6year old Hermann diet help

[Mahoneyoney]

I have two 6 year old hermann tortoises and I am quite worried about a few things. One is that they are not very active and will stay in the dark all day even when a lamp is on and when outside, will prefer to hide in the shade.
another thing is that one of them hardly eats. I literally put food in front of them and they walk away and that gets me very worried. another thing is (I know there’s a few things I’m worried about) that when I give them a soak (twice a week) I don’t see them drinking and they won’t drinkfeom in there enclosure either!!!

 

[ArmadilloPup]

Here's a few questions so you can get the best answers:

1. Did you just get these tortoises or is this new behaviour? (If they are new to you, it's normal to hide and not eat for a little while while they adjust)
2. What type of lamps and heating do you use? (pictures of their enclosure can help!)
3. What are you feeding them?

 

[Tom]

They should never live as a pair. This is part of the problem.

If overall temps are too cool, they won't have much appetite. The lamp is good, but if the night time low, or the ambient is cold, they frequently just tuck into a corner or go under a bush to wait for better (warmer) weather.

What type of water bowl are you using? They will avoid it if they aren't comfortable with it, and with soaking twice a week, they probably anent thirsty anyway, which would be a good thing. It means you are doing a good job of keeping them hydrated.

Pics and more info about the enclosure will allow us to give you some better answers.

 

[Mahoneyoney]

They should never live as a pair. This is part of the problem.

If overall temps are too cool, they won't have much appetite. The lamp is good, but if the night time low, or the ambient is cold, they frequently just tuck into a corner or go under a bush to wait for better (warmer) weather.

What type of water bowl are you using? They will avoid it if they aren't comfortable with it, and with soaking twice a week, they probably anent thirsty anyway, which would be a good thing. It means you are doing a good job of keeping them hydrated.

Pics and more info about the enclosure will allow us to give you some better answers.

Well, they do live in the same space and the person we bought them off said they grew up together so I didn’t think about any problems there.
i have 1 heat lamp (100w reptwhich is on all day and turned off at night (not sure if I should do that).
I do think that they probably do have a problem with the water bowl (because it’s not really a water bowl I just buried a shallow tray into the ground so that could be above water when they are in it). Maybe the problem is that it doesn’t look very natural?
As for the enclosure. I’m aware that it is way too small and we have plans to make it bigger (my stepdads very handy). But because it’s too small, and the weather is very warm here at the moment, we’ve built a temporary enclosure in the garden that’s much much bigger so they have plenty of room to roam (and there’s lots of hiding spaces for them).
the previous owner said their diet was green leaves like kale, dandelions leaves/flowers and stuff like that. She also sprinkled calcium powder and nutribalm interchangeably every other day.
also, ive found the more active one, Lerch, very quickly chomping down magnolia leaves!!!

 

[Mahoneyoney]

Here's a few questions so you can get the best answers:

1. Did you just get these tortoises or is this new behaviour? (If they are new to you, it's normal to hide and not eat for a little while while they adjust)
2. What type of lamps and heating do you use? (pictures of their enclosure can help!)
3. What are you feeding them?

Yes they are new, I’ve had them a few weeks now.
I use a 100 w reptile heat lamp for them I know that the enclosure is too small for them. But we were just getting one and then the opener asks if we could take the other one.
ideed them leafy greens. Like kale, dandelions, carrot tops, daisy leaves etc

 

[Yvonne G]

With the enclosure on the floor, and only one light fixture, I'm guessing the enclosure isn't warm enough. Tortoises that aren't warm enough will just hunker down, waiting for the 'cloudy day' to pass and the sunny day to arrive. They don't eat if they're not warm enough.

 

[Mahoneyoney]

With the enclosure on the floor, and only one light fixture, I'm guessing the enclosure isn't warm enough. Tortoises that aren't warm enough will just hunker down, waiting for the 'cloudy day' to pass and the sunny day to arrive. They don't eat if they're not warm enough.

Is the enclosure better off being raised up? I’ll get another lamp so that there’s more warmth. Thankyou

 

[Yvonne G]

Is the enclosure better off being raised up? I’ll get another lamp so that there’s more warmth. Thankyou

Yes, warm air rises, so it's usually a lot cooler down at floor level. Your enclosure would be better up on a table.

 

[Tom]

Well, they do live in the same space and the person we bought them off said they grew up together so I didn’t think about any problems there.
i have 1 heat lamp (100w reptwhich is on all day and turned off at night (not sure if I should do that).
I do think that they probably do have a problem with the water bowl (because it’s not really a water bowl I just buried a shallow tray into the ground so that could be above water when they are in it). Maybe the problem is that it doesn’t look very natural?
As for the enclosure. I’m aware that it is way too small and we have plans to make it bigger (my stepdads very handy). But because it’s too small, and the weather is very warm here at the moment, we’ve built a temporary enclosure in the garden that’s much much bigger so they have plenty of room to roam (and there’s lots of hiding spaces for them).
the previous owner said their diet was green leaves like kale, dandelions leaves/flowers and stuff like that. She also sprinkled calcium powder and nutribalm interchangeably every other day.
also, ive found the more active one, Lerch, very quickly chomping down magnolia leaves!!!

Your water tray sounds okay. They don't care if it looks natural. That is for us. Can we see a picture?

100 watts may be too hot, or not hot enough. What does your thermometer say when placed directly below the bulb?

One of them is going to be indicated by the other. This means it will try to hide more, and eat less so as not to draw attention from the dominant. They each need their own enclosure.

 

[Mahoneyoney]

Your water tray sounds okay. They don't care if it looks natural. That is for us. Can we see a picture?

100 watts may be too hot, or not hot enough. What does your thermometer say when placed directly below the bulb?

One of them is going to be indicated by the other. This means it will try to hide more, and eat less so as not to draw attention from the dominant. They each need their own enclosure.

I don’t have a thermometer, but an app on my phone says that it’s around 20 degrees Celsius under the lamp (I’m not sure if it’s accurate).
I think that one of my tortoises is defodently more dominant. He eats much more and moves around more. The other one is very quiet. I am actually very worried about his eating because I have rarely seen him eat in the weeks I’ve had him.

 

[Tom]

I don’t have a thermometer, but an app on my phone says that it’s around 20 degrees Celsius under the lamp (I’m not sure if it’s accurate).
I think that one of my tortoises is defodently more dominant. He eats much more and moves around more. The other one is very quiet. I am actually very worried about his eating because I have rarely seen him eat in the weeks I’ve had him.

You need to go buy a digital thermometer from the hardware store ASAP. They are only about $10. Reptiles are dependent upon getting heat from external sources, primarily the sun or areas warmed by the sun. Without knowing your temperatures you can't create the correct environment for them. Our heat lamps serve as an the "sun" in our indoor enclosures. Without the correct temperatures, reptile cannot function or remain healthy.

Something similar to this:

 

[Mahoneyoney]

Thankyou, I will get one ASAP.