I first want to thank all of the members who are putting in countless hours posting replies and helping people out. I, like many others, did an enormous amount of research before getting my Hermann’s tortoise. I was so confused by all the conflicting information. The only thing I knew for sure, was that I wanted to give my tortoise the best possible like I could. Thankfully I found this forum before I brought my tortoise home. I don’t just want him to survive, I want him to thrive. Reading all of the advice the experts have given other people has indirectly helped me so much and has prepared me for situations that I could come across in the future. I am more grateful than I can even express.
So this is my tortoise, Dozer. He’s an Eastern Hermann’s tortoise and I got him from a breeder in Northern Saskatchewan on August 2, 2019. It was an 8 hour round trip to go get him, and it was love at first sight. His hatch date is May 4th, 2019 and when I got him, he weighed just 24 grams. Today he is just shy of 13 1/2 cm long and weighs 480 grams.
I recently had a new enclosure built for him out of 3/4” expanded PVC. It is approx 7ft x 4ft and has 2ft high walls. It is an open top enclosure. I have his setup in a west facing spare bedroom on the 2nd floor of my house. This is the warmest room in the house and I’ve been able to maintain the temps and humidity he requires fairly easily. This is a smaller bedroom, so I think that helps a lot. I do have the option of throwing a tarp over it or fully enclosing it down the road if I feel it’s necessary. I am using 65 watt incandescent flood light bulbs (br30) on both ends of the enclosure. The lamp stand in the middle has a che in it that is on a thermostat. I’m also using a zoo med 10.0 uv fluorescent tube in a Sunblaster fixture. Because I live in a place that has way too many cold months, Dozer has to live indoors year round. He is able to spend a little bit of time in an outdoor enclosure in the few summer months we have but that doesn’t amount to too much outside time in a year.
This is the new enclosure once it was brought to my house and assembled. It had to be assembled onsite as it wouldn’t fit up the stairs otherwise. The 3/4” pieces are just screwed together and some marine grade silicone is on the inside seams.
And here is the enclosure all set up.
I was so afraid of how he was going to handle the move to the new enclosure. Once I had the enclosure I started to let Dozer run around in it for a few minutes at a time and I placed some of the new things in the enclosure so he could get used to seeing some of it. The enclosure wasn’t fully set up or anything, it was just to slowly ease him into being in the new space. The first time I placed him in it, he didn’t even move. The second time he ventured out a couple of feet...and after a month of spending little bits of time in it, it was almost like he would get mad when I’d take him out of the new enclosure to put him back in his old enclosure. That’s when I knew he was ready for the move. So he’s been in the new enclosure for about 2 weeks now. He’s adjusted really well. It’s been really fun watching him explore and figuring out what he does and doesn’t like. It seems everyday so far I’ve made an adjustment of some sort. This little guy has brought so much joy and purpose to my life. I can’t imagine life without him.
So this is my tortoise, Dozer. He’s an Eastern Hermann’s tortoise and I got him from a breeder in Northern Saskatchewan on August 2, 2019. It was an 8 hour round trip to go get him, and it was love at first sight. His hatch date is May 4th, 2019 and when I got him, he weighed just 24 grams. Today he is just shy of 13 1/2 cm long and weighs 480 grams.
I recently had a new enclosure built for him out of 3/4” expanded PVC. It is approx 7ft x 4ft and has 2ft high walls. It is an open top enclosure. I have his setup in a west facing spare bedroom on the 2nd floor of my house. This is the warmest room in the house and I’ve been able to maintain the temps and humidity he requires fairly easily. This is a smaller bedroom, so I think that helps a lot. I do have the option of throwing a tarp over it or fully enclosing it down the road if I feel it’s necessary. I am using 65 watt incandescent flood light bulbs (br30) on both ends of the enclosure. The lamp stand in the middle has a che in it that is on a thermostat. I’m also using a zoo med 10.0 uv fluorescent tube in a Sunblaster fixture. Because I live in a place that has way too many cold months, Dozer has to live indoors year round. He is able to spend a little bit of time in an outdoor enclosure in the few summer months we have but that doesn’t amount to too much outside time in a year.
This is the new enclosure once it was brought to my house and assembled. It had to be assembled onsite as it wouldn’t fit up the stairs otherwise. The 3/4” pieces are just screwed together and some marine grade silicone is on the inside seams.
And here is the enclosure all set up.
I was so afraid of how he was going to handle the move to the new enclosure. Once I had the enclosure I started to let Dozer run around in it for a few minutes at a time and I placed some of the new things in the enclosure so he could get used to seeing some of it. The enclosure wasn’t fully set up or anything, it was just to slowly ease him into being in the new space. The first time I placed him in it, he didn’t even move. The second time he ventured out a couple of feet...and after a month of spending little bits of time in it, it was almost like he would get mad when I’d take him out of the new enclosure to put him back in his old enclosure. That’s when I knew he was ready for the move. So he’s been in the new enclosure for about 2 weeks now. He’s adjusted really well. It’s been really fun watching him explore and figuring out what he does and doesn’t like. It seems everyday so far I’ve made an adjustment of some sort. This little guy has brought so much joy and purpose to my life. I can’t imagine life without him.