Care for my baby hermann tortoise

[Blake Garwood]

Hi, I have a few (well, maybe more than a few) questions about care for my baby Hermann tortoise. Some may seem really small and irrelevant, but I want everything to be perfect !

My partner and I had been thinking of getting a tortoise for a while, and recently she had surprised me for my birthday with a lovely little baby Hermann tortoise. I've been researching a lot on the internet about care for tortoises and there seems to be a lot of conflicting information, so I just wanted to clear all of my questions up in one place.

Firstly, I'll just write down some information I feel is relevant (feel free to ask any more questions). He's 6 months old, we have a large tortoise table (complete with a heat lamp and UVB lamp), with a warm area and a cool area. He seems to prefer the cooler areas, and tends to tuck himself away in a corner most of the time (I've read this is normal whilst they are young).

I've read in some places to keep the heat lamp on for around 14 hrs and turn it off at night, and others to leave it on all the time, so he has a warm and a cold area 24/7. At the moment I have been leaving it on, as he has a nice sheltered cold area he can go to anyway. Whilst talking of temperature, for a baby, what sort of temperature should the warm area be? I currently have the lamp set to 29 degrees Celsius.

With regards to feeding, I have been feeding him a few times throughout the day as he doesn’t seem to eat much, and is toward the lower end of the healthy length to weight ratio. Should I continue to do this, or would it be preferred if I were to feed him once or twice a day? Its worth noting, he doesn't really eat unless you place the food right in front of him, and then he doesn't really eat too much. I'm sure its normal, he's only small, but I'd rather check.

I've read online that heat mats are available for tortoises, but not everyone seems to be in favour of them, would it be best to buy one, or will the heat lamp suffice?

I have been bathing him in cool water, around every 3 days for him to take in water. He also has a very shallow water bath in the tortoise table, which I fill with fresh water each morning (not that he really ever goes near it).

I'm sure I’ve probably missed some bits that I’ll ask later, but for now that’s is.

Lastly, any tips, no matter how trivial or basic they sound would really be appreciated.

Thanks,
Blake.

 

[JoesMum]

Hello and welcome. You have come to the right place. There's a lot of misnformation available in the wider world and some true experts on here - including HermanniChris. It will come as no surprise that Chris' specialism is Hermann's!

I will answer some of your questions below, but nothing beats reading:

HermanniChris's Hermann's Care Sheet http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/sticky-hermanns-tortoise-care-sheet-updated.101410/
and
Tom's Beginner Mistakes http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/

Pictures paint a thousand words, so if you can post some photographs of your setup it will help us to help you perfect things for your new friend

Hi, I have a few (well, maybe more than a few) questions about care for my baby Hermann tortoise. Some may seem really small and irrelevant, but I want everything to be perfect !

My partner and I had been thinking of getting a tortoise for a while, and recently she had surprised me for my birthday with a lovely little baby Hermann tortoise. I've been researching a lot on the internet about care for tortoises and there seems to be a lot of conflicting information, so I just wanted to clear all of my questions up in one place.

Firstly, I'll just write down some information I feel is relevant (feel free to ask any more questions). He's 6 months old, we have a large tortoise table (complete with a heat lamp and UVB lamp), with a warm area and a cool area. He seems to prefer the cooler areas, and tends to tuck himself away in a corner most of the time (I've read this is normal whilst they are young).

What type of UVB lamp do you have? The compact (coil type) cause eye damage in tortoises. It is safe to use a tube UVB or a Mercury Vapor Bulb for UVB. The MVB is great because you get basking heat from it too meaning that you only need one lamp.

I've read in some places to keep the heat lamp on for around 14 hrs and turn it off at night, and others to leave it on all the time, so he has a warm and a cold area 24/7. At the moment I have been leaving it on, as he has a nice sheltered cold area he can go to anyway. Whilst talking of temperature, for a baby, what sort of temperature should the warm area be? I currently have the lamp set to 29 degrees Celsius.

There are four important temperatures for your tortoise: Directly under the basking lamp (95F is needed so he can digest his food properly), warm side, cool side and overnight minimum. Measure these accurately and let us know what you have. If these are too warm or too cold, your tort will not be active or eat.

Lights should be on for a daytime of 12-14 hours and then be off completely overnight allowing the temperature to drop. In the event that you need supplementary heat at night (most don't indoors) then a Ceramic Heat Emitter on a thermostat can provide a little extra heat without light

With regards to feeding, I have been feeding him a few times throughout the day as he doesn’t seem to eat much, and is toward the lower end of the healthy length to weight ratio. Should I continue to do this, or would it be preferred if I were to feed him once or twice a day? Its worth noting, he doesn't really eat unless you place the food right in front of him, and then he doesn't really eat too much. I'm sure its normal, he's only small, but I'd rather check.

Your tort is new and getting established. The ratios don't really apply to babies. It can take time for a new tort to decide that things are safe. It is important that he stays hydrated so soaking for a good 20 minutes daily is a must.

I suggest that you establish a routine so that your tort learns what to expect and when. Let the lights come on, soak your tort before he warms up properly, put food in the enclosure, pop your tort back when he's done and then walk away and leave him to explore without a big scary human watching over. He'll soon learn you're the provider of juicy greens and not scary and become more active in your presence.

I've read online that heat mats are available for tortoises, but not everyone seems to be in favour of them, would it be best to buy one, or will the heat lamp suffice?

Heat mats are NOT recommended for tortoises. They like to dig down into the substrate and the substrate should be damp to raise humidity. You risk electrocuting your friend.

I have been bathing him in cool water, around every 3 days for him to take in water. He also has a very shallow water bath in the tortoise table, which I fill with fresh water each morning (not that he really ever goes near it).{/quote]
See before. Soak him in warm, not hot, water every day.

That'll do for now. Get back to us with some pictures and any more questions!

 

[Blake Garwood]

@JoesMum

Thanks so much for your reply, that's been a great help. I'll be sure to get some pictures of his set up on here imminently .

And in response to the UVB bulb, it is a tube.

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi Blake, and welcome to the Forum!

I would soak him in WARM water daily for about 15 minutes each time.