Here's what my vet recommended. He liked coconut oil too but preferred the Argan. It's a lighter oil with very little residue. I got it on Amazon. Make sure you get "cold pressed". I use it VERY sparingly - 2 drops for the baby and no more than once/wk. I do think it's making a difference.
UVB rays are rather weak compared to UVA. Things like cloud cover, screened porches, time of day/year, or even screening over your enclosure with a UVB bulb will have an impact on UVB rays getting to the tort.
Unobstructed direct sunlight is important.
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Daily soaks are suggested for the...
Fair enough - I would certainly defer to you on these matters - as I'm still the "newbie" as it relates to keeping a tort - but want to do my best to share learnings as best I can - especially for a fellow snake enthusiast.
I used to keep snakes (ball pythons) as well and now have a Hermann!! It's important you get the right setup for your tort - keeping them in any kind of glass aquarium is discouraged. Many on the forum use tortoise tables but a giant Rubbermaid container will suffice as well (especially as a...
Thx! The thing that makes this particular oil useful is that it doesn't leave an oily residue. It's very light - and is supposed to penetrate the shell better - and works quite well on cuticles also - so I've been told!!! Lol!!
I read a lot of negative posts on the Vita Shell from this forum and others - so I recently switched to "cold pressed" Argan Oil - also recommended by vet. It's a little pricey - bought mine on Amazon but you only need a few drops. I put it on mine a couple times/wk after soak before feeding...
@ Tom,
Here's the current setup for 6mth baby Hermann...
Please look at both water dishes. Do you recommend either - one is an "oasis" style that has fake "rock" to climb out. The other is just a basic corner dish with about 2" of water.
Dimensions of enclosure are 36" x 20" x 18" High. It's...
Tom...I've seen you write this a couple times...how do they become death traps? Is the issue that they can't climb out? I have a "corner" water dish - small - from PetSmart - that I refill every couple of days. I want to make sure I'm not creating an unsafe environment.
Thanks!
I'm concerned - where and when is my baby popping??
Beanz (6mth old Hermann) is active and eating well. He gets a soak daily. Enclosure has all the humidity and temps recommended by the forum. I feel like all my bases are covered.
I've had him for 2 weeks. He has NEVER pooped during his soak...
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...