New From SoCal w Hermann's on the Way

[Exclive]

My Great Granddaughter and I have been researching for over six months and are now ready to receive our new Hermann's. They will arrive next week. I'm hoping we are close on the habitat. Attached a couple of pics for review. Will add some weeds for grazing. Substrate is coconut coir, organic (fertilizer/manure free) topsoil, and a little soil from my organic garden. Appreciate feedback. Terra cota with stones is for water and other for feeding. Cool side has humid house and lid is of thermo insulate. Have probe thermometer for cool side and warm side and IR reader. Will have basking light in corner opposite log hide.

Thanks in advance for your help.

 

[Tidgy's Dad]

Hello there and a very warm welcome to tortoise forum to you and your great grand daughter and the forthcoming Hermann's.
How many are you getting?
i ask because tortoises are solitary animals and a pair is bad news, one will dominate the other, even if they don't fight and stress will occur, possibly even injury and death. Groups of three or more can work especially if you have a male and two or three females, but even then you must be vigilant for trouble and have a huge enclosure.
Sorry, but your enclosure looks much to small to me, even for one tortoise, 4' by 8' would be about the minimum for a lone Hermann's unless you have a tiny hatchling and it would soon outgrow it. Bigger is always best with torts. You can't achieve a warm side, cool side and basking spot in a small enclosure.
The substrate choice is good, but i would line the enclosure with plastic, a shower curtain or something, beneath the substrate to keep the humidity up.
humidity is very important for tortoises as I'm sure you're aware. And little rocks or stones can be dangerous if ingested.
Check out http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/
and http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/sticky-hermanns-tortoise-care-sheet-updated.101410/
as well as http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/pairs.34837/
for lots of advice to help you on your way.
read these and please ask if you have any questions.

 

[Exclive]

Hello there and a very warm welcome to tortoise forum to you and your great grand daughter and the forthcoming Hermann's.
How many are you getting?
i ask because tortoises are solitary animals and a pair is bad news, one will dominate the other, even if they don't fight and stress will occur, possibly even injury and death. Groups of three or more can work especially if you have a male and two or three females, but even then you must be vigilant for trouble and have a huge enclosure.
Sorry, but your enclosure looks much to small to me, even for one tortoise, 4' by 8' would be about the minimum for a lone Hermann's unless you have a tiny hatchling and it would soon outgrow it. Bigger is always best with torts. You can't achieve a warm side, cool side and basking spot in a small enclosure.
The substrate choice is good, but i would line the enclosure with plastic, a shower curtain or something, beneath the substrate to keep the humidity up.
humidity is very important for tortoises as I'm sure you're aware. And little rocks or stones can be dangerous if ingested.
Check out http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/
and http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/sticky-hermanns-tortoise-care-sheet-updated.101410/
as well as http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/pairs.34837/
for lots of advice to help you on your way.
read these and please ask if you have any questions.

We are getting 2, 2 - month old hatchlings and this setup 2' x 4' will be temporary until later in the year - we have a 10' x 8' outdoor enclosure in the works that will be partitioned. We have two setups like this, one for each tort so the mingling won't be an issue. There are no tiny rocks in the substrate and no sand. The ones around the water tray are 1 1/2 - 2" in diameter.

Good idea on the lining. Others I have spoken with say there needs to be drainage to reduce deep water accumulation and subsequent mold.

Thanks,

 

[Tidgy's Dad]

Sounds good.
Drainage shouldn't be a problem if you don't pour in too much water, I guess a hole or two would let excess escape and still keep in that all important humidity. We don't want wet, just moist.
Would love to see photos of the little ones when they arrive.

 

[Tom]

Hello and welcome. This looks good, but I see a couple of concerns.
1.The open top will make it difficult to hold in humidity and warmth once the heat lams are fired up.
2. Humid hide should be near the heat. Cool and damp is not good. Warm and damp is fine.
3. What are the little white flecks in your substrate? If that is perlite they will likely eat it and it can kill them by blocking their intestinal tract. This is a major deal, not just a personal preference thing.
4. What are you using for UV?

Such a fantastic thing to be sharing with your family. I hope it all goes PERFECTLY!

 

[Grandpa Turtle 144]

Hello

 

[Exclive]

Hello and welcome. This looks good, but I see a couple of concerns.
1.The open top will make it difficult to hold in humidity and warmth once the heat lams are fired up.
2. Humid hide should be near the heat. Cool and damp is not good. Warm and damp is fine.
3. What are the little white flecks in your substrate? If that is perlite they will likely eat it and it can kill them by blocking their intestinal tract. This is a major deal, not just a personal preference thing.
4. What are you using for UV?

Such a fantastic thing to be sharing with your family. I hope it all goes PERFECTLY!

Thanks for input. Gray specks are ash - burnt almond wood I use for mulching in my garden.

Good idea on the cool side.

Torts will have 3 - 4 hours natural daylight during the day. Ambient daily temps at our place are 80 - 95F.
Based other posts, didn't think I need to supplement that with a bulb but that is why I ask for advice.

 

[pam]

Welcome

 

[Tom]

Thanks for input. Gray specks are ash - burnt almond wood I use for mulching in my garden.

Good idea on the cool side.

Torts will have 3 - 4 hours natural daylight during the day. Ambient daily temps at our place are 80 - 95F.
Based other posts, didn't think I need to supplement that with a bulb but that is why I ask for advice.

Those burnt almond bits make me nervous. I would not chance it. If they eat it when you aren't looking it will be a problem. Torts are often drawn to small light colored "bits" in the soil. It is likely they will sample these bits.

Ambient of 80 is not quite warm enough to do what they need to do. Ambient of 95 all around is a bit too high. What they need is a temperature gradient going from 95 under the basking area down to mis 70's on the other end. This allows the tortoise to thermoregulate by moving to the warmer or cooler areas of the enclosure to keep its temperature where it needs it. In the wild they would move in and out of the sun or shade to do this. All one temperature without a gradient is not the way to go with this species.

 

[Exclive]

Those burnt almond bits make me nervous. I would not chance it. If they eat it when you aren't looking it will be a problem. Torts are often drawn to small light colored "bits" in the soil. It is likely they will sample these bits.

Ambient of 80 is not quite warm enough to do what they need to do. Ambient of 95 all around is a bit too high. What they need is a temperature gradient going from 95 under the basking area down to mis 70's on the other end. This allows the tortoise to thermoregulate by moving to the warmer or cooler areas of the enclosure to keep its temperature where it needs it. In the wild they would move in and out of the sun or shade to do this. All one temperature without a gradient is not the way to go with this species.

Those burnt almond bits make me nervous. I would not chance it. If they eat it when you aren't looking it will be a problem. Torts are often drawn to small light colored "bits" in the soil. It is likely they will sample these bits.

Ambient of 80 is not quite warm enough to do what they need to do. Ambient of 95 all around is a bit too high. What they need is a temperature gradient going from 95 under the basking area down to mis 70's on the other end. This allows the tortoise to thermoregulate by moving to the warmer or cooler areas of the enclosure to keep its temperature where it needs it. In the wild they would move in and out of the sun or shade to do this. All one temperature without a gradient is not the way to go with this species.

Thanks. Lost the garden soil and will go strictly with the organic top soil. Thanks for that!

I mentioned at the beginning I have a probed thermometer. That is placed on the cool side behind the wall. The cover and two walls of that side are insulated. After several weeks of data, Ground level temps o that side are around 74 - 76F constantly.

I know now I have to move the humid box to the other warm side. I have a 75w bulb across from the hut and temps under the lamp are consistent @ 93 - 96F measured with IR. The rest of that side 80 - 85F for most of the day. I mentioned the temps only to say they would be outside during the day hours to address the UV issue. Night time house comes in side.

Give me more info. I am learning more as I go.

Thanks again.

 

[Tom]

Thanks. Lost the garden soil and will go strictly with the organic top soil. Thanks for that!

I mentioned at the beginning I have a probed thermometer. That is placed on the cool side behind the wall. The cover and two walls of that side are insulated. After several weeks of data, Ground level temps o that side are around 74 - 76F constantly.

I know now I have to move the humid box to the other warm side. I have a 75w bulb across from the hut and temps under the lamp are consistent @ 93 - 96F measured with IR. The rest of that side 80 - 85F for most of the day. I mentioned the temps only to say they would be outside during the day hours to address the UV issue. Night time house comes in side.

Give me more info. I am learning more as I go.

Thanks again.

Its sounds to me like you have got the concepts down pat and all you need is the day to day fine tuning to perfect your individual set ups.

I'm excited for you and your family. What a fun journey this will be for you guys!

 

[Exclive]

Its sounds to me like you have got the concepts down pat and all you need is the day to day fine tuning to perfect your individual set ups.

I'm excited for you and your family. What a fun journey this will be for you guys!

By jove, I think you've got out. Keep the fine tuning coming. You all are helping us gut check.

 

[Yvonne G]

Welcome to the Forum!