Hello, we have just got an adorable 1year old Hermann tortoise. He was very active and happy all day yesterday but today has barely opened his eyes despite moving around his enclosure slowly. He has now buried himself in the corner, head tucked up in shell and back legs stretched out. He hasn't eaten today and yesterday he only ate a bit of cucumber so worried he hasn't eaten enough. Is this normal? Do they usually sleep a lot in the day? Or should we be concerned as seems such a contrast to yesterday's behaviour ? will they sometimes have active days and then tire out? Yesterday he was racing around all over the pen, but today hardly moving about at all! We gave him a luke warm bath today, again barely opening eyes, but he did a wee with runny white substance as well as a solid poo in his house, which I think is normal? For a while he only opened 1 eye, so worried his eye could be upsetting him, or is just opening 1 eye also normal behaviour? sorry for all the questions, neurotic first time mum! Thanks so much in advance
Advice for new 1year old Hermann tortoise please?
- Thread starter Kitty753
- Start date
Correct me if I am wrong but it sounds like you got this tort just yesterday? Can you tell us how you are housing the tortoise? Lights, temps, enclosure type etc. . . It is easy as a new tort owner to overestimate temps at the torts level. If things are even a few degrees too cold it can impact their activity levels significantly.
If I might offer an insight. The tort was probably not happy all day yesterday, it was probably very active because it was frantically seeking familiar territory. This is pretty common after a big change in their environment. After this initial activity, they tend to hide a lot over the next few days as the acclimate to their new space. Try to keep handling the tort to a minimum and let it get used to its enclosure for the next week or so.
Here is the care sheet for you, read and get familiar pls.
The Best Way To Raise Any Temperate Species Of Tortoise | Tortoise Forum
If I might offer an insight. The tort was probably not happy all day yesterday, it was probably very active because it was frantically seeking familiar territory. This is pretty common after a big change in their environment. After this initial activity, they tend to hide a lot over the next few days as the acclimate to their new space. Try to keep handling the tort to a minimum and let it get used to its enclosure for the next week or so.
Here is the care sheet for you, read and get familiar pls.
The Best Way To Raise Any Temperate Species Of Tortoise | Tortoise Forum
Thanks so much, that's really helpful advice thank you for responding so quickly. We will leave him alone to settle but keep a close eye. I hadn't considered that he might not have been happy yesterday...and perhaps more relaxed today... I presumed because he ate yesterday and not today he was more content yesterday. But his not opening his eyes much today is a big concern, he hasn't opened them at all this afternoon. I think they might be stuck shut. Any advice? We have a tortoise table with a mercury vapour all in one bulb heat lamp. We have a thermometer gun which has been saying approx 20 degrees in his bed area and where he is hanging out today at the edge of the heat lamp is saying between 24 - 38 depending on how close to light you go, directly under was hotter early today so have adjusted the height, as worried maybe he was too hot?? He has a terracotta water dish and food dish. We do have coir bedding and unsure if this is good for a young tortoise as he seems to be getting the hairs and little bits stuck to him?! Especially after walking through his water dish then the bits would stick to legs. Could this have caused irritation perhaps the hairs getting to his eyes? Looking into ordering something different like beech chips perhaps? We collected him 3pm on Christmas eve, with his table all set up and ready but he did spend 30min in a plastic box when driving home.
Please post phtotos of your enclosure and lighting. It’s the easiest way for us to understand what’s going on.
It sounds to me like your tortoise is pretty stressed at the moment. Not unusual for a new one.
Assuming we can see your enclosure and help you get the setup right, the next thing to do is to establish a routine so your tortoise learns what to expect and that its new home is safe.
Your lights need to be on for 12-14 hours a day. Use a timer so they come on and go off at the same time every day. This makes your life easier as well as your tort’s.
It needs to be 35-37C directly under the basking lamp at tortoise level which must hang vertically. Without that your tortoise cannot maintain the body temperature it requires to be active, eat and digest food.
Shortly after they come on, soak your tort in warm water in a large flat-bottomed bowl for at leats 30 minutes. The biwl needs high sides and ahould not be see thorugh; a washing up bowl is ideal. The water needs to be just deep enough to come over the join between the plastron (undershell) and the shell. Pooping in the water is normal - don’t panic about it. Change the water if it goes cold.
While your tort soaks, tidy the enclosure, pick out poop and replace the food.
Pop your tort back in and then walk away and leave him to be brave and explore. Resist the temptation to stand and watch. You are intimidating right now, you might want to eat him... Gradually he will learn that you are the bringer of yummy food, but some can be very slow to catch on.
They aren’t social and don’t crave company. They are happiest and healthiest with all 4 feet on he floor of a familiar enclosure with the heat and humidity they need. Don’t pick him out for cuddles and, other than for soaks, leave your tort in his enclosure and never let him roam the floors of your home
It sounds to me like your tortoise is pretty stressed at the moment. Not unusual for a new one.
Assuming we can see your enclosure and help you get the setup right, the next thing to do is to establish a routine so your tortoise learns what to expect and that its new home is safe.
Your lights need to be on for 12-14 hours a day. Use a timer so they come on and go off at the same time every day. This makes your life easier as well as your tort’s.
It needs to be 35-37C directly under the basking lamp at tortoise level which must hang vertically. Without that your tortoise cannot maintain the body temperature it requires to be active, eat and digest food.
Shortly after they come on, soak your tort in warm water in a large flat-bottomed bowl for at leats 30 minutes. The biwl needs high sides and ahould not be see thorugh; a washing up bowl is ideal. The water needs to be just deep enough to come over the join between the plastron (undershell) and the shell. Pooping in the water is normal - don’t panic about it. Change the water if it goes cold.
While your tort soaks, tidy the enclosure, pick out poop and replace the food.
Pop your tort back in and then walk away and leave him to be brave and explore. Resist the temptation to stand and watch. You are intimidating right now, you might want to eat him... Gradually he will learn that you are the bringer of yummy food, but some can be very slow to catch on.
They aren’t social and don’t crave company. They are happiest and healthiest with all 4 feet on he floor of a familiar enclosure with the heat and humidity they need. Don’t pick him out for cuddles and, other than for soaks, leave your tort in his enclosure and never let him roam the floors of your home
I will pick out a couple things you have asked and try to answer specifically.
If the tort is walking around with its eyes closed, that means it cant open them for some reason. The first thing to do is a couple warm soaks a day for half an hour for few days (at least one a day should be routine anyway), and make sure the subtrate on the tort table isnt too dry. Make sure you are not using any coil type flourescent lights in the enclosure and that light sources are above the tort, not angled or from the side, torts eyes can be sensitive.
Coco Coir is ideal, make sure you get the fine grade stuff, some of the big chunky stuff can be a bit hard for little torts to walk around on. It needs to be fairly damp, like a well drained plant pot. Dont get beach chips, if you want to use something else, get orchid bark. In future you may want to put your water dish away from the walls to prevent the tort trampling through it constantly and getting so dirty. When they are young, getting wet a lot can help keep them from drying out so its not bad.
SasquatchTortoise
Active Member
The white material he peed out is called urates, basically concentrated urine. Make sure it is soft and not chunky. If it is chunky/hard, he may just be dehydrated. Make sure he has a damp hide to go in to.
I'm not an expert, but this may help.
I'm not an expert, but this may help.
GMDVM
Member
Congratulations on your new tortoise ! What type of Hermann is he and what from source did he come ? Were his eyes open when you picked him up? Any discharge? Tortoises can go several days without eating- most important to keep him hydrated and avoid stress
Also there is a very good resource for dietary guidelines called the Tortoise Table. Good luck and keep us posted
Also there is a very good resource for dietary guidelines called the Tortoise Table. Good luck and keep us posted
Jerrysmommy
New Member
Hi. I'm also very new but my tortoise also does the same.
Thanks again for your great reply, really helpful, and much appreciated. I have attached some pictures of our current set up, in this pic you can also see he has just been at the water and hence why he has the coir stuck all over his feet again... thats why I've cleared some of the substrate away in case he'd prefer a clearer path. I also added a little make shift shelter at the end in case he does want to hide a bit, will try to get something better for him soon I've changed the order to orchid bark as thought it might be good to try something else. Yes he is walking around with eyes shut so gave him a second lukewarm bath today (although he didn't want to stay in for long) and will repeat 2 more tomorrow.
Thanks again for your kind reply, much appreciated and sorry just getting round to replying. He has continued to be very sleepy with his eyes shut almost all of the time. We contacted a vet later the same day of my original post and he opened his eyes for the vet's short video chat (typical) and was walking being fairly active in that moment. However yesterday I'm not sure if he even opened his eyes at all day. The vet advised to bathe him 3 times a day for 30 mins so we have done that for the last few days. Whilst in the water he moves about a little but with his eyes shut. No wee/poo yesterday or for this mornings bath. We also spoke to the shop where we purchased him from yesterday and asked for more advice. They told us they only bathe them once a month, which was a surprise and at night they had his bedroom temp at 35 degrees, so significantly higher to what we had researched, and being doing, so now not surprised he has not been as happy. He has also changed from a vivarium to our tortoise table set up, so I don't think any of this change has done him any good. I feel so upset with myself for not demanding more thorough care instructions, particularly on how he has been cared for up until now so we could maintain consistency but also upset with them for not giving enough info, being too relaxed handing him over to me and not stressing how important it is to maintain such high temperatures at night. Also feeling so baffled by the many varied opinions on what is best. Current conclusion is that he is trying to hibernate after getting much colder than usual at night, which we are doing our best to counteract by raising his temperature at night and regular temp checks in the day. Despite his basking temp being 35-38 he seems more content to settle further away from the light at about 28 -30 degrees. Also that he was/ still is dehydrated, so hoping the regular baths will slowly help that. Also feel I failed in realising how important humidity levels were, this was never mentioned to me at all when buying him
so have been regularly spraying the substrate last few days but on his first day it definitely would have been too dry for him. Really hoping he picks up, we are doing everything we can think of, but if anyone has any experienced suggestions we are all ears. Between baths we are not disturbing him at all. (Will reply to Joesmum with pic of our set up) Many thanks again for taking the time to respond.
Thanks again for your kind reply, much appreciated and sorry just getting round to replying. He has continued to be very sleepy with his eyes shut almost all of the time. We contacted a vet later the same day of my original post and he opened his eyes for the vet's short video chat (typical) and was walking being fairly active in that moment. However yesterday I'm not sure if he even opened his eyes at all day. The vet advised to bathe him 3 times a day for 30 mins so we have done that for the last few days. Whilst in the water he moves about a little but with his eyes shut. No wee/poo yesterday or for this mornings bath. We also spoke to the shop where we purchased him from yesterday and asked for more advice. They told us they only bathe them once a month, which was a surprise and at night they had his bedroom temp at 35 degrees, so significantly higher to what we had researched, and being doing, so now not surprised he has not been as happy. He has also changed from a vivarium to our tortoise table set up, so I don't think any of this change has done him any good. I feel so upset with myself for not demanding more thorough care instructions, particularly on how he has been cared for up until now so we could maintain consistency but also upset with them for not giving enough info, being too relaxed handing him over to me and not stressing how important it is to maintain such high temperatures at night. Also feeling so baffled by the many varied opinions on what is best. Current conclusion is that he is trying to hibernate after getting much colder than usual at night, which we are doing our best to counteract by raising his temperature at night and regular temp checks in the day. Despite his basking temp being 35-38 he seems more content to settle further away from the light at about 28 -30 degrees. Also that he was/ still is dehydrated, so hoping the regular baths will slowly help that. Also feel I failed in realising how important humidity levels were, this was never mentioned to me at all when buying him
so have been regularly spraying the substrate last few days but on his first day it definitely would have been too dry for him. Really hoping he picks up, we are doing everything we can think of, but if anyone has any experienced suggestions we are all ears. Between baths we are not disturbing him at all. (Will reply to Joesmum with pic of our set up) Many thanks again for taking the time to respond.Hope he's doing better today x
Thank you! No eye discharge, and from a reptile centre with good reviews. And he did seem in good health when he first arrived so do feel it is something we have failed to get right/ stress of the change
No pics yet that I can see. But, you shouldnt get too worried about the tort getting dirty, for torts, dirt is the way and they are extremely comfortable being dirty.
A very simple shelter that you should include is a "humid hide". Nothing too technical, its covered in the care sheets. Basically your just taking an opaque plastic tub and cutting a door in it, used upside down. The plastic traps the humidity from the moisture in the substrate underneath so that the climate inside the hide is always nice and humid.
Just make sure the water temperature doesnt drop too much. It needs to be 35-38c warm to touch but not hot. My tort tries to get out of his soaks but its not for him to decide whats in his best interest.
Honestly dont bother with this, reptile shops are far from reliable sources of tortoise husbandry. They've given a pretty solid example as to why as well.
Your starting to get it, these environmental factors, especially the heat change from the Viv to a table, I imagine the pet store vivs are warm to keep the torts active so they sell, your tort has gone from 30+ environment 24/7 to a table where the ambient room temp is probably around 20c. To an animal that regulates temp by environment that must feel like a sudden winter. As a baby it probably hasnt really learned how to thermo-regulate since it didnt need to in the viv. I would also be concerned at how dry the torts conditions were.
Dont be upset, there is a lot of old information about torts around, most pet stores dont update their husbandry and they of course teach new owners what to do and the spread of misinfo continues. Recently things are starting to change which people starting to understand the importance of humidity to their overall health. It is difficult to challenge the old ways that have been used for decades, and the internet doesnt forget so if you search something, you have a good chance of finding old info from what appear to be reputable sources.
And. . . To be clear, 35c at night is not necessary, it is quite excessive for this species, even a young one. We had this conversation recently in another thread and one of the members here is an expert in Hermanns and he made it clear that even young hermans should have a night temperature that ranges between 21c and 26c (70f-80f). However, as your tort is used to much warmer temps the change will be pretty big and will impact behaviour initially at least.
I think this is unlikely, brumation doesnt just happen overnight, the torts go through a few weeks of changes before they go to sleep. Your tort just needs time to acclimate, it has experienced a huge change. You can raise the ambient temps some to help out, but on an open table you can only do so much. Also make sure the room is bright for the daytime hours, the weather has been dark here lately, they respond to light levels just like temps.
If you feed some things like Lambs lettuce, a few blueberries, or some watermelon or cucumber they are great ways to get your tort to consume moisture. The fruit is not a sutiable regular meal, its just a treat but a couple blueberries here and there wont hurt and they have a lot of moisture content. If you feed things like this the tort is very likely to have runny stools, just a heads up.
Also feel I failed in realising how important humidity levels were, this was never mentioned to me at all when buying him
Pretty much every new tort owner fails to understand the role humidity plays in their health. Again, reptile stores. . . not so good. As for the substrate, it should be several inches deep, and lots of water in it. But dont fret about a day, nothing happens all that fast with torts, one day of being dry would not have any impact. Right now your tort is dealing with some major life changes and is probably pretty stressed out. Keep up the soaks, keep your temps in range for the species, and give it several days to recover, check back if no improvement over the next week.
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