First time owner, looking for some tips and help!

[jono.torty]

Hi everyone, I've just joined this wonderful community!

I'm going to be getting a hermanns tortoise, this is not up for debate. I'm going to be buying a young male, mid august, any suggestions of place to purchase in the West Midlands will be gratefully welcomed! He's going to be living in the conservatory, which can get quite hot in the summer, and quite cold in the winter. I need something that can maintain a heat of around 30 degrees Celsius, all year round as I do not intend to hibernate my tort as there can be complications with temperature which could prove difficult to maintain. I currently am buying a 75watt halogen basking bulb, and a 36inch UVB tube type light at 30 watt. His table is 48" in length and the UVB will be attached to the longest wall. Can anyone help me with alternative heating methods? I'm all new to tortoises but have been doing a lot of research! Any other tips will be appreciated!

Thank you in advance for any replies!

 

[wellington]

Hello and Welcome. A ceramic heat emitter is a must in my opinion. It throws off heat, but no light, so good for night time heating.

 

[jono.torty]

Wow, thanks for the quick response!

Can I just ask where this will be placed in the enclosure to be most efficient?

 

[ALDABRAMAN]

Welcome to TFO!

 

[dmmj]

Salutations.
Will you be wanting to heat the whole conservatory, or just create a warm basking spot?

 

[Grandpa Turtle 144]

Hello and welcome to the TFO from AZ . USA . You seem like a nice person . I've been raising turtles and torts for 14 yrs . And yes Hermann's are one of many . But I'm wondering if you really want my advise because like you asked were to put the light but I haven't Evan seen the tort table so I gess you want me to say the north east . Why cannt listen to all of our advise , instead of just what you want. . Respect these people they are all great and just want to help you enjoy you torts . Have a great tort day !


Sent from my iPhone using TortForum

 

[jono.torty]

Thank you very much for the welcome everyone, I shall be sure to post pictures of my tort upon his arrival!

I haven't purchased my table yet, or any supplies, as I don't want to buy things that won't actually be of any use.
I know that my table is going to be 48"x24"x8", is this a good size? I know that I will be having my basking spot in the opposite end to his hide, as I'm presuming he won't want to be too hot while he sleeps. I'll also one placing the food and water away from the basking spot. I'm not looking to heat the whole conservatory, but to keep a steady temperature for my tort in his table. My concern is that it has no lid so perhaps heating the conservatory would be the only way.. However this will be very costly in electricity as I believe my household is on a meter.

Thanks again

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi, and welcome to the forum!

I'm worried about the summer time. Tortoises need to be able to cool down, and it sounds like the conservatory doesn't have a cool spot.

For winter, you can use anything, kitchen foil, plastic, newspaper, to cover the tort table to keep the heat inside.

(....and Grandpa: I think the 'no debate' part was about the species of tortoise, not the advice about the enclosure)

 

[jono.torty]

So, I've been over many websites with differing answers, so I guess I'll get the final result from here as it seems most reliable! What is the temperature that I should have for the whole enclosure, because I think the basking spot should be 30 degrees. I think during summer it should reach around 25 degrees possibly a little higher so I might have to move him to a smaller enclosure when the weather is predicted to be exceeding that. But I'll be getting him mid august, and where I live tends to cool down from that point onwards as it moves into autumn! Also, how long should I allow him to play in the garden for as I've read they shouldn't eat too much grass?

 

[pam]

Welcome

 

[jono.torty]

Thank you Pam, this is a very welcoming community!

 

[StarSapphire22]

In my opinion 48"24" is too small. I have a hatchling Hermann's just under three inches long and that is the size he is in, and he uses every inch. I cannot imagine keeping an adult in there. The minimum for an adult hermanns should be 4'x8'.

 

[jono.torty]

Okay, well the Hermann's I'm looking to buy is just under 6cm currently, and later on if he outgrows his table I can more than easily pick up a new one to suit his growth thank you for the help, I'll take that into consideration!