beginner hermann owner

[austinSOLO]

hey i am completely new to Hermann tortoises, i read the care sheet above, but it did not help me very much. i would like to know humidity level, size for enclosure, and basically the entire care on these tortoises except more in detail than the other one. thank you!

 

[austinSOLO]

and not EVERYTHING because i know most of the care is the same as a russian i just want to know the basics

 

[Terry Allan Hall]

Humidity that's comfortable to you is about right for a Hermann's.

As for size of enclosure: inside, minimum of 6' (L) X 3' (W) X 2' (H) or thereabouts for a solitary tortoise (these are for an adult, but even if you have a baby, if you raise it right, it'll be an adult in a remarkably few years!).

Outside, make it as large as you can get away with...the fact that landscaping timbers come in 8' lengths is The Ancient Gods' way of telling us that a tortoise's outside enclosure should be in increments of 8'...

Solitary tortoise, 8' X 8' X 2' is a good minimum. Two/three females or a trio/quartet, 16' X 8' X 2' is about the minimum. You really can't make an outside enclosure too large to suit your pet, particularily if you have a male...they tend to wander around a lot, and the larger the enclosure, the more rocks to climb over, PVC pipes to climb through, ponds to soak in (never deeper than 2", though), bushes to snooze under...you get the idea.

My 4 currently live in a 24' X 8' x 4' (I made it taller so they have a hill to climb/dig/lay eggs into on the south end) and there's room for when I add 2 or 3 more females (hopefully, soon). If we decide not to move in a year or so, I plan to build an identical 24' X 8' X 4 enclosure next to the present one and cut out a 3' wide opening, so they'll have more room, as I'm expecting the piiter-patter of tiny tort-toes someday soon...

If we do move, I'll build a 24' X 16' X 4' enclosure at the new place, but out of stone, not landscaping timbers...

As for food, weeds, dark green leafy veggies and cactus pads (warm part of the year) augmented by Marion Red Sticks tortoise kibble, soaked and mixed with the first 2 items in a dried state, along / cactus pads - mostly in the winter, as I prefer to feed fresh stuff as long as it's available.

BTW, growing your own cactus is VERY easy to do, and guarrantees a ready supply, so figure out what spineless variety grows best where you live and get to it! Figure one to two pads a week for up to two tortoises, and you can cut a pad in half and feed the other half-pad in a few days.

Hope that was helpful (and not too long-winded ).

 

[austinSOLO]

so basically don't worry about humidity, and the enclosure as big as i can, and diet is same as Russians. thank you! i might get a hatchling and going to wait until it got a bit bigger to put it outside and then try to build some sort of enclosure out side. does an outdoor enclosure need a top? i live by a golf course and i have seen a racoons but its pretty far away and don't think it would wander over to my house. and there are no dogs near me or cats, the only thing there are are birds. but that's why i was going to wait to put it outside until it was at least 4"

 

[Terry Allan Hall]

so basically don't worry about humidity, and the enclosure as big as i can, and diet is same as Russians. thank you! i might get a hatchling and going to wait until it got a bit bigger to put it outside and then try to build some sort of enclosure out side. does an outdoor enclosure need a top? i live by a golf course and i have seen a racoons but its pretty far away and don't think it would wander over to my house. and there are no dogs near me or cats, the only thing there are are birds. but that's why i was going to wait to put it outside until it was at least 4"

I always use a locking top...around here, besides hawks, owls, raccoons, possums, feral cats, feral dogs, coyotes and rats, there are theives. I expect all of these live near you, too...

But, yeah, European tortoises all have fairly similar care, other than some are more sensitive to cool weather. Eastern Hermann's torts and Russians are pretty hardy, as are Iberian Greeks.

BTW, young adults, in the 3-4" range, can be had, this time of year, about as cheaply as hatchlings and are considerably less delicate, and, if you have no plans to breed, young males can often be had a little cheaper, as many hobbyists will buy a single male and several females, so sellers often end up with extra males, which they'll want to move.

 

[austinSOLO]

yeah i want to use a locking top, but i dont know where to put it with my yard and around my house the builders put like garden bed mounds with random plants and stuff and i thought about just put some wire fence around one of them and then out the tortoise in there, but now i have to re think my whole plan.....

 

[Eweezyfosheezy]

Inside you can just use this http://www.lowes.com/pd_314139-6189...L=?Ns=p_product_qty_sales_dollar|1&facetInfo=. And for outside you can build something like this http://www.tortoiseforum.org/Thread-Lil-Leopards#axzz20LtbYwrp. You dont want to use something too big outside because a baby hermann is extremely small.

 

[austinSOLO]

i already have a 50gal storage tub, but i want to build a big one so i dont need to make another one in the future. but i could just block half off somehow

 

[Eweezyfosheezy]

I would suggest something like this http://www.tortoiseforum.org/Thread-Karasi-s-new-condo-lol#axzz20M3Jph00. It would work for whenever you have to bring your tort inside.

 

[austinSOLO]

yeah i would try that once it gets bigger because i want to get a hatchling

 

[Eweezyfosheezy]

If you do get a hatchling you wont have to upgrade for a few years and who knows what you will be able to come up with after that amount of time.

 

[austinSOLO]

haha yeah in a couple of years i might just build a tortoise table

 

[Eweezyfosheezy]

If you want a size reference I have some 4-5 year olds that are between 4 1/2 in. all the way up to almost 7 inches and all in between.

 

[austinSOLO]

thanks im glad they dont get that big. what is the biggest they can get?

 

[Eweezyfosheezy]

Somewhere in that 10 inch range. Depends on care. If you can spend around $300 just on the tort you can look at western hermanns. They get even smaller than easterns and are just as hardy. Males get to 4-5 inches and females around 6 inches.

 

[austinSOLO]

oh i dont really care about size, 10 inches is fine

 

[Eweezyfosheezy]

Then sounds like the eastern is a perfect tort for you. Good luck and make sure you do your research on these guys!!! Theres gobbles of info on this site and others so make sure to look in multiple places.

 

[austinSOLO]

there harder to find info on, thats why i have been looking on here for better information by people who have owned them before.

 

[ielvinsburrows]

I recently got a hermann hatchling for around $160. I love it so much but it is so fragile and hard to care for. It's only four weeks old and there is not a whole lot of info about their care at that age so just be careful.
Good luck and best wishes!! 😄

 

[austinSOLO]

yeah there isnt much care in general probably because its mostly the same to other tortoises