Hello friends, I am looking to make an addition to my family and am interested in a tiny hermanns tortoise at a local pet shop . I've been a long time reptile person (along with a lifetime of other animal children) I kept mostly chameleons and had a box turtle which made me decide that having animals that eat other animals is not something I want to do this time around . anyway there is a tiny guy and after reading a ton on this forum (chameleon forums were such a great resource, I love hearing from the front line people) I feel like the Hermann might be a good option staying relatively small in size and not meat eaters . however I'm slightly worried about how tiny this guy is he's about 3 months old and seems like he's doing great in the store but are they super fragile at that age? And is this a good age to start? I have a 20gal long tank (yes, I'm aware of the turtle table)but is this a good enclosure for this guy for the first year or two until I can get space for a turtle table? The lights I have are an 18 inch flourecent tube and fixtures for basking .I'm familiar with having to spray down enclosures and humidity levels that are impossible to keep high with the tropical chameleon but what is the right humidity for these kinds of tortoises? I'm a vegetarian so the food won't be an issue I always have dark greens in the house but was wondering about the mention of weeds in the care sheet and where do I find them? I live in an apartment and we have winters in Chicago I intend to have him roam around in an area for exercise .Is this a good indoor option?
Also is the coco coir people are mentioning the eco-earth stuff you can find in pet stores? I had used that in the digging pots for my female chameleons and for the box turtle at one point but I switched him to carpet when he proved to have issues with that mixed with bark .
I have plants inside the house What house plants if any can he be around?
Finally is there issues with female tortoises and eggs? Do they lay eggs even if not around males?
Thanks for helping me make my decision I'm pretty sure I can handle these guys but I'm just worried about him being so tiny and me being new to tortoises even though I'm not new to reptiles. I was successful with chameleons but those guys are totally different .
Thank goodness for forums!!
Also is the coco coir people are mentioning the eco-earth stuff you can find in pet stores? I had used that in the digging pots for my female chameleons and for the box turtle at one point but I switched him to carpet when he proved to have issues with that mixed with bark .
I have plants inside the house What house plants if any can he be around?
Finally is there issues with female tortoises and eggs? Do they lay eggs even if not around males?
Thanks for helping me make my decision I'm pretty sure I can handle these guys but I'm just worried about him being so tiny and me being new to tortoises even though I'm not new to reptiles. I was successful with chameleons but those guys are totally different .
Thank goodness for forums!!