i had him for a few weeks now he was 8 weeks when i got him but he is getting up about 7 clock in the morning and goging to sleep at 4 clock in the afternnon he is having d3 and they is a cutter fish in they as while and we are feddling him every other day and he is a bsking light and a uvb tubes but he dont have any heat at night
herman tortoise
- Thread starter sophie24
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Hello Sophie
I heard you should feed everyday a tortoise untill it is full grown (if I am wrong, please someone correct me). I feed mine everyday and he is 1 year and 4 months. Mine wakes up around 6-6h30AM and goes in his hide for the night around 4h30-5PM. I dust his food with calcium with D3 twice a week.
I heard you should feed everyday a tortoise untill it is full grown (if I am wrong, please someone correct me). I feed mine everyday and he is 1 year and 4 months. Mine wakes up around 6-6h30AM and goes in his hide for the night around 4h30-5PM. I dust his food with calcium with D3 twice a week.
Hi Sophie: I also think you should offer your little guy food every day. Try to find a nice variety of different greens for him. It sounds like you have him set up ok, and as long as your house doesn't get too cold at night, you don't need to provide heat at night. But once winter sets in and the house temperature gets below 60, you might think about getting some sort of heat source for night time.
What did you name your little tortoise? And can we see a picture of him?
Yvonne
What did you name your little tortoise? And can we see a picture of him?
Yvonne
Hi everyone. I am the proud owner of a one year old Hermann's tortoise. I have pretty much the same question, my tort has a basking lamp and a UVB strip light which are on during the day. However, at night time, I haven't been using a heat source as yet. Would you recommend making a little 'hide out' for him to sleep in and keep warm, a heat mat or using a different lamp at night time during the winter months? P.s. I'm not hibernating him yet, as he is too small and not heavy enough.
Any help would be very welcome.
Thank you
Any help would be very welcome.
Thank you
Welcome to the forum! If you want, feel free to start an introduction thread to make sure everyone sees it. Congrats on the tort!
What temperature is your house at night in the tort's enclosure? This will determine if you need night heat for your tortoise. If it's above 60-65 F, you're probably ok. You do want a night temperature drop for a tortoise below the daytime low, but you don't want them too cold. What is your day temperature gradient in the enclosure? For night heat, heat from above such as a black light bulb or ceramic heat emitter bulb which emit heat but no light are recommended. Heat mats can be dangerous for tortoises as in the wild they get their heat from above, not below, and can get burnt or overheated with the mat.
Also, in my opinion, hibernating a tortoise is the owner's choice and not a necessity. An inexperienced owner hibernating a tort can be more dangerous than overwintering them (keeping lights and food going all winter like you're doing now). Something to keep in mind that this is not a necessity and not to be taken lightly. That's great you are waiting a bit for the little one to be bigger. How's his appetite and diet? What kind of enclosure do you have? Pictures? We love pictures!
If your house is cold at night, the heat bulbs can warm up the area 5-10 degrees F or more. Use a fixture with a ceramic socket. I like the cage or hood fixtures. You would show the tortoise to sleep under it in their favorite hide or buried or whatever, and eventually they should know to sleep there. They will move around to their desired temperature while awake (thermoregulate), but once asleep they will not move around, so it's your responsibility to use an accurate thermometer to test the temperature gradient so they do not get too warm while sleeping. I like a laser thermometer like the PE1 or PE2 as you just point the laser and it takes a quick and accurate temperature. Any more questions? Best wishes.
What temperature is your house at night in the tort's enclosure? This will determine if you need night heat for your tortoise. If it's above 60-65 F, you're probably ok. You do want a night temperature drop for a tortoise below the daytime low, but you don't want them too cold. What is your day temperature gradient in the enclosure? For night heat, heat from above such as a black light bulb or ceramic heat emitter bulb which emit heat but no light are recommended. Heat mats can be dangerous for tortoises as in the wild they get their heat from above, not below, and can get burnt or overheated with the mat.
Also, in my opinion, hibernating a tortoise is the owner's choice and not a necessity. An inexperienced owner hibernating a tort can be more dangerous than overwintering them (keeping lights and food going all winter like you're doing now). Something to keep in mind that this is not a necessity and not to be taken lightly. That's great you are waiting a bit for the little one to be bigger. How's his appetite and diet? What kind of enclosure do you have? Pictures? We love pictures!
If your house is cold at night, the heat bulbs can warm up the area 5-10 degrees F or more. Use a fixture with a ceramic socket. I like the cage or hood fixtures. You would show the tortoise to sleep under it in their favorite hide or buried or whatever, and eventually they should know to sleep there. They will move around to their desired temperature while awake (thermoregulate), but once asleep they will not move around, so it's your responsibility to use an accurate thermometer to test the temperature gradient so they do not get too warm while sleeping. I like a laser thermometer like the PE1 or PE2 as you just point the laser and it takes a quick and accurate temperature. Any more questions? Best wishes.
Hi, I have a round thermometer (which isn't too accurate so the laser one sounds great) which reads around 25 C during the day and it drops to around 15 C during the night in summer. Thanks for the advice about hibernation, I was thinking the same, he's happy and healthy as he is and I don't want to spoil that by hibernating him when I'm not too sure on the methods etc . I have a terracotta plantpot on its side in the table, and he hides by the side of that to sleep at the moment, so the hide out would be much warmer and cosier during winter.
P.s. How do I upload pictures, I'd love you all to see what a beaut he is!!
Bex
. I have a terracotta plantpot on its side in the table, and he hides by the side of that to sleep at the moment, so the hide out would be much warmer and cosier during winter.P.s. How do I upload pictures, I'd love you all to see what a beaut he is!!
Bex
Hello. My 18 month old alfie is fed every day, sometimes twice, and he its it all especially if i have let him have a run in the grass in the garden! He is abour 2-2.5 inches.
Alfie sleeps in/under a wooden half circular 'hide' designed for guinni pigs and bought from my local petstore (if you dont know what i mean i can post a pic). Under the hide i add a timothy hay and aspen bedding on to of the sand/soil mix. He is up at around 9am and takes himself to bed usually between 6 and 7, burrowing himslef so you van see the top of his shell poking out. I leave the UVB lamp on untill around 8pm.
I hope this helps!
Alfie sleeps in/under a wooden half circular 'hide' designed for guinni pigs and bought from my local petstore (if you dont know what i mean i can post a pic). Under the hide i add a timothy hay and aspen bedding on to of the sand/soil mix. He is up at around 9am and takes himself to bed usually between 6 and 7, burrowing himslef so you van see the top of his shell poking out. I leave the UVB lamp on untill around 8pm.
I hope this helps!
I agree that a more accurate thermometer is necessary. The enclosure should have a temperature gradient, not one temperature. 25 C is 77 F. This is too cold for a tortoise to digest food--a warmer temperature must be available, but you could have even a slightly cooler area available too. To digest food and want to be active, a tort must have areas in the 80s F available. Are you sure the entire enclosure is 25 C? I think you took one temperature maybe away from a heat source. I would suggest a range of approximately 21 C up to 35 C in one place for the tort to bask (70 to 95 F). What kind of heat/light/UVB setup do you have? For night, 15 C is 59 F. If you house gets any colder than this at night I recommend heat. 60 F is the cutout I like to go by, unless it's a hatchling under 1-2 years old, than 65 F. That is about the coldest it should be at any time for a Hermann. I would hope you could keep it above that temperature year round.
Hides can be all sorts of things--a half log, box, plant pot, pile of substrate, etc. Different torts have different preferences. Ideally you want at a bare minimum two hides. One is a warmer area and one in a cooler area.
See this thread on uploading pictures and let me know if you have specific questions: http://www.tortoiseforum.org/thread-1408.html
Best wishes.
Hides can be all sorts of things--a half log, box, plant pot, pile of substrate, etc. Different torts have different preferences. Ideally you want at a bare minimum two hides. One is a warmer area and one in a cooler area.
See this thread on uploading pictures and let me know if you have specific questions: http://www.tortoiseforum.org/thread-1408.html
Best wishes.
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