2019 Hatchlings thread

MIReptilian

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I'm starting this thread for owners of new Hermanni (late 2018 or 2019 hatchlings) to discuss experiences during their first year with their new tortoise(s).

So who has recently required a newer hatchling or is waiting for a hatchling to arrive from a breeder?

Jeff
 

MIReptilian

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I'll start.. My name is Jeff and I live in southeastern, MI. As of today, I just ordered three Eastern Hermanns from Chris Leone and am eagerly awaiting their arrival 5 weeks from now.

I think my biggest obstacles will be dealing with our weather here in MI which seems to change constantly and getting everything together in terms of enclosures and supplies.

Since I placed my order with chris today, now I'm beginning to research all the supplies, substrate, thermometers, hydrometer, infrared heat guns, heating lamps, enclosure builds, food etc.

Hope to give my new trio of torts the best life that I can.

@JLMDVM and @method89 figured I would ask you to to come on over to this thread as I learned you're also waiting for new hatchlings...

Thanks
Jeff
 

method89

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Jeff, you move quick!

I'm Jim, I live on Long Island, NY. I ordered my Western Hermanns from Chris as well. I'm due late August/ early September. The book Chris recommended to me was:

Naturalistic keeping and breeding of Hermann´s Tortoises by Wolfgang Wegehaupt

I've read it twice already and it really provides a ton of info for all Hermanns. I highly recommend.
I plan on keeping him/her indoors for the first year in a cement tub and then building an outdoor enclosure next summer.


Regards,

Jim

 

MIReptilian

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This is sounding like a tortoise anonymous group “hi I’m Wade, and I’m addicted tor tortoises”


Ha ha ha. That cracked me up. It was suggested in my last thread on this board that we should get people together that have new hermanns hatchlings. That's what I'm attempting to do here. Lol
 

MIReptilian

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Jeff, you move quick!

I'm Jim, I live on Long Island, NY. I ordered my Western Hermanns from Chris as well. I'm due late August/ early September. The book Chris recommended to me was:

Naturalistic keeping and breeding of Hermann´s Tortoises by Wolfgang Wegehaupt

I've read it twice already and it really provides a ton of info for all Hermanns. I highly recommend.
I plan on keeping him/her indoors for the first year in a cement tub and then building an outdoor enclosure next summer.


Regards,

Jim


Jim.. is that book on Amazon by chance? I'm going to grab it regardless. Thanks for the suggestion.
 

method89

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yes its on amazon, bit pricey(everywhere, not just amazon) , but so incredibly worth it.
 

JLMDVM

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Yep, saw your thoughts in the other thread and here I am. Also waiting on my Westerns from Chris. Continuing to gather supplies and learn everything I can while I await their arrival.
Jennifer
 

MIReptilian

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What size enclosures are you guys starting with for your babies. I'm getting 3, so I'm not sure what size to build and have no idea how fast they grow.
.I was thinking about a 4x3x2 closed chamber built of plywood with a fold down glass door in the front. Looks like a "plywood aquarium" is a simple build and there are many examples on YouTube

If I put the effort into a scratch build, I would want it to last for a few years though until I'm forced to build a larger chamber. I'm just not sure how fast these buggers grow.

I might try and build it so its modular. Ie. Make the smaller chamber to start with and design it so it can mate up with a larger 8x3x2 chamber when they're bigger. This will give them 12x3 of indoor space when they're older as a winter accommodation. Hmmm. Decisions...
 

method89

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I'll be going with 3x2 cement mixing tub. I will be leaving it open during the day and then putting a cover over it at night to retain humidity. I don't plan on having the tort hibernate this first year but I would like have it live almost exclusively outside the following year and would then let it hibernate after that. I'm trying to follow Chris's recommendations to a T. If you read his Greek care sheet it explains the ideas I mentioned above. The outside enclosure will be as big as the wife allows but I'm thinking a minimum of 4x4 for at least 2 years.
 

MIReptilian

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I'll be going with 3x2 cement mixing tub. I will be leaving it open during the day and then putting a cover over it at night to retain humidity. I don't plan on having the tort hibernate this first year but I would like have it live almost exclusively outside the following year and would then let it hibernate after that. I'm trying to follow Chris's recommendations to a T. If you read his Greek care sheet it explains the ideas I mentioned above. The outside enclosure will be as big as the wife allows but I'm thinking a minimum of 4x4 for at least 2 years.

Yep. I read that. Chris knows his stuff too... my problem us that my basement (where they will be living) has an ambient temp of around 68. Too cold and not humid enough. I need to have a closed chamber for the winter months while they're inside. From April-late September they will be outside as soon as they're big enough.

I found a guy in Toledo, Ohio (2 hours from me) that builds custom enclosures. I chatted with him and he gave me a damn good price. Cheaper than what it would cost me for supplies to build a nice enclosure like I had planned. I may buy one or more from him. We'll see...

https://reptiles419.com
 

Kipley

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Ha ha ha. That cracked me up. It was suggested in my last thread on this board that we should get people together that have new hermanns hatchlings. That's what I'm attempting to do here. Lol

I just purchased a baby Hermanns in a cold wet climate (Seattle, WA area here), she arrived this past Wednesday She is a tiny little thing - I've contacted the seller for a birth date, but she is only 5.1 grams. At this size I'm keeping her in a 18 inch x 24 inch plastic tub.
 

MIReptilian

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I just purchased a baby Hermanns in a cold wet climate (Seattle, WA area here), she arrived this past Wednesday She is a tiny little thing - I've contacted the seller for a birth date, but she is only 5.1 grams. At this size I'm keeping her in a 18 inch x 24 inch plastic tub.


Congrats! She is a cute little thing. Keep checking back here as several other members will be getting theirs soon. Me included :)
 

MIReptilian

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Yep. I read that. Chris knows his stuff too... my problem us that my basement (where they will be living) has an ambient temp of around 68. Too cold and not humid enough. I need to have a closed chamber for the winter months while they're inside. From April-late September they will be outside as soon as they're big enough.

I found a guy in Toledo, Ohio (2 hours from me) that builds custom enclosures. I chatted with him and he gave me a damn good price. Cheaper than what it would cost me for supplies to build a nice enclosure like I had planned. I may buy one or more from him. We'll see...

https://reptiles419.com


Disregard what I said in this post. Reading the reviews on this guy (Reptiles 419)and having him completely ignore my inquiries for the last several days proves that he has major communication issues and this is in line with what many of his reviews have said.
My mistake. This post was premature.
 
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Kipley

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Just an update on the little girl I received a week ago yesterday. She was 5.1 grams on arrival, and 8.6 grams when I weighed her last night. So despite the fact that she spends the majority of the day buried in her substrate, she is growing and gaining weight!

I refer to her as "she" and paid a few dollars extra to choose her gender. Apparently this breeder incubates some clutches at a higher temp to get females, and others a lower temp to get males. Not sure of how accurate this is, but for the next few years until she is old enough to visually sex, I will refer to her as a female.
 

SweetGreekTorts

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Just an update on the little girl I received a week ago yesterday. She was 5.1 grams on arrival, and 8.6 grams when I weighed her last night. So despite the fact that she spends the majority of the day buried in her substrate, she is growing and gaining weight!

I refer to her as "she" and paid a few dollars extra to choose her gender. Apparently this breeder incubates some clutches at a higher temp to get females, and others a lower temp to get males. Not sure of how accurate this is, but for the next few years until she is old enough to visually sex, I will refer to her as a female.
There's never any guarantee with incubation temperatures and I think it's very dishonest of a breeder to charge more for it.

I've purchased 15 hatchlings last year to raise for my breeding programs. So far, 4 of them have turned out to be the opposite gender I had expected, but that's the gamble with buying hatchlings. Gender cannot be confirmed until the babies grow large enough. My others are not yet big enough to confirm their genders, so I'm still waiting to see what I'll end up with in my program.
 

DesertGirl

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There's never any guarantee with incubation temperatures and I think it's very dishonest of a breeder to charge more for it.

I've purchased 15 hatchlings last year to raise for my breeding programs. So far, 4 of them have turned out to be the opposite gender I had expected, but that's the gamble with buying hatchlings. Gender cannot be confirmed until the babies grow large enough. My others are not yet big enough to confirm their genders, so I'm still waiting to see what I'll end up with in my program.
Aren’t there blood tests that can sex them like we do for parrots? Is the gender even set when hatched? Can they “change”?
 
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