mly310
New Member
I have a 3 month old Hermann’s tortoise. What is the best habitat for it? I currently have a glass tank with a mesh screen top. I wanted to get or make a tortoise table but the pet shop told me a tank was better. Any advice?
Habitat help!!!
- Thread starter mly310
- Start date
People have success with us tanks for hatchling like yours. Few questions how big is the tank? Also lighting and temps? Pictures tell a thousand words of you can provide one. As the hatchling grows a tortoises table will be a better option and even outdoor if you can.
Kyle
Kyle
A Hermann’s of that age needs a closed chamber.
It’s impossible to control temperature and humidity with a mesh screen top or in an open tortoise table.
I recommend you read the TFO care guides to see what your baby needs
They're written by species experts working hard to correct the outdated information widely available on the internet and from pet stores and, sadly, from some breeders and vets too.
Beginner Mistakes
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/
Baby Testudo Care - written about Russians but applies to Hermann’s
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/thread...or-other-herbivorous-tortoise-species.107734/
It’s impossible to control temperature and humidity with a mesh screen top or in an open tortoise table.
I recommend you read the TFO care guides to see what your baby needs
They're written by species experts working hard to correct the outdated information widely available on the internet and from pet stores and, sadly, from some breeders and vets too.
Beginner Mistakes
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/
Baby Testudo Care - written about Russians but applies to Hermann’s
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/thread...or-other-herbivorous-tortoise-species.107734/
- Joined
- Feb 27, 2009
- Messages
- 3,617
- Location (City and/or State)
- The Catskill Mountains of New York State
Glass tanks work okay for a short time with baby Testudo but they will soon be pacing the sides attempting to get through the glass. Tortoises don't really understand the concept of glass. If they can see the other side they expect to be able to get there. Tortoises will at some point pace in most any enclosure, even one with solid sides and even in very large enclosures. They are typically used to much more land area than can usually be provided in captivity. But opaque, translucent or solid sided enclosures will usually reduce the amount of pacing.
Your tortoise does not need a closed chamber to be raised healthy and with good growth. There are many other, actually very simle methods that provide a tortoise with a better habitat than that. My suggestion is gather information from several sources, especially those with experience raising temperate climate species such as Hermann's to see what has worked successfully for them. From that you can decide what will work best in your specific situation.
Your tortoise does not need a closed chamber to be raised healthy and with good growth. There are many other, actually very simle methods that provide a tortoise with a better habitat than that. My suggestion is gather information from several sources, especially those with experience raising temperate climate species such as Hermann's to see what has worked successfully for them. From that you can decide what will work best in your specific situation.
mly310
New Member
I have a 20 gallon glass tank with a 100 watt heat dome light on one end and a 14 inch 15 watt T5 HO lamp placed on the center of the mesh. Heat is about 90-95 degrees and humid ranges from 60-80%. His substrate is cypress mulch. I rewet it every few days or if it looks too dry. When I first got him about 3 weeks ago he was very active. Walking around the tank and eating. Now he’s constantly sleeping. He alternates between active and sleeping day but mostly sleeping. He appears very sleepy. He gets a soak every other day. I have not seen him eat for the past few weeks. I have layed out baby romaine, baby kale, Santa Barbara mix, cactus pad, and a choi. He also has a cuttlebone in his tank. How can I get him to eat? Is he trying to hibernate?
mly310
New Member
Here’s another picture of him sleeping. He’s very funny. He’s sleeps all sprawled out....arm, legs, tail, and head all out. One other thing, he also moves around with his eyes closed. 
It's time to act quickly. Your baby is telling you there's something wrong with the way you've got him set up. There's really no way for us to know for sure, but my GUESS is he's not warm enough. Get a laser temperature gun (about $16 at Amazon) and shoot the temperature all over the floor of that habitat. You may need to cover the top to keep the warm air from escaping and to keep the cooler house air out.
I suggest you take a look at the Hermanni care sheet pinned at the top of our Hermanns section, read it thoroughly, then make the necessary changes to the way you're caring for the baby. It's not normal for him to be sleeping all the time. Something's wrong.
I suggest you take a look at the Hermanni care sheet pinned at the top of our Hermanns section, read it thoroughly, then make the necessary changes to the way you're caring for the baby. It's not normal for him to be sleeping all the time. Something's wrong.
I forgot to mention that the screen is filtering out quite a bit of the UVB rays. You need to cut a hole for the UVB to get through. That IS a UVB light, right?
mly310
New Member
I’ll get the temperature gun right away. I have been tenting the top of the tank with foil. Anything else I should be doing?
Experts on this forum will also recommend not using wood chips as a substrate. It's very dry and doesn't retain any moisture whatsoever. I would use coco coir or top soil (or both mixed together). Your baby will be able to dig and the moisture will help keep the tortoise healthy
You mention the eyes being closed. What type of UVB bulb do you have? The compact CFL bulbs that look like low energy light bulbs often cause eye problems.
If you have one of these, I recommend you turn it off and get a tube type UVB instead
If you have one of these, I recommend you turn it off and get a tube type UVB instead
mly310
New Member
It’s not wood chip. It’s zoo med forest floor bedding 100% cypress mulch. I read in this forum that you can use that. I can switch to coco coir if that is better. It was dry. I just rewetted it today. The uvb light is a 15 watt T5 HO lamp. Is that too strong?
