Advice with my tortoise table

[Chaz101]

Hi,

I have a 1 year old Hermanns tortoise and I just wanted to check to see if my tortoise table is adaquete for his needs. He seems to be a bit glum at the moment and isn't moving around much (although he never has too much!) and isn't eating. I get him up twice a week and give him a bath but then he just goes straight back to bed. I'm worried he isn't basking and getting the nutrients he needs so any advice is much appreciated!

Picture of his table is attached:

I have a UV bar light (6 months old) and a 100w heat bulb. The temp of the encolsure at the time of writing is just under 30 degrees, and under the light it is 35 degrees. Both lights come on at 8 a.m. and go off at 8 p.m.

The plant on his left is fake and sometimes he goes under there to hide. He has fresh water every day and a handful of greens (lambs lettuce, spinach, red romaine lettuce etc.) and weeds in the summer (when he seems happier)

His substrate is Petex reptile substrate which I change every few months.

If anyone has any reccomendations about things I can add (heat wise or other) then I'd be very grateful!

Chaz

 

[Yvonne G]

I don't know anything about Hermanni, but is your tortoise a subspecies of Hermanni that hibernates? It could be that he's trying to hibernate, in which case, you getting him up every couple of days to soak may be doing more harm than good.

 

[JoesMum]

A 1 year old Hermann's needs a closed chamber to keep temperatures and humidity up.

The open top enclosure is not adequate to keep a young tortoise warm enough to be active.

Please see the following

Beginner Mistakes
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/

Care of baby Testudo
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/thread...or-other-herbivorous-tortoise-species.107734/

 

[Oogway the russian tort]

Im pretty sure (plzz correct me if I'm wrong) but if u but the uvb/uva on the side it might harm their eyes and it should be used above and can he reach the water and food dish??

 

[Rylatts]

Hello there Chaz,
I don't have a Hermans tortoise, i have a spur-thighed tortoise, but it should work okay for yours too.

one thing i did try to get my tortoise eating again is sprinkle the juices from a home grown cucumber over the food, and he loved it!​

I just had a look through your posts on the forums and noticed that you have changed the table around quite a bit, this might be the main cause of your tortoise being inactive. I changed my tortoise table around completely and it took weeks before he would come out on his own.

Looking at your enclosure you have done what i did when i first started out, hope you don't mind but here are some suggestions that other people gave me before:

(Before i added coco coir i lined my enclosure with pond liner to stop the wood getting damp)​

Change out the substrate for coco coir as it holds its moisture better. i had a similar substrate to what you have now and my tortoise would eat the small white bits. https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00DT53FDW/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

All you need to do with the coco coir is add water and it will expand (Do this in another container, then add to the enclosure)​

Change out the water dish for a terracotta saucer (Big enough so your tortoise can fit in it) and sink it in the substrate to make it easier to get in and out. Also add rocks that are to big to eat to the saucer encase he falls over.

I found that the little thermometers aren't that reliable, might be worth getting at least one of these and place the sensor under the basking spot. It's also a good idea to place one in his hide to make sure temps don't drop to low at night. (Tempts under basking spot should be 33-35°C)
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00101KWVU/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
I use a mixture of both but only take notice of the electric ones

another thing that you don't have to do but would make it easier for the tortoise is to get a feeding slate to put the food on, i just use a slate coaster with a off cut of marble underneath.

If you do change the substrate to coco coir i would also recommend getting some real plants, i bought some spider plants and shoved them in the soil. They can grow anywhere and can take a beating from your tortoise (Also safe for your tortoise to eat if it nibbles it)
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/6-x-BABY-...634369?hash=item5b3135d0c1:g:UYgAAOSwImRYNszM

Last thing i would add is maybe a flat stone or something along those lines under the basking spot to help retain the heat.

(Below is a picture of my setup, all of the lights are off as it's night time, but you get the idea)




Someone else please correct me if i'm wrong.

 

[Chaz101]

Im pretty sure (plzz correct me if I'm wrong) but if u but the uvb/uva on the side it might harm their eyes and it should be used above and can he reach the water and food dish??

Thanks so much for this Really helpful!