Newbie looking for advice on supplementation

[Karen(pebbles)]

Hi everybody, I'm new to owning a year old Hermann tortoise, I've had him/her for 2 months now, I'm reading so much on here which has been a great help, but this morning I've noticed my tort trying to eat a large pebble in enclosure, maybe he/she mistakes it for food, I dust the food daily with calcium and vitamins so if anybody can help with this is be so grateful, many thanks, karen

 

[KarenSoCal]

Hello, Karen! From another Karen! ?

Sprinkling calcium and vitamins daily is a bit too much of a good thing. It would be better if you gave a small pinch of calcium twice a week, and a small pinch of vitamins once a week. Most excess vitamins just get peed out, but too much calcium is as bad as too little. Too much can cause the tort to not be able to utilise other nutrients he needs. Vitamin A is another needed vitamin, but too much causes illness, and injected it can cause skin to slough off.

For the pebble, I'm assuming it was too large for him to swallow. That's good; pebbles and grit can lodge in his stomach, and possibly cause problems in the intestines.

If he continues to try to eat them, or starts gnawing on other inedibles, order some 'MinerAll'. It's a mineral supplement you sprinkle on his food once a week. Sometimes torts (and other animals, too) will eat odd things because they are not getting something they need from their diet. MinerAll seems to fix this problem. It's a good addition even if the tort is not eating pica (the proper term for stuff that shouldn't be eaten). It's hard to be sure we are supplying every nutrient needed in the diets we feed them.

 

[Karen(pebbles)]

Hi Karen
Thank you so much for this advice it's much appreciated, I did wonder how often with the calcium and vitamin, the pebbles are bigger than the tort so not a problen ?, I'll look into getting some MinerAll now.

 

[Yvonne G]

Hello, and welcome to the Forum!

 

[zolasmum]

Hello Karen and welcome from Devon. We have a Hermanns tortoise too - Zola, who will soon be 21 - we have had him since he was one year old, and he is the most important member of the family, and knows it ! When we got him there was very little information around about tortoise care, apart from the Tortoise Trust - luckily the pet shop owner had 2 tortoises of his own, and did advise us about soaking him and about food - anyway, Zola has turned out strong and healthy - but I wish this forum had existed then. You are lucky to have got lots of people here who really know and understand tortoises, and are prepared to answer any questions you have so don't be afraid to ask them.
Best wishes from Angie

 

[Sarah2020]

Hello welcome. This is a great forum to ask questions and check anything out.

 

[Karen(pebbles)]

Thank you all for your kind replies, I’m still learning and there is so much more to learn, obviously I want to do the best for my tort and I know I can get all the best advice from here, but I worry so much that I’m doing something wrong

 

[Lyn W]

Thank you all for your kind replies, I’m still learning and there is so much more to learn, obviously I want to do the best for my tort and I know I can get all the best advice from here, but I worry so much that I’m doing something wrong

Hi and welcome.
I'm just across the Severn bridges form you.
We all feel the same but thankfully we have TFO!!
If you post some pics of his enclosure you'll get good feedback to make sure he has everything he needs to stay happy and healthy and put your mind at rest.

 

[Karen(pebbles)]

So this is his enclosure, as you can see we have changed the substrate 3 times since having him, he started with hemp which proved no good as he tried to eat it, then we tried the soil which he also tried to eat, so then we returned to the reptile shop that we got him and they keep the torts on paper pellets which we purchased, but now after reading the advice in here this isn’t good either so today I’m going to purchase the orchid bark, I do spray the enclosure for humidity but to be honest I’m confused at what the correct humidity should be, some say Herman’s don’t need much humidity and some say they do, I’ve read and reread the care sheet and still I’m confused.

 

[Karen(pebbles)]

Oh I also added pics of outside enclosure which unfortunately we haven’t been able to use yet due to our weather.

 

[KarenSoCal]

I do spray the enclosure for humidity but to be honest I’m confused at what the correct humidity should be, some say Herman’s don’t need much humidity and some say they do, I’ve read and reread the care sheet and still I’m confused.

You'll like the orchid bark. It's clean, easy for the tort to walk on, and holds the moisture well without molding.
And it's also good for digging, so he'll like it too!

The humidity levels can be confusing. Maybe this will help. All hatchling torts and juveniles need high humidity, around 80% or more. This helps keep the baby hydrated to protect his kidneys. But also, the humidity is the biggest factor in preventing pyramiding. Diet and types of lights can contribute to lumpy shells, but by far dryness is the biggest culprit. In the wild babies spend their time in a burrow, or under some branches of a bush or shrub, where it is damp from the plant. They need this high humidity until they have grown bigger. As the shell grows, it is less likely to start pyramiding even with lower humidity. But a tort should always have access to water and places to hide or sleep where they can create their own little microclimate. Burrowing tort species will pee and poop in their burrows to maintain proper humidity.

This is why we members of the forum are so adamant about maintaining warm temps and humidity for young torts especially. But that humid environment is good for adults as well.

So for now, while your tort is still a juvenile, you want to maintain a minimum of 80% all the time, in every corner of his enclosure. The only way to do this is to use a closed chamber. An open topped enclosure is, as Tom likes to say, like heating your house with the roof not there.

I hope this has clarified humidity a bit for you. If you have questions, please ask.

 

[zolasmum]

Oh I also added pics of outside enclosure which unfortunately we haven’t been able to use yet due to our weather.

He/she is lovely- what is his name?
Angie

 

[Karen(pebbles)]

Thankyou, his names pebbles, I let my grandchildren name him/her.
Karen thankyou so much for your advice I’m in the process of changing the substrate now, I’ve also purchased a hygrometer so I can keep a check on the humidity correctly, I’m so glad for all your help.

 

[Karen(pebbles)]

So now we have this, just waiting to see what the humidity is and for the first time EVER he’s chomping away on the cattle fish!

 

[Karen(pebbles)]

You'll like the orchid bark. It's clean, easy for the tort to walk on, and holds the moisture well without molding.
And it's also good for digging, so he'll like it too!

The humidity levels can be confusing. Maybe this will help. All hatchling torts and juveniles need high humidity, around 80% or more. This helps keep the baby hydrated to protect his kidneys. But also, the humidity is the biggest factor in preventing pyramiding. Diet and types of lights can contribute to lumpy shells, but by far dryness is the biggest culprit. In the wild babies spend their time in a burrow, or under some branches of a bush or shrub, where it is damp from the plant. They need this high humidity until they have grown bigger. As the shell grows, it is less likely to start pyramiding even with lower humidity. But a tort should always have access to water and places to hide or sleep where they can create their own little microclimate. Burrowing tort species will pee and poop in their burrows to maintain proper humidity.

This is why we members of the forum are so adamant about maintaining warm temps and humidity for young torts especially. But that humid environment is good for adults as well.

So for now, while your tort is still a juvenile, you want to maintain a minimum of 80% all the time, in every corner of his enclosure. The only way to do this is to use a closed chamber. An open topped enclosure is, as Tom likes to say, like heating your house with the roof not there.

I hope this has clarified humidity a bit for you. If you have questions, please ask.

So now that I’ve changed everything the hygrometer says 60% not sure now how to raise this , I’ve use orchid bark and mixed with coco fibre so surly it should be more?

 

[Sccremeans25]

Hi everybody, I'm new to owning a year old Hermann tortoise, I've had him/her for 2 months now, I'm reading so much on here which has been a great help, but this morning I've noticed my tort trying to eat a large pebble in enclosure, maybe he/she mistakes it for food, I dust the food daily with calcium and vitamins so if anybody can help with this is be so grateful, many thanks, karen

Russian tortoise

 

[KarenSoCal]

So now that I’ve changed everything the hygrometer says 60% not sure now how to raise this , I’ve use orchid bark and mixed with coco fibre so surly it should be more?

Did you wet the substrate?
Take a pitcher of warm water and start pouring it into the substrate. Then mix it up with your hands until it is all nicely damp. You don't want it like a swamp with standing water, and you don't want the Sahara either...just damp enough that the orchid bark looks darker than when it's dry...pleasantly damp.

Double check that your temps are where they should be. You need to keep Pebbles warm with the damp substrate.
warm + damp = happy tort ?
cold + damp = RI

You should only have to pour more water every few days depending on how often you open the door. I find that using warm water is beneficial...your hygrometer will shoot up! Don't forget to dampen inside his hides so he sleeps in humid air.

His enclosure is very pretty! You've done well! There are a couple details I'd like to mention.

First, just to verify, is there a ceiling on the enclosure? Is it solid or screening? I can't quite see in the pic.

Second, his water dish has steep sides, which can make it difficult for him to climb in and out. Since torts don't bend in the middle, they stand straight up to try to do an up-and-over maneuver, often falling backward in the process. If in the water when this happens, drowning can result. Even without drowning, being on its back for an extended time can be fatal. We recommend using a terra cotta plant saucer for water. The sloped sides are perfect, and when pushed down so the lip is even with the substrate, is easy to get in and out.

Your basking bulb is visible...do you have a UVB light in there? Is the basking bulb and UVB a combo bulb? I'll go over that in another post.

---

 

[Karen(pebbles)]

Did you wet the substrate?
Take a pitcher of warm water and start pouring it into the substrate. Then mix it up with your hands until it is all nicely damp. You don't want it like a swamp with standing water, and you don't want the Sahara either...just damp enough that the orchid bark looks darker than when it's dry...pleasantly damp.

Double check that your temps are where they should be. You need to keep Pebbles warm with the damp substrate.
warm + damp = happy tort ?
cold + damp = RI

You should only have to pour more water every few days depending on how often you open the door. I find that using warm water is beneficial...your hygrometer will shoot up! Don't forget to dampen inside his hides so he sleeps in humid air.

His enclosure is very pretty! You've done well! There are a couple details I'd like to mention.

First, just to verify, is there a ceiling on the enclosure? Is it solid or screening? I can't quite see in the pic.

Second, his water dish has steep sides, which can make it difficult for him to climb in and out. Since torts don't bend in the middle, they stand straight up to try to do an up-and-over maneuver, often falling backward in the process. If in the water when this happens, drowning can result. Even without drowning, being on its back for an extended time can be fatal. We recommend using a terra cotta plant saucer for water. The sloped sides are perfect, and when pushed down so the lip is even with the substrate, is easy to get in and out.

Your basking bulb is visible...do you have a UVB light in there? Is the basking bulb and UVB a combo bulb? I'll go over that in another post.

---

Hi karen, these are the lights I’m using right now, the enclosure is a vivarium with glass front and solid wood with a top on, the water dish I’ve sunk into the substrate to make it easier for him to get in to and he seems to be able to get out ok but I’ll bare that in mind, checked the humidity this morning and it was 80%, I did spray it yesterday when I finished but I think I’m stressing that it would be too wet, he didn’t like the change and was late settling down last night, I’ll check again when I get home and then give it a good soaking if needed, thankyou so much for your help, it’s really appreciated.

 

[Lyn W]

It's all coming together nicely - he'll soon be a happy tort.
Do you have night heat for him? The careheets will advise on what it should be but it's still quite chilly here.
I use a CHE run through a thermostat to keep night temps even.

 

[Karen(pebbles)]

It's all coming together nicely - he'll soon be a happy tort.
Do you have night heat for him? The careheets will advise on what it should be but it's still quite chilly here.
I use a CHE run through a thermostat to keep night temps even.

Hi Lyn, no I don’t have night heat, I was told we didn’t need it, the night temperature is around 19-20c, I assumed this was ok