Questions about my new Baby Hermann's Tortoise! Please Help :)

[sincerelysam15]

Hello! I have recently added a new member to my family. His name is Charlie and he is a Hermann's Tortoise He is super young! Only about an inch in diameter. I only got him less than a week ago.
I have some questions about his behavior and I want to make sure it is normal.

1. Since I got Charlie he spends 90% of his time buried under his bark. He doesn't come out on his own. I usually will pick him up from under the surface and when I do he will go eat a couple bites of a leaf then climb in his water and then go bury himself again. Is this normal?
I worry it may not be warm enough in his home, and that he may be instinctively hibernating. Does this sound plausible? I do have a 10.0 UVB and a 75 W heating bulb just above his home but it does not feel too warm in there.

2. He will occasionally make these constant movements when sitting still. It reminds me of a Tortoise hicc-up. his head and two front arms will flinch every second or two until he starts to walk around. Is this common among young Hermann's tortoises?

3. Where does he get his protein? I know his diet should consist of all greens such as plants, weeds, and lettuce, and very little protein, but where does that little protein come from?

This is all I have at the moment. I have been doing my research on this little guys for quite some time now but it is hard to find good information. Any answers you could provide would be much appreciated!

Here are pictures of Charlie as well

Thank you!

 

[Tom]

Hello and welcome.

1. It is normal for babies to hide a lot, but you need to know your four temperatures. Warm side, cool side, basking area and over night low. Also, do you have the coil type UV bulb? Those sometimes burn their eyes. This would make him hide all day and not eat.
2. That is how they breathe.
3. Clover, alfalfa and legumes all offer good sources of plant protein. Mazuri is good too.

Please read these:
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/thread...or-other-herbivorous-tortoise-species.107734/
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/sticky-hermanns-tortoise-care-sheet-updated.101410/
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/

 

[sincerelysam15]

I have a 20 gallon long tank for him right now. being that he is so small i feel that is a good size for a while. do you agree?
When you say warm side and basking area, what is the difference? and by warm side and cool side that just means that my uvb and heating (which are connected by one lighting fixture) should be on one side of the tank only, correct?

 

[Tom]

I have a 20 gallon long tank for him right now. being that he is so small i feel that is a good size for a while. do you agree?
When you say warm side and basking area, what is the difference? and by warm side and cool side that just means that my uvb and heating (which are connected by one lighting fixture) should be on one side of the tank only, correct?

I prefer to go larger for small hatchlings. I like a 40 gallon or a 24x24" tank. I started my baby russians in groups of 6 in 100 gallon tanks.

There should be a hotter basking area directly under the bulb. The warm side of the tank should not be as hot as the area directly under the bulb, but it should be warmer than the cooler side. This can be difficult to accomplish in too small of a tank.

If your UV and heating are in one fixture, that means you are using a double dome type fixture, right? The only UV bulbs that work in those are the coil types, and these are the types that can sometimes burn their eyes. This might be your problem.

Please read those threads. They will explain all of this and more. Come back with all your questions after you read them.

 

[sincerelysam15]

I have read all of those informational threads and have determined the pet store workers have mislead me. I have learned the substrate I am using is not what is best for my tortoise. What substrates would you reccomend?

Also I have determined that I may not have the right lighting systems for him. Could you explain the best lighting system I should have for him as well as what bulbs I should use and what strengths?

Thank you so much for your feedback. It is nice to get it from a true tortoise owner instead of those trying to sell me stuff.

 

[JoesMum]

Substrate:
Orchid bark is a good way to go for substrate. Coco coir is also popular.


Lighting and heating:
Your torts needs
- A basking heat spot by day only
- UVB light by day only
- Complete darkness at night

There are 2 types of UVB lamp that you can use safely:
1. A mercury vapor bulb (MVB). This bulb also provides a basking spot. It must be hung vertically above the enclosure to be effective.

2. A long fluorescent tube UVB light. This provides very little heat, so you must buy a separate basking lamp as well. A 100W household reflector lamp hung vertically above the enclosure does the job nicely.

Overnight:
You may need supplementary heat at night. To provide this, you will need a Ceramic Heat Emitter (CHE) connected to a thermostat. This gives off heat only. A CHE needs a ceramic bulb holder or cage.

Don't use the following:
- A compact (coil type) UVB bulb. Compact bulbs cause eye damage and shouldn't be on the market in my opinion.
- Any form of coloured bulb. Torts have excellent colour vision, but don't always apply common sense. This can result in them attempting to eat tank decor coloured by the light from the bulb.

 

[Gillian M]

A very warm welcome to the forum. That is such a cute little tort-GOD bless.

Please note that torts take quite a lot of time to adapt to a new place, environment, climate, owner, and the rest.

 

[Yvonne G]

Welcome to the forum!

 

[Tidgy's Dad]

Hello, Sam, and a very warm welcome to Tortoise Forum to you and sweet little Charlie.
You've already received some very good advice, so I will just reiterate that a bigger enclosure would be better for Charlie.
Please don't hesitate to ask if you have any further questions.

 

[Sosakan]

Hey Sam, welcome to the forum!

I too have a baby hermann as seen in my avatar pic. Mine does the same exact thing, I too have a smaller enclosure that would be ideal and I too worry that all he seems to do is eat (nibble actually) and burrow down and sleep.

I have an ongoing "diary" that might interest you, perhaps we can share notes?

Here's the link. http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/my-very-public-tortoise-diary.123802/

Please PM me if you have any questions, we can figure this out together if you want, as well as relying on the forum

Cheers,

Sosakan