Grey patch on Hermann Head

[stevendavis]

Hi guys, I have just got an 18month Hermann tortoise who has been with us for a couple of days now. He has a small dry white/grey patch on his head. I didn’t really notice to much until I sore it on some photos I have taken now I am worried about it. He seems healthy in all other regards, eating well, exploring his new home and basking under the heat. Is this normal scaling or should I be concerned at all? Any help appreciated

 

[Alex and the Redfoot]

Hi guys, I have just got an 18month Hermann tortoise who has been with us for a couple of days now. He has a small dry white/grey patch on his head. I didn’t really notice to much until I sore it on some photos I have taken now I am worried about it. He seems healthy in all other regards, eating well, exploring his new home and basking under the heat. Is this normal scaling or should I be concerned at all? Any help appreciated

Hello and welcome!

This can be something insignificant - shed (they shed head and leg scales in tiny bits), rubbing against something in the enclosure.

Other possibility is related to heating/lightning - extra strong UVB, too intense heat spot. Can you share some details on heating/lightning equipment and distances from bulbs to substrate?

P.S. - unrelated but important: water dishes should be made easy to get in and out. So you need to bury the one you have in the substrate or replace it with a terracotta saucer which provides better traction. Otherwise there is a risk of flipping and drowning.

 

[Tom]

In addition to what Alex said, looks like you got the usual bad advice for what substrate to use too. Here is all the correct care info. Questions are welcome:

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[stevendavis]

Thank you I appreciate the help. As I’m sure you have guessed I am new to this . I will have a good read of the forum and appreciate the urgent tips with the water and substrait. In regards to lighting and heating I have Arcadia pro T5 12% uv strip mounted at 19” from base and a 100w heat bulb mounted at 14” from base.
Current temps with digital probe show hot end at 33c (37 directly under) 20c at cooler end. On the IR probe I get a surface temp of 32c at hot end. Plenty of shady areas.

Planning on creating a safe protected outside area in the summer he can spend time in when weather permits.

Thanks again for your tips and help there is so much mixed information online.

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

Thank you I appreciate the help. As I’m sure you have guessed I am new to this . I will have a good read of the forum and appreciate the urgent tips with the water and substrait. In regards to lighting and heating I have Arcadia pro T5 12% uv strip mounted at 19” from base and a 100w heat bulb mounted at 14” from base.
Current temps with digital probe show hot end at 33c (37 directly under) 20c at cooler end. On the IR probe I get a surface temp of 32c at hot end. Plenty of shady areas.

Planning on creating a safe protected outside area in the summer he can spend time in when weather permits.

Thanks again for your tips and help there is so much mixed information online.

That all sounds pretty damn good! Do you know what kind of heat bulb it is specifically? Don’t suppose you have a packaging photo maybe or a pic of the bulb?
What is his substrate? I only ask because, and I don’t know if it’s just the photo, but his eye looks kind of swollen? I’m wondering if there’s something irritating it.
Does he have a closed chamber? What’s your humidity reading? A photo of the full set up would be great!

Also sounds like a nice plan for the summer! Just bear in mind even on summer days, as babies I wouldn’t have them out longer than an hour or two, it’ll be fine once he’s a bit bigger of course

 

[Alex and the Redfoot]

Thank you I appreciate the help. As I’m sure you have guessed I am new to this . I will have a good read of the forum and appreciate the urgent tips with the water and substrait. In regards to lighting and heating I have Arcadia pro T5 12% uv strip mounted at 19” from base and a 100w heat bulb mounted at 14” from base.
Current temps with digital probe show hot end at 33c (37 directly under) 20c at cooler end. On the IR probe I get a surface temp of 32c at hot end. Plenty of shady areas.

Planning on creating a safe protected outside area in the summer he can spend time in when weather permits.

Thanks again for your tips and help there is so much mixed information online.

Temperatures, distances and lamps are all good.

And just to be sure, what do you feed him? What amendments/supplements and how often?

 

[stevendavis]

Thanks again guys. Reading the forum guide it seems I may have to rethink things a little with his enclosure as even the advice I had about getting the moss seems to be poor. Although he does seem to like sleeping in it.
He doesn’t use the hutch part of the table at all and prefers the pot and bridge for shade and sleep. I have attached a pic of the heat bulb I’m using and the overall setup. The one thing I can defo confirm is that the plants are home grown in my mums garden and have never been treated in anyway with pesticides. Food wise I’ve been using picturethis app in conjunction with tortoise table app and getting him weeds that are ok. I have been using calcidust daily and was told to use the nutrabol weekly which I have yet to use.
He likes his baths but I’ve been told to avoid giving him these everyday.
Like I say lots of mixed or out of date advice online. I was worried maybe temp was too high and thought about using a 75w bulb to lower them a bit but most guides suggest the 100w I have.
He seems happy enough in that he is eating and exploring well.
I’m aware the uv bulb is slightly off centre but not sure how to change that with the heat bulb at its current height.
Please don’t hesitate to comment further on improvements I can make. I want him to have a happy healthy long life

 

[Tom]

Thanks again guys. Reading the forum guide it seems I may have to rethink things a little with his enclosure as even the advice I had about getting the moss seems to be poor. Although he does seem to like sleeping in it.
He doesn’t use the hutch part of the table at all and prefers the pot and bridge for shade and sleep. I have attached a pic of the heat bulb I’m using and the overall setup. The one thing I can defo confirm is that the plants are home grown in my mums garden and have never been treated in anyway with pesticides. Food wise I’ve been using picturethis app in conjunction with tortoise table app and getting him weeds that are ok. I have been using calcidust daily and was told to use the nutrabol weekly which I have yet to use.
He likes his baths but I’ve been told to avoid giving him these everyday.
Like I say lots of mixed or out of date advice online. I was worried maybe temp was too high and thought about using a 75w bulb to lower them a bit but most guides suggest the 100w I have.
He seems happy enough in that he is eating and exploring well.
I’m aware the uv bulb is slightly off centre but not sure how to change that with the heat bulb at its current height.
Please don’t hesitate to comment further on improvements I can make. I want him to have a happy healthy long life

-Definitely no moss. He will eat it and it can cause impaction.
-Those are spot bulbs. They will cause pyramiding, and especially so in an open topped enclosure. You need incandescent flood bulbs.
-Calcium should only be given a couple of times per week. It interfere with the absorption of other important nutrients and trace elements.
-Any tortoise under 100 grams should be soaked daily. After 100 grams, I start skipping a day now and then. Adults are fine with once or twice a week in most cases.
-The heat lamp is supposed to be off center.
-Never use the clamps that come with those lamps. They always fail eventually and it can burn your whole house down. Best to hang the lamps from over head which makes it much easier to adjust the height and get the temperature correct.
-You need more light. LEDs work best. The heat lamp is not enough light by itself, and your UV tube should only be on for a few hours mid day at most, so you need more ambient light.

 

[Alex and the Redfoot]

-Definitely no moss. He will eat it and it can cause impaction.
-Those are spot bulbs. They will cause pyramiding, and especially so in an open topped enclosure. You need incandescent flood bulbs.
-Calcium should only be given a couple of times per week. It interfere with the absorption of other important nutrients and trace elements.
-Any tortoise under 100 grams should be soaked daily. After 100 grams, I start skipping a day now and then. Adults are fine with once or twice a week in most cases.
-The heat lamp is supposed to be off center.
-Never use the clamps that come with those lamps. They always fail eventually and it can burn your whole house down. Best to hang the lamps from over head which makes it much easier to adjust the height and get the temperature correct.
-You need more light. LEDs work best. The heat lamp is not enough light by itself, and your UV tube should only be on for a few hours mid day at most, so you need more ambient light.

Tom, how can you tell it's a spot lamp?

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

Thanks again guys. Reading the forum guide it seems I may have to rethink things a little with his enclosure as even the advice I had about getting the moss seems to be poor. Although he does seem to like sleeping in it.
He doesn’t use the hutch part of the table at all and prefers the pot and bridge for shade and sleep. I have attached a pic of the heat bulb I’m using and the overall setup. The one thing I can defo confirm is that the plants are home grown in my mums garden and have never been treated in anyway with pesticides. Food wise I’ve been using picturethis app in conjunction with tortoise table app and getting him weeds that are ok. I have been using calcidust daily and was told to use the nutrabol weekly which I have yet to use.
He likes his baths but I’ve been told to avoid giving him these everyday.
Like I say lots of mixed or out of date advice online. I was worried maybe temp was too high and thought about using a 75w bulb to lower them a bit but most guides suggest the 100w I have.
He seems happy enough in that he is eating and exploring well.
I’m aware the uv bulb is slightly off centre but not sure how to change that with the heat bulb at its current height.
Please don’t hesitate to comment further on improvements I can make. I want him to have a happy healthy long life

Thank you for the reply and pics! Yes definitely ditch the moss, I’d suggest taking the top off the hutch part, chances are he’s not interested in the day if it’s cooler and dark.

Don’t worry that the uv is off centre, it should be further the one end with the basking so that’s ok! However, with the uv timing, every other source of information will tell you 12hours of uv. This is essentially an old fashioned rule that has stuck with a lot of keepers, it stems from the presumption that once the basking light or ambient lighting is on, ie the ‘sun’, that uv must coexist the same amount of hours. Fact is, uv rays only peak for a few hours a day, anyone with a uv meter will confirm this. No tortoise is blasted with 12 hours of uv in the wild, therefore it’s not necessary in captivity.
The uv bulbs are much more expensive to replace once their uv strength diminishes, so it’s definitely best having it on a 4 hour timer that provides them with all the uv they need, saving your bulb life.
Then some cheaper led lighting for your ambient 12 hour light cycle as well as the basking light on the same 12hrs, your ceramics will run 24/7 on a thermostat, hopefully this will make more sense if you read my housing thread I’ll link, but essentially I’d suggest some ambient lighting for the middle as the basking light isn’t enough once uv is off for the day.

Now I can’t actually tell if that bulb is a true spot bulb(which you don’t want) because packaging in the uk can be a little confusing, for example pro reps flood bulbs are labelled ‘flood spot lamp’, so it’s possible this one is, but both pro rep and Arcadia do flood bulbs quite cheap if you want a sure thing.

As mentioned, calcium and supplements only needed 1-2 times a week and definitely do sick with daily soaks for now, they’re good for babies.

I think next port of call needs to be looking into some sort of cover for your enclosure, babies do need a closed chamber as it’s the only way of maintaining the humidity where needed 24/7.

Hopefully you’ll find this housing thread useful, it covers correct equipment(uvb, heating bulbs, lighting etc which you already have), correct levels, importance of a closed chamber for younger tortoises(only way to maintain the humidity you need), appropriately maintaining the humidity, safe substrates, there’s lots of visual examples for everything and a really handy diet link to check out! If going with a greenhouse, the lower the ceiling height, whilst still allowing for recommended bulb height, the better!

Housing young Russian/Herman

Hello there! In this thread, I’m going to include some information on an effective way to tackle a starter set up/a way you can build a bigger size once your baby is an adult. I know it looks a lot to go over, I like to make sure all bases are covered, I’m happy to break down any information...

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This includes some different closed chamber options, some do tend to run more efficiently than others but perhaps one of the topper ideas will work for your current set up!

Visual inspiration

Hi guys! I’ve had some lovely messages complimenting me on my care sheets I made for all the visuals they include! That makes me so happy because as a visual learner myself, that was my goal🥰 I’ve recently had some requests for some more visual inspiration for set ups that can house babies/...

tortoiseforum.org

Lastly, this one can also be really good to familiarise yourself with and have on hand, it’ll help you avoid the wrong bulbs, substrates, housing etc, I always encourage double checking purchases on the forum too before buying

Common keeping errors

Hello everyone! I’d been a long time lurker on this site long before joining just under a year ago now, over that time I’ve seen these husbandry issues come up time and time again, sometimes with dire consequences☹️ I thought this thread might serve as a good visual guide for these common...

tortoiseforum.org

Hope this helps! Feel free to ask any further questions

 

[Tom]

Tom, how can you tell it's a spot lamp?

It says it on the package.

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

It says it on the package.

Funnily enough our labelling can be so confusing here
For example this one here is a floodlight but look how they label it

Such a pain!

 

[TammyJ]

Funnily enough our labelling can be so confusing here
For example this one here is a floodlight but look how they label it
View attachment 384512
Such a pain!

It floods the spot.

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

It floods the spot.

You’re not wrong haha