A few questions...

[sheldon1306]

Hello all,

I recently purchased an Eastern Hermann's tortoise. Ive had him for about a month now, he seems to be thriving well. Ive got him in a 30 gallon long aquarium for the time being as I'm in an apartment and moving to a house in a few months. He was about 2 1/2 weeks old when I got him. Ive been giving him a 20 minute soak in warm water about every other day. Ive got coco coir for substrate, some cat grass growing in the corner for shade and a water dish for him close to the basking spot to keep him warm. Im using a mvb bulb for heat/uvb and it keeps it about 90-95 in the basking spot and all the way down to 73 in the coolest spot in the shade. There is a humid hide for him close to the basking spot half buried under the substrate which he checks out regularly, although he preferd to burough. I use about 16 ounces of water to mist the enclosure every evening and plan to mix the substrate every few weeks to keep it moist all around. Also Ive got flat rocks and a few hermit crab pieces of wood for decoration. My two questions are, one is there any improvements i can/should make, and two how long will this enclosure be suitable, ie how fast will my new addition grow?

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi Sheldon1306:


Welcome to the Tortoise Forum!!

What would you like for us to call you?

Also, when we know approximately where you are, it helps us design our answers to better fit your questions.


I'll defer to our Hermann's keepers for answers to your questions.

 

[wellington]

It sounds really good. I only have a couple questions. Do you have a heat source for night time. They like to have it dark at night. If he is in a room, that does not get too cold, then you may not need a night time heat source.
Can he get outside everyday or do you have to house him inside for winter months? The enclosure won't last very long, however if he is only staying in it at night and gets outside daily, then it will be fine for longer than if he has to spend long winter months in it. How fast your tort grows is really hard for people to determine. By the way, we love pics or both tort and enclosures. Yours sounds great, pics please

 

[sheldon1306]

As soon as i see him out and about I'll post pictures here along with some of the enclosure. As far as where he will be staying, as i mentioned before I currently live in an apartment, with only a small balcony. I intend to get him on the balcony when possible this summer, but for now his only home is inside until i purchase a house. As for location I'm located in South Eastern Connecticut. The temperature at night has gotten as low as 72 as Ive seen in the enclosure, so as Ive read that should be ok since we're in the midst of winter. Also as I forgot to mention before the humidity is always pretty high but it never stays steady, typically i manually keep it over 60 percent within a few degrees.

PS Its nice to meet you Yvonne, Ive read many of your posts!

 

[sheldon1306]

Here are a few pics...