Questions about hermmans

JaySparks

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I got my hermmans yesterday. he/she hatched in july/august 2016. I woke him up last night because I thought he died as he did not move for 5 hours. I gave him about an 1 hour of basking but he went back to bed.I woke up at 7 am this morning and he was awake.My temperature is usually around 33 C is this ok? my bulb seems to just be at this temperature all the time. I have a UVB and basking in one bulb. I live in the uk btw.

I was wondering how long does a tortoise usually sleep?
How long does it take them to wake up?
I have a t-rex resin skull that I think he confused for a cattlefish bone if he ingest some resin will it cause issues? My water bowl and feeding bowls are also resin.
 

enzot91

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Baby tortoises sleep a lot, this is normal and nothing to worry about assuming they're set up properly.

On top of this, young Hermann's tortoises are small, (s)he would have a lot of natural predators in the wild and has no way of knowing that you aren't a threat. It could take a bit of time to settle in, so try not to worry too much.

33 Celsius is fine as a basking temperature for these guys. Some people on here would suggest pushing that up to 35-37, but I don't think that's necessary, they aren't heat lovers like sulcatas or leopards.

You need to monitor more than just the hot spot however. What are the temperatures on the cool side, warm side (not directly under the lamp) and at night?

How big is the enclosure? Does (s)he have a few places to hide? What substrate are you using? It might just be easier to post some pictures!
 

JaySparks

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Today on the basking spot the temp went up to 36c but usually around 33. I'm using a mix of topsoil that has some sand and I mixed in some coconut coir. Im worried that my tortoise may confuse the cocnut coir straws for food. the cold side of the table is around 20-23c.
 

JaySparks

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tortoise table ( 30x18x6in)
 

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JaySparks

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This is what the enclosure looks like. I got him a half log it'll be here tomorrow. I want to put some plants inside too but not sure how safe they are. Do they need to be organic?
 

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Grandpa Turtle 144

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Sorry I'm at work and got interrupted!
That is my Herman as you can see they will out grow your enclosure f a s t . And you may want to keep it away from sand all to gether.
 

JaySparks

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Sorry I'm at work and got interrupted!
That is my Herman as you can see they will out grow your enclosure f a s t . And you may want to keep it away from sand all to gether.
I'm okay with getting another enclosure. A lot of people are using a rabbit cage instead of the wooden table enclosures. What substrate do you recommend? it seems like everyone can't agree with whats best. The most popular mix seems to be topsoil with playsand on a 50 50 ration
 

Grandpa Turtle 144

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I'm okay with getting another enclosure. A lot of people are using a rabbit cage instead of the wooden table enclosures. What substrate do you recommend? it seems like everyone can't agree with whats best. The most popular mix seems to be topsoil with playsand on a 50 50 ration
I put my herrmans outside year around . But I never recommend sand or small rocks because some torts eat them and they can't digest them !
 

TiffytheTort

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I have my tort outside on good days. Have lots of weeds. ;)ImageUploadedByTortoise Forum1496264951.440097.jpg gonna add more weeds since just made this enclosureImageUploadedByTortoise Forum1496264997.971659.jpgTIFFY!!
 
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