Hi everyone!
I recently had a baby Hermann's tortoise (which we named Carson) enter my life and now I want to give this little guy the best life possible.
My main question concerns his feeding habits. I've read that I'm to stay away from lettuces and greens and to feed them mainly weeds and flowers like dandelion and hibiscus but the issue is, it seems that every post conflicts every other post. I was told that collard greens and lettuce were fine to feed Carson when I first got him and now I'm reading that I should stay away from those things.
So hopefully you guys can help me out with deciding what I should feed this little guy and hopefully where I can buy these weeds (I don't think I've seen them at a grocery store or anything). I was considering purchasing a hibiscus plant so I could feed him some flowers every now and then but now I'm worried that perhaps the gardening centers have sprayed them with pesticides that could be harmful to him.
Does anyone have any suggestions as to where I can find weeds/plants to feed him that will be organic? Unfortunately, I don't have enough room to plant them myself. (I do know about the calcium needs and I do have a supplement for him and I also know that variety is key).
Another question I have concerns his lighting. I have a dual lamp system that has a UV bulb and a heating bulb (I don't remember the names of the bulbs exactly but can look them up if anyone requests them) and I don't know how long I am meant to keep the lights on (the things I'm reading have been unclear). I have read that Carson needs about 12 hours of light but I don't know if that means that the UV bulb is only meant to be on 12 hours a day as well as the heating bulb or if the heating bulb is supposed to be on 24/7 or only at night or if both bulbs are only meant to be on 12 hours during the day and both are meant to be off at night.
Also, how many little caves and hiding spots do you suggest for a small tortoise?
Help?
I'm sorry for so many questions, I don't even know if this is the right place to ask them all and if I'm doing this wrong I apologize and would appreciate you pointing me in the right direction.
I feel like a worried mother.
I recently had a baby Hermann's tortoise (which we named Carson) enter my life and now I want to give this little guy the best life possible.
My main question concerns his feeding habits. I've read that I'm to stay away from lettuces and greens and to feed them mainly weeds and flowers like dandelion and hibiscus but the issue is, it seems that every post conflicts every other post. I was told that collard greens and lettuce were fine to feed Carson when I first got him and now I'm reading that I should stay away from those things.
So hopefully you guys can help me out with deciding what I should feed this little guy and hopefully where I can buy these weeds (I don't think I've seen them at a grocery store or anything). I was considering purchasing a hibiscus plant so I could feed him some flowers every now and then but now I'm worried that perhaps the gardening centers have sprayed them with pesticides that could be harmful to him.
Does anyone have any suggestions as to where I can find weeds/plants to feed him that will be organic? Unfortunately, I don't have enough room to plant them myself. (I do know about the calcium needs and I do have a supplement for him and I also know that variety is key).
Another question I have concerns his lighting. I have a dual lamp system that has a UV bulb and a heating bulb (I don't remember the names of the bulbs exactly but can look them up if anyone requests them) and I don't know how long I am meant to keep the lights on (the things I'm reading have been unclear). I have read that Carson needs about 12 hours of light but I don't know if that means that the UV bulb is only meant to be on 12 hours a day as well as the heating bulb or if the heating bulb is supposed to be on 24/7 or only at night or if both bulbs are only meant to be on 12 hours during the day and both are meant to be off at night.
Also, how many little caves and hiding spots do you suggest for a small tortoise?
Help?
I'm sorry for so many questions, I don't even know if this is the right place to ask them all and if I'm doing this wrong I apologize and would appreciate you pointing me in the right direction.
I feel like a worried mother.
