New and have some questions

[Puffer21]

Hey everyone i'm new here and three days ago i bought a hermanns tortoise. He is in a 29 gallon tank with a heat lamp and a uvb light. under the heat lamp there is also a heating pad. I was wondering if someone could tell me if he is the eastern or westen? What else i can add to the tank? And if brocille, blueberrys, apples, parsley, carrorts, and bannanas are all good for him? I read the care sheet at the top but i just want to make sure everything is right for him. Thanks for anything
~Samantha

 

[Puffer21]

 

[JustAnja]

Hi Samantha, welcome to TFO. He looks like an Eastern Hermanns to me, but Im sure Chris or Danny can confirm or deny that better. None of those food items you mentioned are really good for Hermanns tortoises. I would suggest following Chris's care sheet that you have already read at the top of this forum. He needs a higher fiber diet and they really dont process fruits all that well. I would also suggest getting rid of the the glass tank and either building or buying him a tortoise table. I got these cement mixing tubs below at a local home/hardware store for $10 and they work much better for tortoises. (You should be able to get them at a Home Depot or a Lowes store, just ask someone where the cement mixing pans are) They need more airflow and temperature gradients than can be supplied with a glass tank.

 

[Ozric]

Hi Samantha!
I think you may have had some advice from a pet store type place which is different to what many of us that keep Hermanns would recommend. I can see you have invested time and money to make a good home for him but not everything here is right. Lovely looking tortoise!

On the whole a tank is not ideal because it is difficult to get a temperature gradient in there. Are you using a thermometer? No heat neede at night.

Please do not feed any fruit especially banana. They do not have the digestive system for it. If you need to get food from stores, try endive, raddicio, watercress, dandellion greens, green tops of carrot. Better still to grow weeds but this may take time.

Please please wait for others to answer as well but some advice you have been given is not good. Especially the tank. Please stay on this forum.

 

[Puffer21]

Ok guys thanks. I need to feed him tonight. Can i feed fresh parsley. Its the only thing that i have that is green. Also how wet should the tank be? and what are these baths, and how do i give them? and no im not using a thermometer, but i have a digital fish tank thermometer i can put in the tank? all adive is apprecated thanks.

 

[Ozric]

Hi again Samantha! Parsley is alright but your tortoise will not come to any harm if you do not feed him tonite. Or tomorrow. assuming he is healthy.

Can you take the top off the tank to let air circulate? Even if only at night when you don't need the light on. Its probably too humid in there and possibly too hot. Buy a digital thermometer, they are cheap and good.

If you have any frisee, raddicio, watercress, lambs lettuce, romaine lettuce maybe feed some of that. Very occasionally a little grated carrot is OK and probably you have carrot.

The bath is very easy. A shallow open container with tepid water in it, you don't need a lot of water, make sure the head is above water level. You will get good advice for free on here!

 

[Puffer21]

can i just use sink water. And i dont think that there is a high humidity in there the top is eggcreate.

 

[JustAnja]

Here are a few suggestions.

GREENS
The following greens are easily found in most local stores:

Romaine lettuce (occasional)
Red and green leaf lettuce (occasional)
Curly Endive
Escarole
Radicchio
Turnip greens
Mustard greens
Collard greens
Spring Mix
Cabbage (only occasionally)
Chicory

VEGETABLES
Zucchini
Winter squash
Pumpkin
Yellow squash
Carrots

OTHER GOOD CHOICES (always make sure no systemic pesticides were used)
Hosta
Sedum
Mulberry leaves
Hen and Chicks
Ice Plants
Hibiscus (flowers and leaves)
Prickly pear flowers, fruit and pads (burn the spines off)
Dandelion
Cornflowers Plagiobothrys ssp
Forsythia (flowers and leaves)
Dayflower Commelina diffusa (flowers and leaves)
California Poppy
Plantain (not the banana type fruit….the weed plantago major)
Mallow (flowers and leaves)
Henbit
Rose (flowers and leaves)
Chrysanthemum flowers
Grape leaves
hawks bit
mulberry leaves and fruit
thistle
nasturtiums
wild rose flower and hips

 

[JustAnja]

can i just use sink water. And i dont think that there is a high humidity in there the top is eggcreate.

Water from your sink should be fine, are you on well water or city water? Is there a water softener on it? You want it luke warm. He will drink from here and go to the bathroom in the water. If he goes to the bathroom just wash it out and refill it.

 

[Puffer21]

ok thanks

 

[Ozric]

Yes sink water is fine for a bath and unless your tap water is really bad its fine for drinks as well.

Tanks are not good for Hermanns for a number of reasons, one of them being the temperature will be the same throughout. A tortoise needs to go near the heat to warm up then go away a bit. Its the nature of thermo-regulation.

Others know much more than me. But do turn off the heat mat and light at night so he can sleep.

 

[Puffer21]

i turn off the uv that way he can be on the right at night.

 

[HermanniChris]

Sam, thanks for the PM.

Your tortoise is a Testudo hermanni boettgeri, the Eastern Hermann's Tortoise.

Now while several keepers have had success with using all glass aquariums, I do not recommend using them. Many tortoises will spend countless hours trying to "escape" the tank because they of course do not understand the concept of glass and this can greatly stress them out. All glass aquariums also tend to over-heat from even the slightest bit of added warmth. If I were you I would construct a wooden tortoise table or purchase some size of rubbermaid container. They are cheap, easy to clean and work great for tortoises. Anja's set up looks great.

A wonderful substrate to use is Aspen wood bedding or you can go the 50% soil/50% sand route which helps to provide them with natural living conditions. Keep in mind that hermann's tortoises require a bit more humidty in their environment than other mediterranean tortoises. I do not use humid hides and do not recommend them but soaking the animal in a shallow, luke warm bath 3 to 4 times a week works great. I do it for roughly 15-30mins and the tortoises love it and drink well. For adults I only do this 1 or 2 times a week depending on the temps of their units.

As for feeding, a high fiber diet is the way to go and several greens such as dandelions are usually available in super markets. If you type in "safe plant list for tortoises" in google, quite a bit of literature will come up for you. Commercial diets such as mazuri tortoise chow are ok to use sparingly and help to put on good weight and bulk up the animal. Again care must be taken here to make sure that you do not over do any commercial foods as pyramiding may then be inevitable. Stay away from fruits, they do not need them at all. For an occasional treat a strawberry or apple is ok but do not use bannannas.

If you're going to stick with the 29 gallon then I would remove the heat pad. You are providing the tortoise with too much heat between the 2 lamps and the pad. Over-heating is very easy to acheive with baby tortoises and heat pads definitely do this.

I would get some kind of hiding area for him whether it be a half log or a simple box with an entrance hole cut into it this way the tortoise feels secure and can escape anything that may spook it.

Also you do not need to feed him tonight. Let him settle in a bit and then take your time with it. These animals can handle not being fed all the time, plus a slow and smooth growth should be promoted.

-Chris

 

[Puffer21]

so i dont need the heat pad its a 29g tank and the red light is a 150w. The guy at the store said that if the tortoise ever fliped itself a to strong of bulb would burn him and cook him. Also are tortoises supposed to be active he kinda just sits in the same place. Should the bath be in the tank or out of the tank. She he be able to get out or should i watch him for about 20min? Thanks for all the help.
~Sam

 

[Crazy1]

Samantha, Welcome to TFo. You will do fine, your set-up just need some tweaking.
For now bathing your tort is simply placing it in shallow bowl, pan, or container in tepid (luke-warm) tap water that goes to just under his chin for about 20 min. He may poop or pee and/or let go urates (looks kind of like white globular stuff) don’t worry this is normal just clean his water and finish the session.
As Ozric said he/she will be fine for a day or two without food. and even without a bath. If you live where you can pick him some dandelion leaves or flowers, weeds, or some grass that does not have chemicals on them or been fertilized, then I would do that for now. If you are under snow then perhaps a trip to the store tomorrow. A bag of organic spring mix would do for now.

If his humidity is too high or his temps this could be bad for him and he could get sick that is why a thermometer and hydrometer are important.

First thing I would do is to try and correct his habitat. Even a dish pan would work. You can pick them up at a target or wal-mart or a short sided sweater tote. Check the types of substrates. Shaved aspen, cocoa fiber and sand mix are fine. Hang his lights if possible. So that he has a warm side and a cooler side. Do away with the under heat pad. Torts do better if they get their heat from above. This should get you started.
If you bought the tank I’d take it back and exchange it for the temp and humidity gauges etc.

 

[Crazy1]

Sorry I didn't see Chris's Post and defer to him as the expert.
A square box will keep him from climbing on it and the chance of him flipping will be minimal. And Torts can usually write themselves.
I give mine their bath outside their enclosure. so they have to sit in the water until I take them out. I just check the water that it doesn't get cold.
Remember he is getting use to a new home. It will take him awhile to get comfortable. And if it is too hot or too humid it will slow him and he may just sit.

 

[TestudoGeek]

Welcome Samantha.
I think everything's been said. Fixing the eclosure and correcting the diet is the way to go.
Don't worry, we've all been there, strugling to get it right. You'll find alot of help here.
Read through what's been posted on theis site for info & ideas.

 

[Puffer21]

Ok well i just have a couple more questions. I want to make sure im doing everything right.

1. So he doesnt need a light at night, wont he get cold?
2. Can i take him out of the tank for a while and let him walk around my bedroom or something, how long can i do that for?
3. How humid/hot is the tank supposed to be? I mean i have wood shaving in the bottom and they dry out. Should they be wet?
4. Should i be spraying the tank with water, how offten.
5. Is it normal for them to burry in the wood shaving or is that because theres not enough hinding places.
6. I put him in a bath and he let out white stuff and then pooped. then he got out. Is that normal. He also put his head in and made bubbles. Is that normal
7. How hard should his shell be?
8. I also think im going to go get a different tank like a rubbermaid or something. Would that be good? Would the rubbermaid burn?

Anyways thanks for all the help, sorry for all the question but i want to make sure that im doing it right. I really like him andi dont want anything bad to happen to him.

 

[HermanniChris]

Here are some answers:

1. He does not need a light at night. Tortoises sleep at night and are diurnal not nocturnal. If the temperature in the room drops below 65F at night then leave the infra red heat lamp on as a heat source. Because it is not a bright light it will not do any harm.

2. Generally speaking tortoises do not like to be handled and should really only be picked up when cleaning the enclosure, inspecting health, bathing, medicating. If you want to take him and out and let him walk around that is ok but honestly this should be done outside while you supervise him grazing and exploring.

3. The tortoise should have a thermal gradient. The temperature of the air should roughly be 70-80F with a basking end at 90-95F. Humidty needs not to be too high and that's where soaking comes into play. By doing this you will be providing the tortoise with enough water. Mistings via spray bottle are great to do every other day and the tortoises seem to enjoy it. Do not drench the habitat.

4.Like I just said, yes, every other day is fine for a few minutes, keep up the soaks as well.

5. Yes that is very normal. Tortoises spend a lot fo their time burrowed in scrapes or tunnels they have created as shelters.

6. Yes that is all normal. Make sure he cannot get out of his bath if you cannot watch him 100% during it. The tortoise can easily fall if you are not watching. The white stuff is urates and is normal.

7. At this age the shell is still flexible and will not harden completely for quite some time. As long as it is not mushy you are fine. The animal needs time to grow and strengthen.

8. Like I said in the previous post, rubbermaids are perfect and work well as do mixing tubs. Much better than tanks. Just make sure the heat lamp is not resting on the plastic to avoid burning it.

*Hermann's tortoises are very resilient animals and adapt to a wide range of conditions so just keep up the good work, never be afraid of asking questions and read as much as you can.

 

[Puffer21]

Thank you so much, you guys are really helpin me out. So then is the light i have enough? Should i take the heat pad off all day or just at night? Oh and just to make sure i bought new food at the grocery store...Spring mix in a bag, parsley, carrots, and half a blueberry every other day. Is that a good diet? And the wood shaving are a good substrate and are ok dry?
Thanks again everyone
~Samantha