Hermann Tort in Kansas

[newtortmami]

Hello, where do I start. So, I've got a Hermann Tortoise. Just got him for my birthday in August. So far he is great. Took about a week to get him on a schedule (since we got him from Petco and he came with no instructions) But he is a very active adult tort. We keep him indoors and we live in Kansas. So the weather is unpredictable. Right now it's like 90 degrees in October, tomorrow it could be 60. Lol
Anyhoo, my little guy has a healthy appetite. Loves iceberg lettuce, kale, green peppers and a occasional tomato her and there. I also add calcium to his plate. He soaks between 10-25 minutes every other day. He loves roaming the house. We put up kiddy gates to keep him in. He also has a large homemade cedar wood enclosure. It's about 5 feet by 3 feet. I've filed it with repti-soil on the bottom and cedar chips on top. I am trying my best to provide for him based on what I watched on YouTube.

My only issue is "hibernation" . I know nothing about that and scared I might mess something up. In his enclosure, I've made an insulated box that he crawls in to sleep at night. It's well ventilated, keeps him warm and when it's hot outside, I leave the flap up to keep him cool.

I noticed that he's slowing down and sleeping more this past week because the temperatures at night dip. I don't know if his natural body clock tells him it's time to hibernate.

Does he have too? Or just getting extra sleep on cold days okay? I don't know what I am doing. Sorry to ramble but please, let me know. If so, how do I keep him hydrated while sleeping?

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

Hello and welcome to the forum!!beautiful tortoise!!

Few things of note, I wouldn’t feed this guy green peppers, they are too high in sugar and can mess his gut flora, you want to stick with leafy greens and safe weeds.

I’d also highly discourage any indoor free roaming, obvious hazards aside, the stress of living on indoor floors can really take its toll on them over time, they aren’t domesticated like dogs or cats, they’re captive, therefore thrive in a place that best mimics their natural environment, we’ve had countless members who have let their tortoises free roam, resulting in some pretty dire situationsit’s hard to pick up on a stressed tortoise sometimes, but being somewhere unnatural really does cause them nothing but stress over time. An appropriate sized enclosure that safely meets all his environmental needs is the goal, he looks a potential adult meaning he does ideally need a bigger set up than 5x3.

I will also warn any kind of topsoil isn’t ideal, unless composted yourself, there’s no way of knowing what kind of plants have gone into it, could be something toxic. With reptisoils they are often mixed with sand which also isn’t good for them.
Cedar wood can actually emit harmful fumes when heated, therefore isn’t an ideal building material, I’d definitely remove the chips asap!

YouTube, Facebook, pet stores and the like, all give out some very outdated and downright inappropriate care advice, trust me when I say from experience, using any other source outside of this forum for information will cause you nothing but confusion!
I know it’s hard to trust a stranger on an online forum to only listen to the information on here, but believe me when I say there is just SO much outdated misinformation out there, it’s made all the more confusing when there’s sources that are giving both good and bad care info and knowing who to trust. Be there done that

On this forum, there are members from all over the world who have been raising all kinds of species for decades, and through trial and error, have found the safest, most reliable ways to raise smooth healthy tortoises long term. Elsewhere you run the risk of people recommending some very outdated, less than optimal and potentially dangerous advice, places like facebook, reptile stores, dodgy breeders.. lots of people following that advice run into common issues and come here looking for help.
This place is a hive mind for the most up to date information and all things tortoises, stick around and you’ll see why so many people love it!

For the brumation side of things, the only way to keep them active during the winter if you aren’t wanted to brumate him, is to keep him in a well lit and well heated set up, the cooler side should read no lower than 75 during the day and some folks increase the time their lights are on for a few hours to mimic a longer summer day. If dropping too cold at night I’d install a CHE(ceramic heat emitter) which I more into in the link I’ll add.

I think you’ll find this thread a very useful read, I cover correct kind of equipment(lighting&heating, including the correct uv), levels, sizing, appropriately maintaining humidity, correct substrates, there’s lots of visual examples for everything and a really good diet link to check out!

Housing adult Russian and Hermans indoors

Hello there! In this thread I’m going to include some information an example of an appropriate indoor set up for an older Herman/russian. As much as it’s encouraged to have tortoises in a safe outdoor enclosure, I understand being from the uk myself, that some climates make it difficult to...

tortoiseforum.org

This one is also really good to familiarise yourself with! It’ll help you avoid the wrong bulbs, substrates, housing etc and I always encourage double checking new purchases on the forum 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

I hope these help! Give them a read and let me know what you think, always happy to answer further questions!

Also if considering brumation, this might be a good read too

Tom's Brumation Thread

Every fall we get bombarded here on the forum with all sorts of questions and problems regarding hibernation and tortoises "slowing down" for winter. The purpose of this thread is to talk about all aspects of this subject, to dispel some of the myths and mysteries, and give a "how to" list of...

tortoiseforum.org

 

[newtortmami]

Hello and welcome to the forum!!beautiful tortoise!!

Few things of note, I wouldn’t feed this guy green peppers, they are too high in sugar and can mess his gut flora, you want to stick with leafy greens and safe weeds.

I’d also highly discourage any indoor free roaming, obvious hazards aside, the stress of living on indoor floors can really take its toll on them over time, they aren’t domesticated like dogs or cats, they’re captive, therefore thrive in a place that best mimics their natural environment, we’ve had countless members who have let their tortoises free roam, resulting in some pretty dire situationsit’s hard to pick up on a stressed tortoise sometimes, but being somewhere unnatural really does cause them nothing but stress over time. An appropriate sized enclosure that safely meets all his environmental needs is the goal, he looks a potential adult meaning he does ideally need a bigger set up than 5x3.

I will also warn any kind of topsoil isn’t ideal, unless composted yourself, there’s no way of knowing what kind of plants have gone into it, could be something toxic. With reptisoils they are often mixed with sand which also isn’t good for them.
Cedar wood can actually emit harmful fumes when heated, therefore isn’t an ideal building material, I’d definitely remove the chips asap!

YouTube, Facebook, pet stores and the like, all give out some very outdated and downright inappropriate care advice, trust me when I say from experience, using any other source outside of this forum for information will cause you nothing but confusion!
I know it’s hard to trust a stranger on an online forum to only listen to the information on here, but believe me when I say there is just SO much outdated misinformation out there, it’s made all the more confusing when there’s sources that are giving both good and bad care info and knowing who to trust. Be there done that

On this forum, there are members from all over the world who have been raising all kinds of species for decades, and through trial and error, have found the safest, most reliable ways to raise smooth healthy tortoises long term. Elsewhere you run the risk of people recommending some very outdated, less than optimal and potentially dangerous advice, places like facebook, reptile stores, dodgy breeders.. lots of people following that advice run into common issues and come here looking for help.
This place is a hive mind for the most up to date information and all things tortoises, stick around and you’ll see why so many people love it!

For the brumation side of things, the only way to keep them active during the winter if you aren’t wanted to brumate him, is to keep him in a well lit and well heated set up, the cooler side should read no lower than 75 during the day and some folks increase the time their lights are on for a few hours to mimic a longer summer day. If dropping too cold at night I’d install a CHE(ceramic heat emitter) which I more into in the link I’ll add.

I think you’ll find this thread a very useful read, I cover correct kind of equipment(lighting&heating, including the correct uv), levels, sizing, appropriately maintaining humidity, correct substrates, there’s lots of visual examples for everything and a really good diet link to check out!

Housing adult Russian and Hermans indoors

Hello there! In this thread I’m going to include some information an example of an appropriate indoor set up for an older Herman/russian. As much as it’s encouraged to have tortoises in a safe outdoor enclosure, I understand being from the uk myself, that some climates make it difficult to...

tortoiseforum.org

This one is also really good to familiarise yourself with! It’ll help you avoid the wrong bulbs, substrates, housing etc and I always encourage double checking new purchases on the forum 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

I hope these help! Give them a read and let me know what you think, always happy to answer further questions!

Also if considering brumation, this might be a good read too

Tom's Brumation Thread

Every fall we get bombarded here on the forum with all sorts of questions and problems regarding hibernation and tortoises "slowing down" for winter. The purpose of this thread is to talk about all aspects of this subject, to dispel some of the myths and mysteries, and give a "how to" list of...

tortoiseforum.org

Thanks so much, I was so worried about hibernating. Whew!! I am reading all your post and will make the need changes. And I promise, I'll stop watching Garden State Tortoise on YouTube and come straight to you.