Hello from NC!

Nookole

New Member
Joined
Feb 18, 2019
Messages
25
Location (City and/or State)
North Carolina
Hello, everyone!

I've been obsessed with tortoises and turtles for years, and now that I'm finally graduating college soon, I can have my baby! I still need to wait until May/June to get the little fella, though.

I have decided to get a Hermann's tortoise. It feels like a good compromise between a pretty shell, decent size (I didn't want one too big or too small) and ease of care. I've been trying to decide if I want a dalmation or an eastern. They're all so gorgeous!

I am here to learn about setting up for Bert (I've already named him, after this), his box (probably gonna go with a plastic concrete mixer tub or something of that nature), substrates, all the doodads and whatchamacallit's and everything else that comes with tortoise motherhood. I hope to get to know you all, and learn as much as I can. :)

I do have one question that I can't find anywhere, starting out, though. How humid does his set up need to be while he's still young? I heard it's 70% but does he need a humid hide? is coco coir mixed with reptibark going to be too humid?
 

Ray--Opo

Well-Known Member
5 Year Member
Platinum Tortoise Club
Joined
Oct 14, 2017
Messages
7,017
Location (City and/or State)
Palm Bay Fl
Welcome I don't have those answers. I am a sulcata owner. Somebody should see your thread soon. Go to your species and look at the care sheets here on TFO.
Good luck
 

KarenSoCal

Well-Known Member
Tortoise Club
5 Year Member
Platinum Tortoise Club
Joined
Jul 8, 2017
Messages
5,749
Location (City and/or State)
Low desert 50 mi SE of Palm Springs CA
Hello, everyone!

I've been obsessed with tortoises and turtles for years, and now that I'm finally graduating college soon, I can have my baby! I still need to wait until May/June to get the little fella, though.

I have decided to get a Hermann's tortoise. It feels like a good compromise between a pretty shell, decent size (I didn't want one too big or too small) and ease of care. I've been trying to decide if I want a dalmation or an eastern. They're all so gorgeous!

I am here to learn about setting up for Bert (I've already named him, after this), his box (probably gonna go with a plastic concrete mixer tub or something of that nature), substrates, all the doodads and whatchamacallit's and everything else that comes with tortoise motherhood. I hope to get to know you all, and learn as much as I can. :)

I do have one question that I can't find anywhere, starting out, though. How humid does his set up need to be while he's still young? I heard it's 70% but does he need a humid hide? is coco coir mixed with reptibark going to be too humid?
Wow! That video is 40-50 years older than you! You don't remember those drills...but I do.

Anyway, here is the link to the care sheet that Ray mentioned. That will start you off with excellent info.
https://tortoiseforum.org/forums/hermanns-tortoises.80/

You will probably find many inconsistencies between other internet sites and this one, and even between many vets, breeders, and owners. The reason is that there is so much old, outdated info still being circulated and followed. On this forum are expert members that have done research with consistent positive end results using the methods recommended. Stay with us and you won't go wrong.

I don't keep a Hermann's, and never have, but I can offer a piece of advice to you...go with a reputable breeder!! How that baby is kept before it leaves the breeder's is literally life and death. The heartache is that you won't know it is sick for weeks or months, and when it dies, you will blame yourself. The truth is that the baby's fate was sealed in the days after it hatched. We have a few Hermann's breeders on here. You can go to this link
https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/breeders-list.64666/
and look under Hermanns.

I'm going to tag @HermanniChris for you. You will see that he is the author of many of the articles I linked. He knows everything about Hermanns!

Welcome to the forum! You've come to the best place to learn!
 

Ray--Opo

Well-Known Member
5 Year Member
Platinum Tortoise Club
Joined
Oct 14, 2017
Messages
7,017
Location (City and/or State)
Palm Bay Fl
Wow! That video is 40-50 years older than you! You don't remember those drills...but I do.

Anyway, here is the link to the care sheet that Ray mentioned. That will start you off with excellent info.
https://tortoiseforum.org/forums/hermanns-tortoises.80/

You will probably find many inconsistencies between other internet sites and this one, and even between many vets, breeders, and owners. The reason is that there is so much old, outdated info still being circulated and followed. On this forum are expert members that have done research with consistent positive end results using the methods recommended. Stay with us and you won't go wrong.

I don't keep a Hermann's, and never have, but I can offer a piece of advice to you...go with a reputable breeder!! How that baby is kept before it leaves the breeder's is literally life and death. The heartache is that you won't know it is sick for weeks or months, and when it dies, you will blame yourself. The truth is that the baby's fate was sealed in the days after it hatched. We have a few Hermann's breeders on here. You can go to this link
https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/breeders-list.64666/
and look under Hermanns.

I'm going to tag @HermanniChris for you. You will see that he is the author of many of the articles I linked. He knows everything about Hermanns!

Welcome to the forum! You've come to the best place to learn!
Thanks Karen, I still haven't been able to figure out how to post links on my phone.
 

Nookole

New Member
Joined
Feb 18, 2019
Messages
25
Location (City and/or State)
North Carolina
Wow! That video is 40-50 years older than you! You don't remember those drills...but I do.

Anyway, here is the link to the care sheet that Ray mentioned. That will start you off with excellent info.
https://tortoiseforum.org/forums/hermanns-tortoises.80/

You will probably find many inconsistencies between other internet sites and this one, and even between many vets, breeders, and owners. The reason is that there is so much old, outdated info still being circulated and followed. On this forum are expert members that have done research with consistent positive end results using the methods recommended. Stay with us and you won't go wrong.

I don't keep a Hermann's, and never have, but I can offer a piece of advice to you...go with a reputable breeder!! How that baby is kept before it leaves the breeder's is literally life and death. The heartache is that you won't know it is sick for weeks or months, and when it dies, you will blame yourself. The truth is that the baby's fate was sealed in the days after it hatched. We have a few Hermann's breeders on here. You can go to this link
https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/breeders-list.64666/
and look under Hermanns.

I'm going to tag @HermanniChris for you. You will see that he is the author of many of the articles I linked. He knows everything about Hermanns!

Welcome to the forum! You've come to the best place to learn!

Thank you for all your help! I have already noticed inconsistencies, and I was going to ask about that. :) I am currently looking for a breeder, and I've found two that are local-ish. My logic is that I want to order from a breeder as close geographically as possible to make the shipping easier on the tortoise and the climate won't be too harsh of a change? Or does it not matter as much? I do want to move in a few years, probably more north, so that may be a challenge.

I was also looking at tortoisesupply.com as a place to order my hermanns. Are they reputable?

Also, my parents remember these drills. I can't imagine going through that as a kid. I've always found the cold war and nuclear war incredibly interesting, which is why I want to name Bert, Bert. :)
 

KarenSoCal

Well-Known Member
Tortoise Club
5 Year Member
Platinum Tortoise Club
Joined
Jul 8, 2017
Messages
5,749
Location (City and/or State)
Low desert 50 mi SE of Palm Springs CA
Thank you for all your help! I have already noticed inconsistencies, and I was going to ask about that. :) I am currently looking for a breeder, and I've found two that are local-ish. My logic is that I want to order from a breeder as close geographically as possible to make the shipping easier on the tortoise and the climate won't be too harsh of a change? Or does it not matter as much? I do want to move in a few years, probably more north, so that may be a challenge.

I was also looking at tortoisesupply.com as a place to order my hermanns. Are they reputable?

Also, my parents remember these drills. I can't imagine going through that as a kid. I've always found the cold war and nuclear war incredibly interesting, which is why I want to name Bert, Bert. :)
Here's a link to the breeder review section...
https://tortoiseforum.org/forums/tortoise-vendor-reviews.107/
And don't forget to check out the breeder link I sent...between the two you should get a sense of who you like.

I wouldn't worry about the distance for shipping too much. How the baby is started is your primary concern.
 

Nookole

New Member
Joined
Feb 18, 2019
Messages
25
Location (City and/or State)
North Carolina
Here's a link to the breeder review section...
https://tortoiseforum.org/forums/tortoise-vendor-reviews.107/
And don't forget to check out the breeder link I sent...between the two you should get a sense of who you like.

I wouldn't worry about the distance for shipping too much. How the baby is started is your primary concern.

Thank you for your advice! Also, I must be missing something, because I can't seem where to buy from https://www.gardenstatetortoise.com/ which I'm given to understand is Chris? The website just appears to be informational!
 

Ray--Opo

Well-Known Member
5 Year Member
Platinum Tortoise Club
Joined
Oct 14, 2017
Messages
7,017
Location (City and/or State)
Palm Bay Fl
Go back to that site. Go to the bottom and click on the logo. Click on the menu bars top right. Look for surplus and click on that.
 

HermanniChris

Well-Known Member
TFO Sponsor
10 Year Member!
Joined
Sep 7, 2007
Messages
2,126
Yes that’s me. You can contact me through my actual Hermann’s site which is HermanniHaven.com

GardenStateTortoise.com is just informational.
 

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