- Joined
- Jul 30, 2013
- Messages
- 35
Hello all my name is John and I live in sunny So-Cal. About one week ago now I made one of the BEST decisions that I have ever made and bought a baby captive bred western hermans tortoise from my local pet store. I felt safe buying from this particular pet store due to the fact that it has a great reputation as one of the best privately owned small pet stores in the area. Also because I have purchased beardies, fish, and other pets from this store before with no problems whatsoever. They told me that the little guy that I purchased was captive bred from a proven local breeder, and they assured me that this tortoise would not grow bigger than 10", that it would be a good starter tortoise, and that the climate here in so-cal fits its needs well. I payed $170 for the little guy. Not to sure if that's a fair price or not. They also told me that he is no older than 6 months old, he is legal size though 4". Still not sure at this point if its a lil boy or girl. I decided on the name Shell-E, kinda a girls name and if it turns out to be a boy then I will probably go with Sheldon. Its a very happy and I believe healthy lil guy that loves to eat A LOT and explore around my yard when I let it. There is already LOTS of love for the lil guy and I just want to make sure that I'm caring for him properly. At the moment I have him in a 20 gal tank with small wood chips as the substrate and a wire mesh top that his Power Sun 100w UVA/UVB bulb shines through during the day on half of the tank. I don't have a thermostat handy to monitor the inside temp all day, but half of the tank is lit up and warm and the other half is a little shaded and cooler. There is a water bowl with a ramp for drinking and soaking on the cooler end. A hide in the middle of the tank, and a food tray on the warmer end with space in between all of this to roam around at his current size. I realize that as he grows I will need to expand the enclosure size accordingly. He seems to be fine for the most part. He loves to eat and walk around the tank trying to escape, then when he gets tired probably like 60% of the day he likes to burrow under the woodchips and sleep. I usually wake him up around 8 before I leave for work to turn his light on, give him a 10-15 min soak, and perpare his food for the day. Which currently consists of a small hand full of chopped up romaine lettuce coated in a calcium/vita booster. Then when I get home from work around 7 at night I will take him outside to let him explore in my backyard for a bit before the sun goes down. And usually somewhere between 8 and 9 I will turn off his lamp for the night and he will burrow down into the wood chips and completely cover himself. This is where he stays until morning when I wake him up again. Sometimes when I come home from work he will be burrowed in as well, so I'm not all entirely sure how much time that he spends burrowed a day. I'm also not sure what his tank temps or humidity levels are either. As far as I can tell he seems to be a happy healthy little guy for the most part when he is awake and definitely has a great appetite up to this point. I am so happy to have found this site that I'm sure will provide me with much knowledge and support. Sorry for such a long intro to anyone who may read this. I would appreciate any beginner advice or tips on a raising a tortoise. I have a few pics of Shell-E and her enclosure that I will try to post. Thanks!
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Sent from my SGH-T999 using TortForum mobile app