Recent content by Sdapsam

No, Galapagos, Aldabras, and Radiated tortoises do not brumate. These are tropical species and so must be kept warm all year round.

Thanks! It's been a real labour of love thats for sure. I still think it needs a bit more, vegetation, logs, etc. But we're getting there! His main hide is under the rock formation at the back, 99% humidity all the time, last time I checked. You would be forgiven for thinking that, i took...

Hi! Thanks for your response. Right? I had that thought too. Initially i thought it was the bulb i swapped out, but he's still doing it today. So perhaps it is something else. The exact height of my UVB, from the bulb itself to the ground, is 55cm. The ground is slightly uneven in places, so...

More to add after nearly another full day: hyperactive again, so now I’m even more confused. A calm morning but the rest of the day he was exploring his enclosure and managed to flip himself again. He did eat, but only a small amount again.

Hey everyone - thank you for taking the time to look at my query. Overall, I think I am just overcomplicating something here! It seems my tortoise wants to brumate, or at least is preparing himself for it. But I can't be sure. It is my first year with him and so I'm not used to this kind of...

I've read so much of this thread but sadly I don't have time to go through every post like I'd wish to, so I apologise if my question has been answered in it already. I have an Eastern Hermanns tortoise who is 1 year and 2 months old, currently weighing 130 grams. I'm confident I finally got...

Hi all, Currently my tortoise enclosure substrate is fine grade orchid bark. It's great, everything is humid enough and it's fairly neat and tidy. But I'm wondering what it would be like if I mixed it with coconut coir, just to help my tortoise burrow down when he wants to, as well as make it a...

Thats right, Ernest is a Hermanns :) Super helpful, thank you! It's little things like this that are closing up my tortoise knowledge gaps. And this makes perfect sense of course. I think I'll definitely steer to 'enclosed chamber for the rest of it's life', whilst the weather doesn't allow...

Hi all, Currently, my tortoise is almost exactly 1 year old. I got him (we're not sure on the gender yet but are going with 'him') when he was 8 months. At the age of 1, is he still considered to be a hatchling? If not, what would be considered as now? To prevent pyramiding, I know that...

Ah, I’m so sorry. Perhaps it was because I’m using the UK Amazon rather than the US… I have instead provided screenshots of the product, hopefully you can tell from these. How horrible that they change the names of products, companies are just the worst. Please let me know if these are indeed...

Hi Tom, thanks for checking out my post. The basking bulb doesn’t seem to be a mercury vapour bulb. I have read your posts about this in the past and tried to avoid it. This is the one I am using and it doesn’t mention being a mercury vapour bulb anywhere...

I've had him since late march, so he was already 7 months old when I got him and his shell isn't really looking too different since then I don't think (hard to tell in the span of only 2 months). The breeder I purchased him from did soak him and his siblings every day and had done since they...

Thank you. For the basking bulb I'm using an Arcadia 100 watt solar basking flood light. It's hanging at a height whereby the ground temperature is about 36 degrees celsius. For the CHE I'm using an Arcadia 100 Watt infrared bulb hooked up to a thermostat (ministat 600 I believe). That switches...

Hi everyone, thanks so much for checking this post. This is my 9 month old eastern Hermann’s tortoise, Ernest. He’s an absolute delight! But I’m worried he could be starting to pyramid as his shell looks bumpy to my eye. When my wife and I were researching tortoises before getting one, we...

Hi everyone, Hoping someone can point me to a reputable breeder of tortoises in the UK, ideally in the South. I’m looking to buy a baby Hermann’s tortoise. I’ve been researching them to no end through posts on this forum and beyond, and I am well committed to looking after it properly. I am...