Enclosure upgrade, questions.

[ScottishFish]

So over the next month or two I hope to knock together a tort table/enclosure. It will take some time since I am on a placement year with between 2nd and 3rd year University.

My tortoise is an Eastern Hermanns tortoise aged 2.5-3 years old, his previous owner didnt care for him, so I think he is behind where he should be size wise, this was him lastnight after a soak -


Anyway, his current "home" is an enclosed 3ftx1.5ft vivarium. I can upgrade to a footprint of 3ft by 3ft with 2 hides sized 6inch x 18inch, those are outwith the 3x3. The table will be sitting on an old fireplace which was closed, bricked and tiled so it barely even resembles one now. The shape is a kinda chunky 'T' shape.

Now come the questions

Should I keep the main roaming area 3x3 or put the hides in it and give him a nice long 4ft stretch along the front.

Humidity - Since the little guy has a loooong way to go in regards to growing so should I keep the enclosure a closed system to maintain nice high humidity, or is humidity less important for a Hermanns, if so then I would love it to be open top.

Is this a decent sized enclosure? I know that there is no enclosure big enough for any tort since in the wild there are no walls. Before anyone freaks out my tort has an outdoor enclosure which measures 10ft x 4ft. He was in it for an awesome 6 hours today.

In the long run I hope to make a final indoor enclosure of 6ftx4ft. But my 3x3 is all I can manage the now until I get my own place.

Thanks for all your help guys!


'Or like the snow falls in the river,
A moment white, then melts forever'
~Robert Burns - Tam O' Shanter

0.0.1 Testudo hermanni boettgeri

 

[ascott]

I think the bigger the better...so utilize the most space that you can....okay, so, "I" personally would not have an enclosure that is kept 100% humid throughout the entire enclosure...I would however, have a constantly warm humid area in the enclosure (one that always remains humid and warm, never humid and cool) either the soil moist directly under a basking spot/spot that remains warm by day as well as night heat source OR a warm humid hide....I then would have a cooler DRY area in the enclosure as well (as many micro climates as possible)..remember, a tort has to be able to get to humid air as well as dry air to maintain a healthy shell....

 

[ScottishFish]

Thanks for the advice! I will go for micro climates then. So do you think I could have an open roof tort enclosure then?


'Or like the snow falls in the river,
A moment white, then melts forever'
~Robert Burns - Tam O' Shanter

0.0.1 Testudo hermanni boettgeri