enclosure. I have the coco stuff in there and she loves it so much more so she can actually bury herself. The temp in there is about 80. I don't have a basking bulb in there yet. I was still debating it. She has a heating pad on the bottom of the tank. The strip light is put on at 7 am and off at 10pm. She goes outside every chance I get. It's been in the 70's so that's her playtime outdoors and I've been soaking her once a day. I don't want anything to happen to her in the time its going to take to build the enclosure outside. It's definitely warmer in the tank than it would be out there at least. Hoping it's just another 2 weeks.

 

[Pittrock]

Based on what I've read here in the forum, temperature gradients are the most important thing along with proper humidity. Tort should have 15-20 degrees difference throughout the enclosure - doing this in a 10gallon glass enclosure makes this difficult. The heat helps with digestion - 90 degrees. Having her outside is awesome as you've been doing - gives her plenty of natural vitamin D.

I know having the separate indoor enclosure is a pain but the Rubbermaid container is quite inexpensive (less than $15) and she would probably thank you. I also started with a glass aquarium for my russian - he spent more time burying himself but once I changed it, he came "alive".

 

[Yvonne G]

Welcome to the Forum!