Adult/Juvenile Hermanns humidity requirement and indoor cage size

OMary

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I have a very large male yearly (about 15 months), who is 4" and 200g. His shell is very smooth, because he has been raised following guidelines here! I want to separate him now from the other yearly (since it is now evident at least one is a male). First, what is a decent size for an indoor enclosure to house one Hermanns? And should I keep maintaining the humidity at 70%, or just have a humid hide? @HermanniChris

Ideally, I would like to switch him to an enclosure with heat panels (Pro-Heat) with separate UVB tube and move away from basking lights (reduced fire risk and better energy efficiency). It is much more energy efficient to do this in a closed cage (with vents), rather than an open top. If the cage has ventilation, do I have to use an open top cage for an adult? Thanks!
 

JoesMum

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Your torts must be able to bask. Basking is necessary for a tort to raise its internal body temperature in order to digest its food and be active.

Heat panels won't give your torts the specific spot heat that they need.
 

OMary

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Radiant heat panels are meant to create basking radiant heat from above like the sun.
 

HermanniChris

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Humidity is not as important once they have reached that size. Are you certain it's only 15 months? That is exceptionally large for a Hermann's to have reached that size so quickly.
 

Chanchara

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Humidity is not as important once they have reached that size. Are you certain it's only 15 months? That is exceptionally large for a Hermann's to have reached that size so quickly.
who is 4" and 200g.

I think there must be some mistake. :eek:
If the tortoise length - 10 cm, the weight should be about 200 grams...
 

OMary

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Thanks @HermanniChris I don't have a hatch date. I got him in Sept. 2015 at about 40-45g. He is growing FAST. Smooth, but fast. I estimated about June for hatching, but I am not sure. My others aren't growing that quickly (1 other Hermann's, 1 Leopard- yes, he's growing faster than my Leopard!).
 

Chanchara

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Humidity is not as important once they have reached that size. Are you certain it's only 15 months? That is exceptionally large for a Hermann's to have reached that size so quickly.
About size and weight...
(I do not remember was writing or not about a breeder from Croatia?)

His torts (Hermanny) are 154 g - 1 year, and 264 g - 2years.








 

enzot91

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Thanks @HermanniChris I don't have a hatch date. I got him in Sept. 2015 at about 40-45g. He is growing FAST. Smooth, but fast. I estimated about June for hatching, but I am not sure. My others aren't growing that quickly (1 other Hermann's, 1 Leopard- yes, he's growing faster than my Leopard!).

I'm far from an expert, but I think it's very likely that your tortoise was older than you believe when you got him. I have an eastern Hermann's that hatched in June 2016 who weighs 24 grams now.
 

OMary

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That may be. I had gotten another at the same time who was 28g. He was a 2015 hatchling, but the date is uncertain. At least I bought him as a 2015 hatchling...
 

FLGirl41

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I just wanted to chime in on the topic of fast growth. I have a female western Hermann's that's a yearling (hatched October 2015 by @HermanniChris). When I got her in January of 2016, she was 2" SCL and 25 grams. Only 14 months later, she's now 4" SCL and 245 grams. Given the adult female size for T. hermanni hermanni Apulia locale is 5-6", she's made huge headway in only one year. I didn't encourage the rapid growth and fed her small amounts of home-grown weeds and Mazuri tortoise diet on a daily basis. I tried skipping feedings on some days but she would pace to the point of flipping herself over in search of food. Her carapace growth has been smooth and even. I don't know if this is an indication she's bound to be larger than normal, or rather she will reach her adult size a bit sooner.

January 2016




This week (March 2017)




I track all my pets' growth and it's interesting to see the difference in growth rates among chelonian species. I also have a female loggerhead musk turtle, a species which is a bit smaller as a hatchling but reaches roughly the same adult size. In one year, my Hermann's girl has outsized my 6-year-old musk girl, who took 6 years to reach the same length but is still more streamlined at 196 grams. This is why it's fun and constantly fascinating to keep chelonians.

 

OMary

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That is how my Hermann's has grown, @FLGirl41 His growth is really smooth. He has now been in this table top for at least 6 months. His growth is still smooth. His rate of growth is faster than my baby leopard tortoise.
 

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