Hermanns enclosure conflicting views

Norm2020

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I have been asking for advice from many forums on keeping a hermanns tortoise, but have come across conflicting opinions since reading posts on this one.

Firstly I should point out I'm in the UK so this may have some bearing on the environment but I was wondering if you could advise on my set up plan. (No tortoise yet) here goes and any advice would be appreciated the plan is.........

Firstly be housed indoors until our next winter where hibernation will first take place once we have had this winter and summer to settle and learn about each other.

It was advised to have a table set up to allow good airflow, with substrate of topsoil kept damp at all times. Hide in cool side with few decor items. Basking area of 32 degrees using a combi lamp for uva/uvb and heat. Advice on ambient temps would be helpful.

Rain water provided in shallow dish at all times and bath whilst young for 20 mins a day in luk warm water.

Feeding suitable weeds and flowers with a source of calcium.

I've probably missed something but if anyone could help that would be aprriciated I know I've seen a lot of negative towards the tables.

Thanks in advance
 

Blackdog1714

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How old will the tort be when you het them? Age impacts the viability of a tortoise table or an enclosed chamber.
 

TeamZissou

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Here's a good care sheet:


I would use a closed chamber to keep humidity high in the 70-80% range to prevent pyramiding. The conditions the tortoise was in during the first 8-10 months are critical for smooth growth. If you cannot verify that the tortoise was kept in high humidity conditions, I would either buy from someone else who keeps them at the proper humidity, or you could try to get the tortoise sooner after hatching so you can get it into the right conditions.
 

KarenSoCal

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Hi, and welcome to the forum!

Here in the US, we do things differently than most keepers in the UK. That's part of the reason you are finding so many discrepancies among care sheets.

It has been shown time after time that keeping babies too dry can damage their kidneys, leading to death in a few months.

That lack of humidity is also the leading cause of pyramiding. In an open topped enclosure, it is nearly impossible to create, and maintain, the heat and humidity that is required to keep them healthy and smooth growing.

People think of tortoises as desert dwellers. Some do live where there are extended dry periods. But these"desert" areas also have a rainy season, and it's during this time that babies hatch. Lots of water, humidity, plants growing. They hide under plants, where a microclimate is formed. A very humid spot to be. During the dry hot period, some stay in their burrows for 90% of their time. They control the humidity of these underground spaces by peeing and pooping in them, supplying the moisture.

So we raise babies in closed chambers so we can control the parameters according to the species of tortoise. For some reason, the UK has been slow to adopt this.

Your tort will be 8-10 months, so not a hatchling. But it still has a lot of growing to do, so should be in a closed chamber to make sure that the new growth is smooth.

Everything else in your plan looks pretty good with the exception of the UVB light. It looks like you are referring to a UVB bulb that would screw into a regular socket. The by far best UVB is a fluorescent tube type. Some of the screw-ins hurt tortoise eyes, and shouldn't be sold. Some just don't put out the advertised amount of UVB. A MVB (merc vapor bulb) is expensive, don't hold up, and run too hot.

You already have one care sheet, but it's been updated. I'm linking you to the new one. Also, I'm putting several other links that will help you know what to buy, and do.





4 elements of heating: By Tom

There are four elements to heating and lighting:

Basking bulb. I use 65 watt floods from the hardware store. I run them on a timer and adjust the height to get the correct basking temp under them. I also like to use a flat rock of some sort directly under the bulb.

Ambient heat maintenance. I use ceramic heating elements or radiant heat panels set on thermostats to maintain ambient above 80 degrees day and night for tropical species. You'd only need day heat for a temperate species like Testudo or DT.

Light. I use LEDs for this purpose. Something in the 5000-6500K color range will look the best. Most bulbs at the store are in the 2500K range and they look yellowish.

UV. If you can get your tortoise outside for an hour 2 or 3 times a week, you won't need indoor UV. If you want it anyway, get one of the newer HO type fluorescent tubes. Which type will depend on mounting height. 5.0 bulbs make almost no UV. You need a meter to check this: https://www.solarmeter.com/model65.html

 

Norm2020

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Wow thanks for all the info will have a read. Yeh seems to be the forums over here say the opposite although ift Def makes more sense with what you guys are doing.

Thanks again looks like I've got some reading to do
 

Blackdog1714

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Wow thanks for all the info will have a read. Yeh seems to be the forums over here say the opposite although ift Def makes more sense with what you guys are doing.

Thanks again looks like I've got some reading to do
I have a two happy healthy tortoises - a Russian and a Leopard and you could take my Pre-TFO knowledge and put it in a shot glass and have room for two shots of alcohol. My wife is writing it off as my mid-life crisis!
 
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