Re introduction from me and my hermanns Tortoise

[bradtort]

Hi all,
I joined as a member years ago when i was around 16 ( currently 28) but been quite inactive on here in that time however!
I moved out of my old house 3 years ago and had to leave my tortoise behind for various reasons (with my mum and dad)
I have now regained space, sorted a garden full of grass and dandelions, i grow some veg too which the occasional leaf can add to diet also.
Garden gets great sunlight so he will be out often on nice days.
Im from Rochdale in England.
Now the fun stuff!
My male hermanns tortoise named Claret (Burnley fc colour)
Id like to give him a great life here so after any tips of your weekly routines: food, bathing etc
Also any tips on making his indoor space better. I currently have a 1.2m table he lives in and hope to go larger in near future as its around 50/60cm wide.
I also wonder do you guys use any different textures. I was considering adding some slate pieces at one end and softer substrate at the other.
Also i wouldnt say it holds him back but would this improve his beak which has grown ever so slightly.

Sorry for rambling,
Good to be back,
Brad

 

[Lyn W]

Hi and welcome back.
Is this the same tort you had when you were 16, so 12 years old?
If so he should now be in a minimum space of 4 x 8 feet, maybe make his outdoor enclosure as large as possible and secure from predators (cats,, dogs big birds etc) and a larger table for indoors on wet/cold days.
If you are planning on leaving him out all day you'll find this thread useful

Outdoor Accommodation in a Colder (UK) Climate

Background We live in the UK and have had our Greek, Joe, a male Testudo Graeca Graeca (TGG), since 1970. He is full grown, weighing in at around 3.2kg (7lb) and measures just over 26cm (10”) Straight Carapace Length (SCL) He would have been wild caught, so was not a baby when he joined the...

tortoiseforum.org

and this is the updated caresheet for info re temps, diet substrate etc

The Best Way To Raise Any Temperate Species Of Tortoise

I chose the title of this care sheet very carefully. Are there other ways to raise babies and care for adults? Yes. Yes there are, but those ways are not as good. What follows is the BEST way, according to 30 years of research and experimentation with hundreds of babies of many species. What is...

tortoiseforum.org

You may have already found this in the past, but if not this is good guide to tort foods
www.thetortoisetable.org.uk

 

[bradtort]

Thankyou i will read those articles now. Atm when outdoors i stay outside with him until i can make something more secure. He currently gets to roam the whole back garden.
Indoors is my problem... 4x8 may be a problem in the size of house i have but i certainly need to go bigger,
I am planning on making the outdoor space as big as possible. Id like him to be able to roam my whole garden as freely as possible.

I will get on with sourcing/ building a better enclosure right away.
Yes he's 12 years old. And so far so good, a happy friendly little guy.
It helps now i have my own house and can dedicate more for him.
Thank you for your response 🐢

 

[bradtort]

could i ask also. What tortoises do you have

Hi and welcome back.
Is this the same tort you had when you were 16, so 12 years old?
If so he should now be in a minimum space of 4 x 8 feet, maybe make his outdoor enclosure as large as possible and secure from predators (cats,, dogs big birds etc) and a larger table for indoors on wet/cold days.
If you are planning on leaving him out all day you'll find this thread useful

Outdoor Accommodation in a Colder (UK) Climate

Background We live in the UK and have had our Greek, Joe, a male Testudo Graeca Graeca (TGG), since 1970. He is full grown, weighing in at around 3.2kg (7lb) and measures just over 26cm (10”) Straight Carapace Length (SCL) He would have been wild caught, so was not a baby when he joined the...

tortoiseforum.org

and this is the updated caresheet for info re temps, diet substrate etc

The Best Way To Raise Any Temperate Species Of Tortoise

I chose the title of this care sheet very carefully. Are there other ways to raise babies and care for adults? Yes. Yes there are, but those ways are not as good. What follows is the BEST way, according to 30 years of research and experimentation with hundreds of babies of many species. What is...

tortoiseforum.org

You may have already found this in the past, but if not this is good guide to tort foods
www.thetortoisetable.org.uk

Could i ask also, what tortoises do you have? How are yours kept indoor & outdoors?
Any chance of a photo for inspiration

 

[Lyn W]

Thankyou i will read those articles now. Atm when outdoors i stay outside with him until i can make something more secure. He currently gets to roam the whole back garden.
Indoors is my problem... 4x8 may be a problem in the size of house i have but i certainly need to go bigger,
I am planning on making the outdoor space as big as possible. Id like him to be able to roam my whole garden as freely as possible.

I will get on with sourcing/ building a better enclosure right away.
Yes he's 12 years old. And so far so good, a happy friendly little guy.
It helps now i have my own house and can dedicate more for him.
Thank you for your response 🐢

Some people add a second layer or maybe an L shaped enclosure to fit into a corner would work.

could i ask also. What tortoises do you have

Could i ask also, what tortoises do you have? How are yours kept indoor & outdoors?
Any chance of a photo for inspiration

I have a leopard tortoise, he adopted me almost 8 years ago but is probably about 10 -12 years old and is now about 14 inches long. . He was found in a field and has a back foot missing. All attempts to find his owner failed so he ended up with me.
He has always been too big for a table so he has his own room, with a heated and insulated dog kennel as his hide. He has free access to the garden during the summer but it takes him a while to get used to going outdoors. I put him out in the sun the other day but he 'ran' back in! He has to do it in his own time.

 

[bradtort]

Some people add a second layer or maybe an L shaped enclosure to fit into a corner would work.

I have a leopard tortoise, he adopted me almost 8 years ago but is probably about 10 -12 years old and is now about 14 inches long. . He was found in a field and has a back foot missing. All attempts to find his owner failed so he ended up with me.
He has always been too big for a table so he has his own room, with a heated and insulated dog kennel as his hide. He has free access to the garden during the summer but it takes him a while to get used to going outdoors. I put him out in the sun the other day but he 'ran' back in! He has to do it in his own time.

Ahh thats great! I never thought of a second layer for him to explore!
And aw he sounds fab!
Yes he will do it in his own time im sure, theyre interesting how they let you know. They really have their own personalities, its amazing

 

[Jacqui]

So wonderful you were able to go back to your first tortoise.

 

[Ray--Opo]

Welcome back to the forum.

 

[bradtort]

So wonderful you were able to go back to your first tortoise.

Definitely! Haha, i was gutted having to leave him behind. Just happy i can start to have him around again.
Just trying to provide more space indoors...

 

[bradtort]

Welcome back to the forum.

Thankyou

 

[Kellyfeay]

Hi all,
I joined as a member years ago when i was around 16 ( currently 28) but been quite inactive on here in that time however!
I moved out of my old house 3 years ago and had to leave my tortoise behind for various reasons (with my mum and dad)
I have now regained space, sorted a garden full of grass and dandelions, i grow some veg too which the occasional leaf can add to diet also.
Garden gets great sunlight so he will be out often on nice days.
Im from Rochdale in England.
Now the fun stuff!
My male hermanns tortoise named Claret (Burnley fc colour)
Id like to give him a great life here so after any tips of your weekly routines: food, bathing etc
Also any tips on making his indoor space better. I currently have a 1.2m table he lives in and hope to go larger in near future as its around 50/60cm wide.
I also wonder do you guys use any different textures. I was considering adding some slate pieces at one end and softer substrate at the other.
Also i wouldnt say it holds him back but would this improve his beak which has grown ever so slightly.

Sorry for rambling,
Good to be back,
Brad

Good evening.. you seem to be well knowledge on your hermann tortoise.. just looking for a bit of advice please. I purchased a two year old last July.. I started to notice my little one was sleeping more than normal with a loss of appetite so I got a worm test done which did show that they were presant so I bought a wormer from a reptile shop but it didn't seem to do anything.. then I bought some pancur few weeks later which has worked as I saw them whilst we bathed the little one.. but still seems not right this was a week ago.. do they take a little time to recover? Or should I see an improvement by now? Any advice would be so much appreciated as I am so stressed about the little one.. Thank you. 😊

 

[bradtort]

Good evening.. you seem to be well knowledge on your hermann tortoise.. just looking for a bit of advice please. I purchased a two year old last July.. I started to notice my little one was sleeping more than normal with a loss of appetite so I got a worm test done which did show that they were presant so I bought a wormer from a reptile shop but it didn't seem to do anything.. then I bought some pancur few weeks later which has worked as I saw them whilst we bathed the little one.. but still seems not right this was a week ago.. do they take a little time to recover? Or should I see an improvement by now? Any advice would be so much appreciated as I am so stressed about the little one.. Thank you. 😊

Im unfortunately not the one to ask about any medical issues but im sure if you wrote this as its own thread im sure someone would be able to help. This forum has loads of people with great advice.
Hope you find the answers you need soon

 

[Kellyfeay]

Thank you.. Still trying to navigate the forum..not sure how to start my own thread. 😊

 

[bradtort]

Thank you.. Still trying to navigate the forum..not sure how to start my own thread. 😊

If your on an iphone or similar like myself then go to the home page and click on where you would like to post for example introductions or general discussion then in the top right it should say new thread or new post.

 

[Kellyfeay]

Thank you.. 😊

 

[Lyn W]

Good evening.. you seem to be well knowledge on your hermann tortoise.. just looking for a bit of advice please. I purchased a two year old last July.. I started to notice my little one was sleeping more than normal with a loss of appetite so I got a worm test done which did show that they were presant so I bought a wormer from a reptile shop but it didn't seem to do anything.. then I bought some pancur few weeks later which has worked as I saw them whilst we bathed the little one.. but still seems not right this was a week ago.. do they take a little time to recover? Or should I see an improvement by now? Any advice would be so much appreciated as I am so stressed about the little one.. Thank you. 😊

Hi Kelly,
If you post your own thread in Introductions you'll get a big welcome and great advice on your tort health. If you also post pictures of your tort and his enclosure and the lamps you are using, members will help you make sure your tort has everything he needs and is as safe and happy as possible.
Pet shops, some breeders and even non specialist vets are still giving out old and incorrect information, but you'll only get the best up to date advice here.

 

[Kellyfeay]

Thank you