Climbing Hermanns! Help!

[Jelbel]

think i just posted this in the wrong place, oops!
anyways hope you guys can help

Hi guys, my name is Jel and i am from london UK
I am not a big forum user so not great at this kinda thing, please bear with me!!
I have a hermanns called Stan who is 9 and recently had a respitory infection.
Now he is back in his viv and feeling much better he will not stop climbing! mainly when i am trying to sleep!!
Any tips on keeping him safe and well as he tips himself quite often... i do worry about him especially as he was on deaths door a few weeks back!
Any response would be greatly appreciated...
Thanks!
Jel and Stan
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[Crazy1]

No Problem Jel, I place it in the right area. welcome to the forum. If your Hermann can see through the viv glass you need to cover it or he will try to dig or walk out. Most of us suggest a Tort table (see many types under Enclosures) as they are more airy, less humid and torts just seem to do generally better in them. Also Stan is feeling much better he is probably much more energetic. When you say Stan is 9 are you talking years? what size is the viv he is in?

 

[Jelbel]

hi guys! thanks so much for your responses!!
he used to climb the glass in his old viv which was a 3 footer, but now seems to be more interested in the back of the viv which is beyond me- its just a bland corner. he also climbs his shelter alot. thats right he is 9 yrs old and i love him to bits, i got him when he was 2
he was a house tortoise for the past 4 years, and happily lived in the front room. he had a little plastic castle he would go in to sleep and otherwise would plod around, basking by the patio doors when he needed. then he hibernated last year but never completely came around in the summer. i didnt realise this was very dangerous for a tortoise. as a result when winter came again he hibernated again without sufficiant water in his body and became dehydrated and cold. he developed his respitory infection and the reptile vet i took him to was brilliant. i bought a whole new viv (4 foot by 2foot) and light/heat system for him and he is a whole lot better. alot livelier! but now he must stay in the viv and not hibernate this year. i just worry about him upturning and dying when im out, im also due a baby in 4 weeks which is going to obviously take time away from caring for stan. he is my baby i dont wanna have to get rid of him through not being able to care properly for him and basically keep him alive! is there any way to distact him from the climbing? i try to fiddle with the heat and lights but nothing works even to calm him a little. he is relentless in his climbing!
thanks again guys i really appreciate it
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[micki]

Honestly Jel, get rid of the viv. when i gort my first tort about 15yrs ago i got a viv. thank God someone put me right.

 

[Jelbel]

hey micki!! i intend to set him free again as soon as im sure he has made a complete recovery, the vet said this could take months until he is 100% he hates being in there but if i set him free again i risk his infection flaring up again.
he is alot happier out of the viv but right now his health must come first....i just wish he could understand!! haha!
i noticed his beak looks split today, anyone else seen anything like this? or could it be that his beak scutes are shedding due to his recovery? as his skin is shedding due to all the reptaboost baths!
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[Ozric]

Hi Jel ! I am in Scotland.

I am not sure what benefit your vet feels stan gets from being constantly in a viv. I should say that there is hardly anyone now in the tortoise community who thinks vivs are right for Mediterranean species. But, your vet has helped Stan through the crisis.

Perhaps your vet is concerned this tortoise will get too cool, slow down and be affected by draughts. On nice days in the summer I really urge you to find some way for stan to be outisde at least for a while when its warm and sunny. You need to take measures to keep them safe when they are outside, but they love it there and its so good for them. (Some peope use a rabbit cage for this)

The reason stan is climbing is that he is trying to get out of the plastic box. If you have decided to keep him in there all you can do is try and make it safe for him as best you can. A nine year old Hermann needs more room and in the long term will be harmed if kept in a vivarium.

Can I suggest you ask your vet if its OK for stan to get some time outside on warm days, in a protected place with access to shade and water. Maybe in a rabbit cage out the front of your house whilst you sit with your baby ?

 

[Crazy1]

Jel, it sounds like Stan has had 4 years of free roam in the front room and now is placed in a small area. Simply stating he wants out. He wants a larger area to roam. He wants his territory back. I am not sure letting him roam the Front room is a good idea, lots to get into and drafts etc (especially with a baby soon). Perhaps you could build Stan a Tort Table and provide him with some interesting things to climb on and over and under. And as Ozric stated some outside time during the warmer weather could mean so much to Stan. Careful with the Rabbit cage if he is in the sun in the heat of the summer as he could overheat quickly. They also make Playpens for Torts they have them at places like Petco and Petsmart. Actually I think the playpens are really for rabbits or gerbils but would work for Stan. Then he could roam around the grass and dirt and still be contained while you spend some great quality outdoor time with him and did you say you have a baby due soon?

 

[Yvonne G]

hey micki!! i intend to set him free again as soon as im sure he has made a complete recovery, the vet said this could take months until he is 100% he hates being in there but if i set him free again i risk his infection flaring up again.

I think what Micki meant was to put him into something other than a vivarium. You could use a large plastic tote, an old wooden bookcase with the shelves removed (laying on its back)...anything would be better than a viv.

Yvonne

 

[Jelbel]

Hi guys! thanks for all your responses.
according to the vet, stan needs warm temperatures constantly for the time being. his body temperature needs to be kept warm constantly in order for his body to heal and for him to be better. he is doing much better but still has some way off for a full recovery. the weather is such a tease at the moment as the sun comes out nice and strong and then disappears only to be replaced with rain. dad built stan a pen last year with lots of room for him, and a shelf so he can get under it and into shade if he gets too warm. ir eally feel for the little dude, he has had free roaming and its been taken away from him. soon as the sun gets warmer he will spend every single spare moment possible outside in the fresh air.
i have a baby due in 3 and a half weeks, so hope the weather is better by then as every spare moment is taken up by my stan at the moment!
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[Ozric]

Hi again Jel!

I'm understadning your vets advice a bit better now. On warm days Stan would be fine outside in his pen for a while.

Its true you can get cold draughts in the house especially at floor level. If there was any way of putting the pen up at table height indoors I doubt there would be any cold draughts and you can keep the temp at whatever your vet says with your lights.

Its possible to buy on E Bay 'tortoise tables' quite cheap that can sit on top of a table. .

I've found that there are various times when I just have to have my torts indoors and persoanlly I don't feel the floor is the right place. So you might want to consider an indoor facility that you can fall back on for Stan that you have confidence in. Generally mine don't try and escape from the tortoise table I have for them.

Sorry I'm rambling now..........!

 

[Jelbel]

thats a good idea Ozric, to get him in some sort of containery pen thingy thats not so enclosed or draghty....i will have a thinky about what i can whack together. and ill definatley check out ebay!

ohhh i cant wait to be able to leave him outside all day long i know he is so much happier out there! im WILLING the summer to come! i let him have a little run around the floor this evening, kept an eye on him. he just strolled around and is now asleep in the corner so when i go to bed ill take him with me and put him in his shelter. hopefully he will stay there and not be climbing all night!

feel free to ramble my love, i need all the info you can spare! lol!
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[Ozric]

Hi, the weather here in Glasgow Scotland was just great for my torts today. They were outside from 8 till 8 and loved evry minute! They just come to life outside.

 

[Jelbel]

stan is sleeping much better at night and tolerating baths more since being outside so is visibly much happier!
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[Crazy1]

Jelbel, so glad to hear Stan is doing better and is able to be outside more. I know you must be happy you can take a little bit of a breather especially now that the baby is getting even closer.
By the way congratulations is this your first?

 

[Jelbel]

hi robyn! yeah its my first, and inching my way there, 2 weeks til my due date! yay!
its so lovely to set stan free in the air in his pen. little bugger slipped out of the enclosure the other day (my fault, i put the corner of the pen overlapping a bit of low ground and he squeezed out- after flapping and panicking i found him asleep in a bush!) so yesterday i sat and watched him potter around the garden, snapping at random bit n pieces. he trampled dads onion patch to mush but dad got revenge by mowing the lawn today taking the clover with it! grr! so ill be off weed picking before i put stan to bed tonight!
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