HewHermannsmum
New Member
Hi there!
I am new to this forum and a new Hermann's tortoise owner so please bear with me. Ive only had my little one for 6 days and I'm already panicking! Not sure if I'm being an over-worried owner but it seems the more I read the more I worry. So it would be great to hear some level-headed advice from more experienced owners.
Firstly, about my new baby tortoise. He (pretty sure he's a he) is under a year old. He weighs 64g at the moment and is about 2 1/2 inches. His Jackson ratio is 0.2 which I'm pleased with. His shell has a nice healthy dome and his eyes are bright and clear.
His enclosure is indoors at the moment as he is so young. I have a 110cm×70cm table, with a heat + UVB and UVA bulb - basking temp. about 30°C. His "hot side" stays around 25°C during the day, cooler side around 19-20°C. At night this drops to room temp about 18°C.
I know the enclosure will need to be bigger when he grows, but for now it seems plenty big enough.
He is pooping every day (normal solid but not dry). He is eating about 2 thirds of the food I feed him - a mixture of dandelion, rocket, baby lamb's leaf, baby red lettuce and radicchio at the moment. I will be growing more weeds and picking clover as I hope to give him the most natural diet possible. I also sprinkle a pinch of calcidust on his food. He munches on his cuttlefish every now and then too.
I bathe him once a day for about 20 mins in warm water. Twice he has passed the white "urate" stuff and always dunks his head and takes a small drink.
My worries are:
He seems to be "yawning" a lot. I have read this might be a sign of resp. illness. To clarify, he is not gaping all the time, just seems to be opening his mouth a fair amount (maybe once every half an hour or so). Otherwise seems to be breathing through his nose OK. His nostrils appear dry and no discharge that I can see. Is this normal??
Secondly, he keeps climbing the walls of his table! At first I thought it was because one side is glass and he could see through, but he does it at all other sides too. Yesterday he nearly flipped himself over doing this :/ He paces back and forth with his body half up the wall. Is this dangerous??
Lastly, I am concerned about the heat and humidity of his table. Do you guys think he might be too cold? Or too hot? I spritz the enclosure every day with room temp. water but still struggling to get humidity above 30%. Is that enough for a Hermann's. Everything I've read says something different :/
Hope someone can help. Thanks xx
I am new to this forum and a new Hermann's tortoise owner so please bear with me. Ive only had my little one for 6 days and I'm already panicking! Not sure if I'm being an over-worried owner but it seems the more I read the more I worry. So it would be great to hear some level-headed advice from more experienced owners.
Firstly, about my new baby tortoise. He (pretty sure he's a he) is under a year old. He weighs 64g at the moment and is about 2 1/2 inches. His Jackson ratio is 0.2 which I'm pleased with. His shell has a nice healthy dome and his eyes are bright and clear.
His enclosure is indoors at the moment as he is so young. I have a 110cm×70cm table, with a heat + UVB and UVA bulb - basking temp. about 30°C. His "hot side" stays around 25°C during the day, cooler side around 19-20°C. At night this drops to room temp about 18°C.
I know the enclosure will need to be bigger when he grows, but for now it seems plenty big enough.
He is pooping every day (normal solid but not dry). He is eating about 2 thirds of the food I feed him - a mixture of dandelion, rocket, baby lamb's leaf, baby red lettuce and radicchio at the moment. I will be growing more weeds and picking clover as I hope to give him the most natural diet possible. I also sprinkle a pinch of calcidust on his food. He munches on his cuttlefish every now and then too.
I bathe him once a day for about 20 mins in warm water. Twice he has passed the white "urate" stuff and always dunks his head and takes a small drink.
My worries are:
He seems to be "yawning" a lot. I have read this might be a sign of resp. illness. To clarify, he is not gaping all the time, just seems to be opening his mouth a fair amount (maybe once every half an hour or so). Otherwise seems to be breathing through his nose OK. His nostrils appear dry and no discharge that I can see. Is this normal??
Secondly, he keeps climbing the walls of his table! At first I thought it was because one side is glass and he could see through, but he does it at all other sides too. Yesterday he nearly flipped himself over doing this :/ He paces back and forth with his body half up the wall. Is this dangerous??
Lastly, I am concerned about the heat and humidity of his table. Do you guys think he might be too cold? Or too hot? I spritz the enclosure every day with room temp. water but still struggling to get humidity above 30%. Is that enough for a Hermann's. Everything I've read says something different :/
Hope someone can help. Thanks xx