Baby Western Hermann's Tortoise

[mrpb]

Hi All!

My name is Maggie and I'm from Colorado. I wanted to officially introduce myself and my new Western Hermann's baby, name pending but leaning towards Rosie She's about 5mths old, just arrived this morning, and is adjusting so nicely! Looking forward to talking with some of you!

 

[TaylorTortoise]

Congrats!
I have a Western Hermann's too. I love my baby! He will be 1 years old the end of this month already. Where did you get yours from? Can we see pictures of your set up?

 

[Tom]

Hi All!

My name is Maggie and I'm from Colorado. I wanted to officially introduce myself and my new Western Hermann's baby, name pending but leaning towards Rosie She's about 5mths old, just arrived this morning, and is adjusting so nicely! Looking forward to talking with some of you!View attachment 344597

The part we can see sure looks nice. Congrats on the new tortoise.

I'm not of fan of soil or sand as a substrate. Soil is made from composted yard waste, and there is no way to know if its chemically spray yard clippings or oleander and azalea clippings. Best to use something safer. Sand is a potential skin and eye irritant and a terrible impaction hazard. Best to not use either of these. I prefer coco coir for babies like yours, and I move the onto fine grade orchid bark when they reach about 3-4 inches in length.

Here is the current care info:

The Best Way To Raise Any Temperate Species Of Tortoise

I chose the title of this care sheet very carefully. Are there other ways to raise babies and care for adults? Yes. Yes there are, but those ways are not as good. What follows is the BEST way, according to 30 years of research and experimentation with hundreds of babies of many species. What is...

tortoiseforum.org

Hopefully you'll find some useful tips in this thread. Questions are welcome.

 

[zovick]

Hi All!

My name is Maggie and I'm from Colorado. I wanted to officially introduce myself and my new Western Hermann's baby, name pending but leaning towards Rosie She's about 5mths old, just arrived this morning, and is adjusting so nicely! Looking forward to talking with some of you!View attachment 344597

The tortoise looks very nice.

Just an observation here. Your substrate looks too dry. If you don't increase the moisture in it, your tortoise will get pyramiding. I used t live in CO myself and know how tough it is too keep things moist there.

You would be best off using a closed chamber to raise your tortoise. Doing that saves you a lot of problems with humidity control.

 

[mrpb]

Congrats!
I have a Western Hermann's too. I love my baby! He will be 1 years old the end of this month already. Where did you get yours from? Can we see pictures of your set up?

Great to meet you! I'll get some more pictures up soon! I've decided to do some rearranging now that she's here and I've been observing her. I got her from Gary Bright up in New York.

 

[mrpb]

The tortoise looks very nice.

Just an observation here. Your substrate looks too dry. If you don't increase the moisture in it, your tortoise will get pyramiding. I used t live in CO myself and know how tough it is too keep things moist there.

You would be best off using a closed chamber to raise your tortoise. Doing that saves you a lot of problems with humidity control.

Thanks for the suggestion! I do have a mini greenhouse on hand but have been monitoring both humidity and temps closely I'll be adjusting some things in her box too now that she's here and I've been observing her.

 

[mrpb]

The part we can see sure looks nice. Congrats on the new tortoise.

I'm not of fan of soil or sand as a substrate. Soil is made from composted yard waste, and there is no way to know if its chemically spray yard clippings or oleander and azalea clippings. Best to use something safer. Sand is a potential skin and eye irritant and a terrible impaction hazard. Best to not use either of these. I prefer coco coir for babies like yours, and I move the onto fine grade orchid bark when they reach about 3-4 inches in length.

Here is the current care info:

The Best Way To Raise Any Temperate Species Of Tortoise

I chose the title of this care sheet very carefully. Are there other ways to raise babies and care for adults? Yes. Yes there are, but those ways are not as good. What follows is the BEST way, according to 30 years of research and experimentation with hundreds of babies of many species. What is...

tortoiseforum.org

Hopefully you'll find some useful tips in this thread. Questions are welcome.

Thank you, and thanks for the suggestions! There's currently no sand and I don't plan on adding any, but I did work closely with my breeder to pick out her current substrate since it's so dry where I live due to altitude. One thing I would like to switch out is what's under her basking light. I currently just have a terracotta plant disk since I've had the hardest time finding slate here, but I'm worried it's not really heating up as it should. Do you have any suggestions on what else I could use and where I might find it?

 

[Tom]

Great to meet you! I'll get some more pictures up soon! I've decided to do some rearranging now that she's here and I've been observing her. I got her from Gary Bright up in New York.

Gary is a great breeder. I don't think he likes me much, but that doesn't change the fact that he knows tortoises and does a great job with them.

 

[TaylorTortoise]

Gary is a great breeder. I don't think he likes me much, but that doesn't change the fact that he knows tortoises and does a great job with them.

Why do you say that?

 

[Tom]

Thank you, and thanks for the suggestions! There's currently no sand and I don't plan on adding any, but I did work closely with my breeder to pick out her current substrate since it's so dry where I live due to altitude. One thing I would like to switch out is what's under her basking light. I currently just have a terracotta plant disk since I've had the hardest time finding slate here, but I'm worried it's not really heating up as it should. Do you have any suggestions on what else I could use and where I might find it?

Any flat rock type thing will do. Slate is expensive here, so I use sand stone pieces. I collect large flat rocks that I find out in the world too. I soak them for a week or two in a bucket, scrub them with hot water, bake them in the sun and bake them in my oven at home to clean and disinfect them.

To check the temp under your basking lamp, lay a digital thermometer on its back directly under the heat lamp and let it bake for an hour or more. If it is not reaching 95-100F, then lower the bulb and fixture a little, or switch to a higher wattage. Some people like to run a higher wattage bulb through a rheostat, and then dial in the correct heat that way. I don't do it that way because I have too many and its one more piece of electrical equipment that can fail, but it can work for some situations.

 

[Tom]

Why do you say that?

We've had disagreements and arguments in the past. Substrate being a big one. We've each had different experiences and seen different things. I've seen what he recommends do damage to tortoises, but he has not seen any such damage himself, so he continues to recommend things the way he likes to do it. I have no idea how large his frame of reference is, but I visit tortoise keepers all over the country to learn the details of how they do it and what innovations they've discovered. My wife was a vet tech for 13 years and a veterinary consultant for 15 years. We are fortunate to call many vets our friends and frequently share meals and holidays with several of them. All of them know of my tortoise affliction and they share their tortoise cases with me. When we have discussions about these things on the forum, I will frequently call and ask them what they have seen first hand in their own practice. I don't know how many other tortoise keepers have this much exposure to so many different ways of doing things and the results that are yielded, but I do and it colors my opinions and recommendations.

I respect Gary's tortoise knowledge, integrity, and ability as a breeder. I just don't agree with him on all care aspects. And that is okay with me. I don't know any two long time tortoise keepers that agree on everything.

 

[mrpb]

Updated enclosure! This was originally a 6’X3’ bookcase that I converted. I’ve sectioned off about 2’ of it until she grows a little and her energy levels pick back up. I added in the orchid bark like Tom suggested and kept a thin layer of topsoil on the bottom that I made sure was super moist before layering. I’ve noticed that she has tried to take a bite of the bark- is that normal? She isn’t eating too much of her food but it’s only day 2, so I’m trying not to obsessively worry.

I’ll also try putting on that mini greenhouse I mentioned this weekend (thanks again, Zovick) but it’s currently holding the humidity ok at her level. I’m going to check back in regularly today to see how it changes.

I purchased a temp gun to double check her basking light and realized it was holding way too hot, so I’ll be raising that up today as well. I removed the terra-cotta saucer so it isn’t scorching until that’s fixed. I also got a flat step stone from a landscape place nearby (thanks for that too, Tom) and will be adding that as soon as I get it disinfected.

She’s already precious as is, but she was also a birthday gift from my husband (after I researched for months- not an impulse buy) so any helpful critiques are very much appreciated! She’s my first and I want to get it about as perfect as I can. Thanks!

 

[TaylorTortoise]

Updated enclosure! This was originally a 6’X3’ bookcase that I converted. I’ve sectioned off about 2’ of it until she grows a little and her energy levels pick back up. I added in the orchid bark like Tom suggested and kept a thin layer of topsoil on the bottom that I made sure was super moist before layering. I’ve noticed that she has tried to take a bite of the bark- is that normal? She isn’t eating too much of her food but it’s only day 2, so I’m trying not to obsessively worry.

I’ll also try putting on that mini greenhouse I mentioned this weekend (thanks again, Zovick) but it’s currently holding the humidity ok at her level. I’m going to check back in regularly today to see how it changes.

I purchased a temp gun to double check her basking light and realized it was holding way too hot, so I’ll be raising that up today as well. I removed the terra-cotta saucer so it isn’t scorching until that’s fixed. I also got a flat step stone from a landscape place nearby (thanks for that too, Tom) and will be adding that as soon as I get it disinfected.

She’s already precious as is, but she was also a birthday gift from my husband (after I researched for months- not an impulse buy) so any helpful critiques are very much appreciated! She’s my first and I want to get it about as perfect as I can. Thanks!

Now, are you using the other side of this enclosure as well? That's pretty big!

 

[TaylorTortoise]

is it 4 ft by 8 ft?

 

[mrpb]

Now, are you using the other side of this enclosure as well? That's pretty big!

I’m using it to store the extra topsoil for now.

 

[TaylorTortoise]

I’m using it to store the extra topsoil for now.

Wonderful!

 

[mrpb]

Wonderful!

Thank you!

 

[jeff kushner]

That's repurposing the way we were meant to, for turtles! You are being helped by some of the sharpest knives in this forums drawer......kudos to you for listening to them!! You're little guy will do better because of it!

and welcome!

jeff

 

[Yvonne G]

Welcome!

 

[Tom]

Updated enclosure! This was originally a 6’X3’ bookcase that I converted. I’ve sectioned off about 2’ of it until she grows a little and her energy levels pick back up. I added in the orchid bark like Tom suggested and kept a thin layer of topsoil on the bottom that I made sure was super moist before layering. I’ve noticed that she has tried to take a bite of the bark- is that normal? She isn’t eating too much of her food but it’s only day 2, so I’m trying not to obsessively worry.

I’ll also try putting on that mini greenhouse I mentioned this weekend (thanks again, Zovick) but it’s currently holding the humidity ok at her level. I’m going to check back in regularly today to see how it changes.

I purchased a temp gun to double check her basking light and realized it was holding way too hot, so I’ll be raising that up today as well. I removed the terra-cotta saucer so it isn’t scorching until that’s fixed. I also got a flat step stone from a landscape place nearby (thanks for that too, Tom) and will be adding that as soon as I get it disinfected.

She’s already precious as is, but she was also a birthday gift from my husband (after I researched for months- not an impulse buy) so any helpful critiques are very much appreciated! She’s my first and I want to get it about as perfect as I can. Thanks!

I'm just seeing the pic now. Hopefully you have already remedied the situation, but those claims always fail. I remove the clamp and hang the lamp from over head. You can use some sash chain or thick bailing wire to hang the lamp by its little metal hanger that is attached to the dome. The cord can be wrapped around the overhead frame for extra extra security.

Also, Its quite open and barren, some more decorations, hides, and a flat basking rock would be beneficial. I use large rocks, potted plants and logs.