Small crack

[Kingwul]

Hi there we have 16 year old Herman and he has a small crack on his back in line with his tail he is eating drinking etc just wondered if we should get him to a vet or will it heal by itself we think it was damaged in the garden we let him out in the summer to roam around garden and he likes to hide under things and wonder if he has scraped it of something he lives in fairly large tank and gets 10-12 hrs uvb solarglow daily and eats fresh fruit and bags of salad leaves and has regular showers and a bath to walk around to clean his under section he loves it any help advice would be welcome regards william

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

Hello! Don’t suppose you can upload a photo? You click attach files and then photo library.

Some off the bat advice, I’d consider having a look at your indoor set up as glass tanks run too small for adult Herman’s to spend significant time in, also all in one uvb and heat bulbs aren’t the best choice,
for an indoor uv light you want a tube fluorescent t5 light, the brands to go for are Arcadia prot5 kit 12%, which comes with the reflective fitting, or zoo med reptisun t5 10.0, which usually needs the hood buying separately.
With the uv timing, every other source of information will tell you 12hours of uv. This is essentially an old fashioned rule that has stuck with a lot of keepers, it stems from the presumption that once the basking light or ambient lighting is on, ie the ‘sun’, that uv must coexist the same amount of hours. Fact is, uv rays only peak for a few hours a day, anyone with a uv meter will confirm this. No tortoise is blasted with 12 hours of uv in the wild, therefore it’s not necessary in captivity.
The right uv bulbs are much more expensive to replace once their uv strength diminishes, so it’s definitely best having it on a 4 hour timer that provides them with all the uv they need, saving your bulb life.
Then some cheaper led lighting for your ambient 12 hour light cycle as well as the basking light on the same 12hrs, your ceramics(if needed) will run 24/7 on a thermostat, this will all make more sense once you look over the links provided.

I’d also stop feeding fruits, Herman’s can’t digest the sugars properly.

I think you’ll find this housing thread useful, it covers correct equipment(uvb, heating bulbs, lighting etc), sizing(you can get away with smaller indoors if you can build a larger outdoor space when weather permits), appropriately maintaining the humidity, safe substrates, there’s lots of visual examples for everything, and a really handy diet link to check out!

Housing adult Russian and Hermans indoors

Hello there! In this thread I’m going to include some information an example of an appropriate indoor set up for an older Herman/russian. As much as it’s encouraged to have tortoises in a safe outdoor enclosure, I understand being from the uk myself, that some climates make it difficult to...

tortoiseforum.org

This includes lots of inspiration for an adult set up both indoors and out! The indoor bit has some good ideas to tackle indoor space whilst still providing the needed roaming room! Check comments too, I’m always adding to it. I know the recommended adult size is intimidating to some, especially if you’ve been lead into thinking he’ll be fine in a smaller set up(very common) but tortoises long term health really does rely on lots of roaming room. If you’re unable to go that big, go as big as you can

Enclosure inspiration

Howdy folks! Hope everyone is well! As you all know, I’m a big fan of making threads that cater more towards visual learners like myself, I’ve really been wanting to create a thread full of adult enclosure inspiration for a while now, I’ve managed to find some great references over time! I do...

tortoiseforum.org

Lastly, this one here is probably most important to go over and keep on hand, it’ll help you avoid the wrong bulbs, substrates, housing etc, I always encourage double checking purchases on the forum too before buying

Common keeping errors

Hello everyone! I’d been a long time lurker on this site long before joining just under a year ago now, over that time I’ve seen these husbandry issues come up time and time again, sometimes with dire consequences☹️ I thought this thread might serve as a good visual guide for these common...

tortoiseforum.org

Hope they help! I know it’s a lot to go over, so take all the time you need! We can answer any further questions! Hopefully once we get a photo members can advise on the crack for you, welcome to the forum!!

 

[Kingwul]

Hello! Don’t suppose you can upload a photo? You click attach files and then photo library.

Some off the bat advice, I’d consider having a look at your indoor set up as glass tanks run too small for adult Herman’s to spend significant time in, also all in one uvb and heat bulbs aren’t the best choice,
for an indoor uv light you want a tube fluorescent t5 light, the brands to go for are Arcadia prot5 kit 12%, which comes with the reflective fitting, or zoo med reptisun t5 10.0, which usually needs the hood buying separately.
With the uv timing, every other source of information will tell you 12hours of uv. This is essentially an old fashioned rule that has stuck with a lot of keepers, it stems from the presumption that once the basking light or ambient lighting is on, ie the ‘sun’, that uv must coexist the same amount of hours. Fact is, uv rays only peak for a few hours a day, anyone with a uv meter will confirm this. No tortoise is blasted with 12 hours of uv in the wild, therefore it’s not necessary in captivity.
The right uv bulbs are much more expensive to replace once their uv strength diminishes, so it’s definitely best having it on a 4 hour timer that provides them with all the uv they need, saving your bulb life.
Then some cheaper led lighting for your ambient 12 hour light cycle as well as the basking light on the same 12hrs, your ceramics(if needed) will run 24/7 on a thermostat, this will all make more sense once you look over the links provided.

I’d also stop feeding fruits, Herman’s can’t digest the sugars properly.

I think you’ll find this housing thread useful, it covers correct equipment(uvb, heating bulbs, lighting etc), sizing(you can get away with smaller indoors if you can build a larger outdoor space when weather permits), appropriately maintaining the humidity, safe substrates, there’s lots of visual examples for everything, and a really handy diet link to check out!

Housing adult Russian and Hermans indoors

Hello there! In this thread I’m going to include some information an example of an appropriate indoor set up for an older Herman/russian. As much as it’s encouraged to have tortoises in a safe outdoor enclosure, I understand being from the uk myself, that some climates make it difficult to...

tortoiseforum.org

This includes lots of inspiration for an adult set up both indoors and out! The indoor bit has some good ideas to tackle indoor space whilst still providing the needed roaming room! Check comments too, I’m always adding to it. I know the recommended adult size is intimidating to some, especially if you’ve been lead into thinking he’ll be fine in a smaller set up(very common) but tortoises long term health really does rely on lots of roaming room. If you’re unable to go that big, go as big as you can

Enclosure inspiration

Howdy folks! Hope everyone is well! As you all know, I’m a big fan of making threads that cater more towards visual learners like myself, I’ve really been wanting to create a thread full of adult enclosure inspiration for a while now, I’ve managed to find some great references over time! I do...

tortoiseforum.org

Lastly, this one here is probably most important to go over and keep on hand, it’ll help you avoid the wrong bulbs, substrates, housing etc, I always encourage double checking purchases on the forum too before buying

Common keeping errors

Hello everyone! I’d been a long time lurker on this site long before joining just under a year ago now, over that time I’ve seen these husbandry issues come up time and time again, sometimes with dire consequences☹️ I thought this thread might serve as a good visual guide for these common...

tortoiseforum.org

Hope they help! I know it’s a lot to go over, so take all the time you need! We can answer any further questions! Hopefully once we get a photo members can advise on the crack for you, welcome to the forum!!

Hi there thanks for reply I will upload set up pics tomorrow and will really look forward to reply and advice many thanks william

 

[The_Four_Toed_Edward]

Hi there thanks for reply I will upload set up pics tomorrow and will really look forward to reply and advice many thanks william

We can advice better tomorrow after you have uploaded the photos.

 

[Kingwul]

We can advice better tomorrow after you have uploaded the photos.

Please find attached pics of tortoise and tank regards William

 

[The_Four_Toed_Edward]

Is this the spot where the crack is?

 

[Kingwul]

Is this the spot where the crack is?
View attachment 387930

Yes that is were the crack is and any advice on this would be helpful thanks

 

[The_Four_Toed_Edward]

Yes that is were the crack is and any advice on this would be helpful thanks

I am not sure, but it looks old, how long has it been there?

 

[Kingwul]

I am not sure, but it looks old, how long has it been there?

We only really noticed it this week when he was in the bath, do you think his enclosure looks ok if does have a strip light in it too and we will lower his uvb time and make use of strip light too

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

We only really noticed it this week when he was in the bath, do you think his enclosure looks ok if does have a strip light in it too and we will lower his uvb time and make use of strip light too

Going to tag these guys to take a look @Yvonne G @Tom @zovick

I will say enclosure is cute but much too small for an adult Herman, I’d have a look at those links for some indoor inspiration if you can

 

[The_Four_Toed_Edward]

do you think his enclosure looks ok if does have a strip light in it too and we will lower his uvb time and make use of strip light too

I noticed you have one of those clamp lamps, don't rely on the clamp for holding it up, they are known for failing.

What is the substrate you are using?

 

[Kingwul]

I noticed you have one of those clamp lamps, don't rely on the clamp for holding it up, they are known for failing.

What is the substrate you are using?

The substrate is ornamental play bark and is change regular he seem to like it we tried soil and sands and coir and found he likes this best

 

[The_Four_Toed_Edward]

The substrate is ornamental play bark and is change regular he seem to like it we tried soil and sands and coir and found he likes this best

What tree does it come from? When it comes to barks, orchid fir bark is recommended.

 

[Kingwul]

What tree does it come from? When it comes to barks, orchid fir bark is recommended.

The bark was from beech, fagus sylvatica but I will certainly look at getting orchid fit bark next

 

[Kingwul]

The bark was from beech, fagus sylvatica but I will certainly look at getting orchid fit bark next

Going back to the crack on his shell what should we do about it?

 

[Tom]

Hi there we have 16 year old Herman and he has a small crack on his back in line with his tail he is eating drinking etc just wondered if we should get him to a vet or will it heal by itself we think it was damaged in the garden we let him out in the summer to roam around garden and he likes to hide under things and wonder if he has scraped it of something he lives in fairly large tank and gets 10-12 hrs uvb solarglow daily and eats fresh fruit and bags of salad leaves and has regular showers and a bath to walk around to clean his under section he loves it any help advice would be welcome regards william

Hello and welcome. Here are my notes:
1. The crack looks like a split scute anomaly. Some tortoises have this from the day they hatch. I don't think it is from an injury or problem. I don't think there is anything that needs to be done about it.
2. The enclosure is much too small for you tortoise. You need something 4x8 feet for a adult Testudo. (122x244cm)
3. The hole for your basking light is letting all your heat and humidity out. Best to have all the heating and lighting contained inside.
4. Here is a breakdown of the four heating and lighting essentials:

1. Basking bulb. I use 65 watt incandescent floods from the hardware store. Some people will need bigger, or smaller wattage bulbs. Let your thermometer be your guide. I run them on a timer for about 12 hours and adjust the height to get the correct basking temp under them. I also like to use a flat rock of some sort directly under the bulb. You need to check the temp with a thermometer directly under the bulb and get it to around 95-100F (36-37C).
2. Ambient heat maintenance. I use ceramic heating elements or radiant heat panels set on thermostats to maintain ambient above 80 degrees day and night for tropical species. In most cases you'd only need day heat for a temperate species like Testudo or DT, as long as your house stays above 60F (15-16C) at night. Some people in colder climates or with larger enclosures will need multiple CHEs or RHPs to spread out enough heat.
3. Ambient light. I use LEDs for this purpose. Something in the 5000-6500K color range will look the best. Most bulbs at the store are in the 2500K range and they look yellowish. Strip or screw-in LED bulb types are both fine.
4. UV. If you can get your tortoise outside for an hour 2 or 3 times a week, you won't need indoor UV. In colder climates, get one of the newer HO type fluorescent tubes. Which type will depend on mounting height. 5.0 bulbs make almost no UV. I like the 12% HO bulbs from Arcadia. You need a meter to check this: https://www.solarmeter.com/model65.html A good UV bulb only needs to run for 2-3 hours mid day. You need the basking bulb and the ambient lighting to be on at least 12 hours a day.

5. Beech chips are not a good substrate because the material will mold when kept properly damp. More on substrate and many other important aspects of tortoise care here:

Info For New People. Please Read This First.

Hello and welcome to tortoiseforum.org! We are all glad you are here! There is no other forum like this anywhere. We have tens of thousands of members from all over the world ranging from kids with their first tortoise to people who have been breeding and keeping high end tortoises since the...

tortoiseforum.org

6. The food needs to be contained in a dish of some sort to keep it off of the substrate.

Your questions about any of this are welcome.

 

[zovick]

Yes that is were the crack is and any advice on this would be helpful thanks

That is the supracaudal scute in the photo with the blue outline around the separation in the center. Many Hermann's Tortoises (especially the Western subspecies) have a divided supracaudal scute just like that which yours has. It is normal and not due to any injury.

The division in your tortoise also extends upward into the middle of the 5th central scute which is not normal, but again, not due to an injury. That type of split is more to be considered a "birth defect" or scute anomaly often called a split scute. It will cause no problems and has been there since the tortoise hatched.

 

[Kingwul]

That is the supracaudal scute in the photo with the blue outline around the separation in the center. Many Hermann's Tortoises (especially the Western subspecies) have a divided supracaudal scute just like that which yours has. It is normal and not due to any injury.

The division in your tortoise also extends upward into the middle of the 5th central scute which is not normal, but again, not due to an injury. That type of split is more to be considered a "birth defect" or scute anomaly often called a split scute. It will cause no problems and has been there since the tortoise hatched.

Thank you kindly for your reply I am so glad I joined this tremendous forum.