Hermanns hatchling lighting/drinking too often

Daniel Stephan

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20150830_142914.jpg 20150830_142923.jpg 20150830_194104.jpg Hey Guys and Gals,

I'm new to Tortoise forum, and new to keeping tortoises. I always wanted one though and now that im 25 and living alone, i'm trying to live out my dreams lol. Anyways I got a 40 day old western Hermanns hatching 10 days ago. I built him a large indoor enclosure as I live in Minnesota USA and it gets really cold here in the winter.

My worry is that the enclosure is so large that I don't have enough UVB for him/her. When we first got our hatchling, I think ill name him Speedy, he was always trying to climb out as if he was looking for his hatchling mates or something. I built a tort table out of oak plywood and whenever there is a corner he would climb straight up vertically and end up falling on his back. I was worried he'd do this under the heat lamp while we were at work and end up over heating, so i put up rubber matting along the walls and corners and he seemed to get over his climbing obsessing. I felt bad since he seemed to love climbing but I didn't want to risk it. Since then he was eating fine and still being active. I've been feeding him random weeds from my yard mostly dandelion and hibiscus leaves as he seems to love those. also a little bit of zoo med grassland tortoise and some of those orange tortoise bits, though he doesn't like those two as much. I have been soaking him for like 10 min every other day, as ive heard that's good for the little ones. his temp is usually 80 F ambient and 95 under the balking light. 65-70 F at night. Humidity 40-50%. anyways the last few days he has been hiding under his moss nearly the whole day. he'll eat but only if I put him on his feeding slate and hand feed him. he used to go and find it for the last 6-7 days. he is also drinking water constantly, something ive never seen him do even when id give him a bath. now whenever I moisten his substrate or food he'll go and take drinks out of it. this is what is really concerning me. I want to know if I have too little or too much light. is he dehydrated, or not getting enough UVB, as he is being lethargic. here are some pics of the enclosure. The long florescent bulb on the right is a 18" reptisun 10.0 12" above the substrate. The bulb right above it is just a 100W basking light from exo terra ( this was before I learned any incandescent bulb is just as good). the next 18" bulb is just a normal household florescent bulb, usually not on. The light in the second level is a 125W solar glo from exo terra, at 16" at the moment as when I had it at 13" as the box prescribed it was way to hot 100+ F.

Maybe im just being paranoid and hes still getting used to his new surroundings but he seemed so active right off the bat, now hes really slow and constantly drinking. Hope you have some advice thanks everyone!
 

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Daniel Stephan

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ops, forgot to mention. For perspective, the enclosure is 53" x 33" with an upper level. im sorry, I meant to say the 18" florescent bulb on the LEFT is a reptisun 10.0. the bulb above it in a office desk light is a 100W basking light. the big bulb on the RIGHT on the upper level is a exo terra Sloar Glo 125W.
 
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wellington

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The temp and humidity gauge is not reliable and not at tort level. Get a reliable gauge, digital with probe works best and get it to tort level. The water dish is too small. Get one with low sides, but that he has room to put his whole self into. Bump up the night temps to. And put the basking light over the bottom level.
Read the care sheet at the beginning of the Hermanns section.
 

Daniel Stephan

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ok cool. yeah I was suspicious about that temp/humidity gauge. ill get a new one and put it at his level. I do have two water dishes, he never uses the small green one. the other tan rock one is steep but hes never had a problem getting in or out of it, though it could have lower sides, I couldn't find one with shallow sides at my local pet shops. I can raise the night temps but i've read that 65-70 is where it should be for hermanns. should it be higher for hatchlings? he does have a 100w basking light in that silver desk lamp above the 18" UVB on the lower level. what about his incessant drinking? he never used to drink but the last few days he takes a drink whenever he has the chance, aside from going into his dish to drink.
 

wellington

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Yes hatchlings need it warmer then adults. A cold and humid environment makes a sick baby.
The best water dishes and the safest is the Clay saucer they use under flower pots. The one you have with high sides can be dangerous and torts have been known to drown in them.
As for the drinking, soak him every day for 20-30 minutes. He may be dehydrated. It's good he's drinking. But help him out with soaking every day.
Also what is his diet? And when feeding greens wash them just before feeding so they are still wet
 

tortoise5643

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I have never had a Hermanns so I don't know how much I can help but just wanted to let you know how awesome your cage is!
 

Daniel Stephan

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Hey Thanks!! its been like 3-4 long days after work lol trying to get it done, had about half of it done when he arrived.
 

Daniel Stephan

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Ok, ill turn up the temp a little bit. ill also grind down the sides of the water dish as i can see what you mean. he could easily land on his back and drown. my god i cant imagine coming home from work to that! ill start bathing him every day instead of every other or so. I always do wash his greens right before he eats them. Right now its mostly dandelion leaves picked from my lawn, hibiscus leaves, a little sedum, a little zoo med grassland tortoise pellets, but he doesn't seem to like those, and a little of those orange Nature Zone baby bits. I have a cuttlebone in his enclosure but hes never touched that ive seen. i do scrape some powder on his food once in a while, maybe twice so far in 10 days. Whats your thought on that? ive heard to always put some calcium powder on their food, and i've heard that its not needed and they'll bit the cuttle bone if they need calcium. I cant seem a tort knowing it needs calcium and biting it if they did. what do you think? what about the lighting? do i have enough UVB or should i hang a light in the middle of the enclosure? it is pretty big for this little guy. Thanks for your replies thus far. :)
 

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