New 6 month old tortoise little help?

Whooo

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Hello, I'm new to the forum but also new to keeping tortoises. I have been given a 6 month old Hermann tortoise called Rocky and am a little paranoid I'm doing things wrong! I just want to make everything perfect.
So far... he has a heat lamp which currently provides uva rays at around 30 •c (I am getting him a uvb lamp as soon as Christmas is over as nowhere is open!) I keep he lamp on for 10-12 hours.
At night the light goes off and as far as I'm aware the temp drops to 15•c minimum. Is this too cold?
The rest of the enclosure stays at a constant 20•c.
He has a shallow food dish and water dish and I'm using topsoil substrate. It's around 3" deep.
He has a house but so far in the 6 days I've had him he hasn't even been in it!
As for food I'm trying to keep it plant based, so far he has had dandelion, some lambs lettuce, and geranium. I've been sprinkling it with nutrobol each day. Is this right?
How much food should he be getting each day as I was told little but he always seem really hungry!
Rocky is a very active tortoise he seems he is constantly walking around, basks a little after eating and just before bed but climbs and walks all the time. Is this normal?
Rocky has been having a bath everyday so far which he seems to enjoy however so far I haven't seen him wee or poo? It's kind of hard to see in the soil.
I spray his enclosure twice a day but unsure whether this is enough, I'm worried about him getting cold at night in a damp enclosure.

Just trying to get everything right am a little worried about pyramiding ...There is lots to know!

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Whooo

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Oh and one other thing is that he never burrows he just sits on top of the soil and goes to sleep?
 

Whooo

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Hi :) have been reading all the care sheets trying to get as much info as pos just seeing if people had advice too :)
 

Maro2Bear

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Greetings and welcome and Season's Greetings.

Your substrate/enclosure looks a little "boring". Try to add in some biodiversity for your tort. Some deeper substrate areas, some plants, etc. i try to "think like a tortoise" - create a high spot, a low spot, a dark spot a bright light spot, a dark hide, etc.

Welcome!
 

Whooo

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Greetings and welcome and Season's Greetings.

Your substrate/enclosure looks a little "boring". Try to add in some biodiversity for your tort. Some deeper substrate areas, some plants, etc. i try to "think like a tortoise" - create a high spot, a low spot, a dark spot a bright light spot, a dark hide, etc.

Welcome!

Thanks that is my thought entirely but was unsure what to do, any recommendations for easy plants to put in that he won't scoff!
I also need a little advice on how to create a humid hide as our house isn't very humid to start with ?
 

Maro2Bear

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Thanks that is my thought entirely but was unsure what to do, any recommendations for easy plants to put in that he won't scoff!
I also need a little advice on how to create a humid hide as our house isn't very humid to start with ?

Try to upload a pix of your entire enclosure, that will help ppl provide some ideas.
 

Whooo

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Try to upload a pix of your entire enclosure, that will help ppl provide some ideas.
Haven't got a pic at present but he is going to get a larger enclosure after Christmas :) at the moment his enclosure just consists of a house in the corner which he never uses, a water dish and food dish either side and then his heat lamp in opposite corner. And as such nothing else ....
 

Maria Ohlson

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Here is some Pictures of enclosures that I had for hatchlings or small tortoise.
They have many small Caves to hide in, plants for a good microclimate.
Different grass works very good. Hibiscus, Chlorophytum comosum ( dont know the English name).
You can use this site to see plants that work: http://www.thetortoisetable.org.uk/site/tortoise_home_1.asp
 

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Maria Ohlson

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One of them I have summertime outside and its really for Bunnys. It has high borders around and the top with bars makes them safe from birds and cats. When they are so small they often bury themselves in the substrate and in this way I know that all of them cant run away :tort:
 

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