New to keeping tortoises!

[skully]

Hello, I am Skully. I'm a snake person, but I have recently picked up an interest in owning a tortoise. With much research, I have decided to purchase a Hermann's Tortoise. I just ordered the little guy and s/he will be coming next week. So I just want some confirmation on all the information I have been researching. So throw some care information at me! I am more curious about the diet and supplements everyone is choosing to give.

This is my little guy

 

[Grandpa Turtle 144]

Hello Skully welcome to the TFO from AZ , USA . About your Herrmann he has a green spot he don't need and everything you feed your snakes is wrong for your Herrmann tort he needs all weeds in your yard but not all at once . If you have time send us a pict of his enclosure . He's cute even with the green spot . Sorry been up alnight at work . So I'm going to say good night we'll talk more when I wake up. Good luck with your cute tort .

 

[wellington]

Hello and Welcome. There are lots of hermann owners on the forum, they will be long to give all the help you need.

 

[Tom]

Hello and welcome. I typed this up for russian tortoises, but I wold house a hermanni the same way:
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/thread-80698.html

And check this one out too: http://www.tortoiseforum.org/thread-45180.html

 

[Pittrock]

I used to keep snakes (ball pythons) as well and now have a Hermann!! It's important you get the right setup for your tort - keeping them in any kind of glass aquarium is discouraged. Many on the forum use tortoise tables but a giant Rubbermaid container will suffice as well (especially as a baby).

UVB and heat (95-100 degrees) are CRITICAL!! I use the combo heat/UVB bulbs. Amazon is the cheapest. Make sure he gets DIRECT sunlight at least a few times/wk if you plan to keep him indoors. He needs a soaking daily at his age and avoid using sand as a substrate.

And one more thing that I learned - water dishes - I've been using ones for "reptiles" thinking it was fine. They are referred to as "death traps" here. The tort can possibly go vertical trying to get out and fall backward, upside down, into the dish and drown as a result. Many on the forum use the bottom of a flower pot to keep water - burrow it to be even with the substrate.

Give that baby all the care he requires and you'll be off to a great start!!!

 

[Tom]

- keeping them in any kind of glass aquarium is discouraged.

I don't agree. I've read this on many websites too, but it is not discouraged here on this forum. Many of us have been using "aquariums" for baby tortoises for decades, with no ill effect. In fact I prefer them for the very reasons those other books and websites say they are bad. They hold in heat and humidity and reduce ventilation. That is EXACTLY what I WANT to do for a baby tortoise. And in 35 years (since 1979) of keeping chelonians in glass tanks, I have never once had a problem with them trying to walk through the glass.

 

[Pittrock]

Fair enough - I would certainly defer to you on these matters - as I'm still the "newbie" as it relates to keeping a tort - but want to do my best to share learnings as best I can - especially for a fellow snake enthusiast.

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi and welcome to the Forum!

 

[skully]

The green spot is a mark by the breeder to differentiate between the group of babies. I also know they don't have the same care as my snakes. I have done a lot of research, I just wanted some more "experienced" information. I am setting up a plastic tub for now. I ordered a heat lamp and uvb, so that's all in order. Also got a cuttle bone, supplements, tortoise commercial food, and a nice hide coming in too. I plan to use shredded aspen for substrate.

I just need a feeding schedule idea, how often to supplement powder, how often to soak and how long, and what's the best diet?

Thanks for the welcomes!

 

[wellington]

Forget the aspen and go for coconut coir, cypress mulch, orchid bark or plain dirt. All much better. Be sure not to use any coil bulbs and have water available 24/7. A clay or plastic saucer, the kind used for flower pots work best. Feed daily a large amount, enough that it will last all day and even a little into the next morning, or twice a day with enough that there is some left over.

 

[skully]

Forget the aspen and go for coconut coir, cypress mulch, orchid bark or plain dirt. All much better. Be sure not to use any coil bulbs and have water available 24/7. A clay or plastic saucer, the kind used for flower pots work best. Feed daily a large amount, enough that it will last all day and even a little into the next morning, or twice a day with enough that there is some left over.

What is wrong with the aspen? From what I have researched it is fine and many Hermann owners keep them on aspen. I do have eco earth though, same stuff??

 

[ruga]

Hello Skully, I am a newbie too and I have a male hermanni...
I don't know where you live ....I would like to ask what range of temperatures do you have in Spring and Summer?
I am asking because , it would be good for this tortoise to live outdoors at least for a few months a year...( in a garden, inside a pen, of course!)

 

[skully]

Hello Skully, I am a newbie too and I have a male hermanni...
I don't know where you live ....I would like to ask what range of temperatures do you have in Spring and Summer?
I am asking because , it would be good for this tortoise to live outdoors at least for a few months a year...( in a garden, inside a pen, of course!)

I live in Indiana, US. Our weather here changes quite often. Summer can hit up in the 90s, but unpredictable weather here for the most part. We had a thunderstorm just a week ago while there was snow on the ground lol.

I'm curious if anyone keeps there tortoise indoors year around? I do plan to buy a kiddy pool and set it up for the tortoise to be outside for a few hours a day at least.

Now is the point for the tortoise to get direct sunlight? or just to get the natural outdoor feeling? or what is it? I have a back porch that is screened in. I'd feel safer leaving it out on the porch in something while I am away during the day.

 

[hunterk997]

Using a substrate besides aspen would be much better because your tortoise, being small, will need more moisture and humidity. And the point in outdoor enclosures are to allow the tortoise to get natural UV. I would imagine that people look forward to summer so their tortoises can graze as well, but I think the main reason is natural light.

 

[Pittrock]

UVB rays are rather weak compared to UVA. Things like cloud cover, screened porches, time of day/year, or even screening over your enclosure with a UVB bulb will have an impact on UVB rays getting to the tort.

Unobstructed direct sunlight is important.

---

Daily soaks are suggested for the first year - 20-30min...to ensure they're properly hydrated.

Make sure whatever calcium powder you get also contains vitamin D. My vet told me to add a pinch of the powder 2-3 times/wk.

 

[skully]

Ok so Eco earth will work? Should I mist it at all?

How long should the tortoise be left outside?

 

[ruga]

Hi Skully!
Most commonly recommended substrate here in Italy is a mix of peat and potting soil...
As Pittrock righly says, direct sunlight is fundamental for a correct shell growth ( plus correct diet, plus the possibility for the tort to wander around...)
Usually these torts go basking in the morning, with temperatures ranging from 70F to 95F ( hope I have the right conversion! 20 to 35 Celsius).
During the warmest hours, they need a shelter...a hedge or a big bush will do fine..

Personally, I would not use a rubber pool...instead, I would set up an enclosure made with bricks ...and protect the upper surface with a net, so that the tort can not be predated by a big bird or...
Rubber could become too hot under the sun... And the tort surely prefers grass or earth under her feet..

)

 

[skully]

My idea with the pool was like some of the photos shown in the links given to me. Fill it with soil/coconut, add shade and I would make a screen top. I'll go look around for some bricks but right now going outside is no option. Too cold.

Could someone name some good soil that I could find at like walmart, menards, or somewhere? And is there anything I should mix with it?

Thanks everyone

 

[ruga]

Yeah, of course it's too cold now... Let's wait until March-April..
I 'd like to share this video...some friends made it in Tuscany..they came across a wild hermanni that was about to cross a road...so they put it back in the wood..far from the road..
They say that it is beautiful and it strides so fast!!!
Hope everybody enjoy it...

http://youtu.be/dzLhiqH0J_8

 

[skully]

Also, I'm going to look into building a tortoise table. What would be the best wood? Does melamine work?