Work in progress (set up for a Hermann's)

[DanaLachney]

Ok I'm planning to get a Dalmatian Hermann's in a few weeks and ive done my rrsearch and here's what i've got so far.....

Substrate: 60-70% organic top soil or potting soil, 20-25% coco coir and the remainder sphagnum moss and leaves.
Thoroughly mixed and about 2-2.5" deep. Spray twice daily and once a week thoroughly saturate and churn the substrate to keep it moist.

Humidity: 50-75%

Lighting/Heating/basking spot temp: still working on that, I can't seem to find any clear answers on it.

Diet: Bok Choy, endive, escarole, cilantro, occasional carrots, mustard greens, dandelions, basil, mulberry leaves, optunia cactus, Grape leaves, holly hock leaves, clover, hawkbits, sowthistle, hawkweeds, hawkbeards, plantains, honeysuckle, cat's ears, vetches, mallows, Bindweeds, sedums, ivy leafed toadflax, various grasses and of course Mazuri tortoise diet

Supplements: rep-cal 2 times a week and herptivite once a week. Calcium with D3 not sure how much.

All advice is welcome

 

[DanaLachney]

Nobody has anything to add to this?!

 

[dmarcus]

Since I don't have a small Hermanns I am not sure what they require. It all sounds good to me. I didn't see hides but I am sure you have that covered already...

 

[DanaLachney]

Well of course I didnt add that type of stuff but it's all written down I'm just getting advice on the not so common sense stuff like things people with experience have found to work or not work. For my hides I plan to use a humid hide made out of a Tupperware container with a whole cut and some coco coir substrate. And I'll also have a couple other half log hides as I'm gonna have at least two babies

 

[DanaLachney]

Also is TNT Total nutrition for tortoises from carolinapetsupply.com good for Hermann's?

 

[wellington]

I know nothing about them to help you. However if you would like to pm someone that does have them, may I suggest GBTortoises. Good luck and I am sure GBTortoises will be able to answer all your questions. Hopefully some more advice will also come your way in this thread also. Good luck.

 

[DanaLachney]

Thank you

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Well on the subject of heating I've got this so far...
Day time temps: 70-90 degrees
Nighttime temps: 60-65 degrees
Basking temps: 90-95 degrees

Possibly use Reptisun 5.0 bulb?
And dust food with calcium on days they aren't outside...

 

[lynnedit]

Yes, TNT powder (I get it with the probiotics) is great for all weed eating tortoises, as that is mainly what it is made up of. A very good product and rich in calcium, might still have free shipping right now. If you use this you don't need the other supplements. YOu can keep a cuttlebone (like for birds) in the enclosure for the tort to nibble on.
Use Spring Mix as a base, and then rotate 1-2 of the other greens with it until gone, then pick 2 new ones. Keep rotating for variety. Hopefully in the warmer months you can grow weeds (lol), hibiscus, etc., outdoors, and perhaps keep your tort out there in a secure enclosure as well.

I believe a nice basking spot with an MVB like a Powersun is a good start. A smaller secondary house or basking bulb OR a UV strip if the enclosure needs brightening up. (Med torts don't seem to do well in a dim enclosure). Night heat if your house gets colder than 60-65 at night, I believe (confirm this with GBtortoises)

 

[cherylim]

All sounds good to me

Lighting/heat-wise, Emrys just has an MVB over one side of his enclosure - no other supplemental heat because I don't allow my house to go below tropical temperatures, but something to consider if you'd prefer a house more suited to normal humans.

Looks like you've got everything else all worked out, though!

 

[GBtortoises]

"Lighting/Heating/basking spot temp: still working on that, I can't seem to find any clear answers on it."

Heat can be provided primarily by the basking light in most cases as long as the room that the enclosure is located in has normal comfort level temperatures that most people maintain their house at. Daytime temperatures at the coolest end of the enclosure can be in the range of about 74-82 degrees. Directly under the basking light should be about 90-105 degrees, no hotter for young tortoises. The heat emitted by the basking light will warm the surrounding area enough to create a warm to cool temperature gradient within the enclosure. At night the temperatures can be in the 55-65 degree range with around 60 being ideal. Many people make the mistake of keeping Northern Mediterranean Testudo species much too warm at night. They require about a 15-20 degree temperature difference from day to night for normal activity.
Some people are now using MVB lamps. They work well for what they are intended. But I do not like using them for very young, small tortoises. The wattages are just too high and when mounted at a distance to make the UV beneficial it's usually so close that it produces too much localized heat. When mounted farther away to decrease the amount of heat you begin to lose the benefit of the UV output. A baby tortoise can very quickly become dehydrated when trying to bask in temperatures too hot. They have a driving instinct to bask in a bright, hot spot and will continue to go back to it again and again. So the basking spot has to be ideal for them. I prefer to use a fluorescent tube UV light mounted about 12" from the surface in conjunction with a standard incandscent bulb to produce basking heat. A standard daylight or white light (not "warm") bulb or GE Reveal bulbs work well. Heat at the basking surface can easily be controlled by using the a different wattage bulb (40, 60 or other if necessary) and by moving the fixture farther or closer to the basking surface. Using the two in conjunction with each other gives better overall light and control of temperatures.


"Diet: Bok Choy, endive, escarole, cilantro, occasional carrots, mustard greens, dandelions, basil, mulberry leaves, optunia cactus, Grape leaves, holly hock leaves, clover, hawkbits, sowthistle, hawkweeds, hawkbeards, plantains, honeysuckle, cat's ears, vetches, mallows, Bindweeds, sedums, ivy leafed toadflax, various grasses and of course Mazuri tortoise diet."

Diet should consist of a varied good quality diet. Hermann's eat primarily greens as well as fresh plant shoots. They are also opportunistic feeders and will eat flowers and other vegetable matter. I feed a diet of about 80% greens and 20% mixed vegetables for some added vitamins and minerals. The list of foods that they can consume is nearly endless. It is impossible to list everything. But generally wild weeds from outdoors can consist of: Broad and narrow leaf plantains, red, white & purple clover, dandelion, sow thistle, chicory, lambsquarter, purslane, crown vetch and much more. Grocery store greens can consist of: Escarole, endive, chicory, dandelion, romaine, some green and red leaf lettuce, mustard, collard & beet greens, carrot tops, kale, some spinach and more. Vegetables can consist of: Squashes, pumpkin, bell pepper, carrot, peas, green and yellow beans, peas and more. The key is variety.
I personally do not coat foods with calcium and have never seen a need to add supplemental vitamins when feeding a good quality, varied diet. In general most species of tortoise get a diet far richer in captivity than their body is evolved to absorb and much more than they would ever be exposed to in the wild. This excessive amount of vitamin intake can often show up in a tortoises accelerated growth (along with other factors present).
I offer powdered calcium in a small, shallow dish available 24/7 within their enclosure. I have found that different tortoises consume different amounts of the calcium powder at different stages of their growth and development as well as different times of the year in the case of adults. I also break cuttlebone into very small pieces and scatter them througout the enclosure for additional calcium sources. I often see the babies munching on them.
I also keep a small pile of chopped up timothy hay, as well as some occasional alfalfa hay in a corner for them to graze on for additional fiber as needed. Babies rarely eat it, but some do as they grow older.

 

[HtVic]

for substrate, to saving some trouble, what can't we just use one kind of substrate instead mixing?

 

[DanaLachney]

Thank you for all the great info

 

[GBtortoises]

for substrate, to saving some trouble, what can't we just use one kind of substrate instead mixing?

There are a variety of substrates that work well for baby Hermann's (as well as other species). I'm just stating the combination that has worked well for me and achieved what I wanted it to do. I've tried many different stand alone substrates, as well as mixing combinations. Some work well, some not so much. The combination that I use does what I want it to, that's all. The main thing that I would recommend with baby Testudo is find a substrate that does not completely dry out too quickly and is solid enough to allow them to bury themselves in it but also firm enough on top to provide good footing which is important for good leg muscle development.

 

[cherylim]

Yep, there are certainly options for only using one substrate.

I just use soil. It's cheap, easy to find pretty much anywhere, and Emrys loves it.

 

[DanaLachney]

Yep, there are certainly options for only using one substrate.

I just use soil. It's cheap, easy to find pretty much anywhere, and Emrys loves it.

I just love Emrys name I have a friend who named her daughter Emsly lol

 

[DanaLachney]

What you planning on calling yours??

Hmm well now THAT has been the hard part indeed I've been spending many night awake thinking about and have come to the conclusion it's harder to come up with names than I thought I'm open for suggestions though. I'll also be looking online later today and seeing what I can come up with. For some strange reason I keep wanting to call them Thelma and Louise but those are terrible tort names LOL

 

[tyler0912]

I find it harder when your thinking of names...i would wait till you have had the hermann for a couple days observer there behaviour and a name will pop right in your head...that will suite him(?) and his personality!

 

[DanaLachney]

I find it harder when your thinking of names...i would wait till you have had the hermann for a couple days observer there behaviour and a name will pop right in your head...that will suite him(?) and his personality!

I think they are gonna be female. To me it's easier to pick male names than female but that's just me

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Well I've just looked up names of Goddesses and found Fauna and Flora whom are both Goddesses of Vegitation. What do you guys think?

 

[HtVic]

Yep, there are certainly options for only using one substrate.

I just use soil. It's cheap, easy to find pretty much anywhere, and Emrys loves it.

I am so agree with you...

 

[cherylim]

Well I've just looked up names of Goddesses and found Fauna and Flora whom are both Goddesses of Vegitation. What do you guys think?

Love them.