Hi

[Johnny Wizz]

Hello, I am John and my wife and I collected our two Hermann tortoises yesterday . We have them in a four foot vivarium. They are on a sand and peat substrate. We have a couple of worries. Firstly the glass has all steamed up. The temperature is thermostatically controlled at 80 degrees. Would this be because the substrate is drying out? Secondly one completely buried itself and the other is partially buried and they have been there all night. Should we be concerned?

 

[hingeback]

Hello, I am John and my wife and I collected our two Hermann tortoises yesterday . We have them in a four foot vivarium. They are on a sand and peat substrate. We have a couple of worries. Firstly the glass has all steamed up. The temperature is thermostatically controlled at 80 degrees. Would this be because the substrate is drying out? Secondly one completely buried itself and the other is partially buried and they have been there all night. Should we be concerned?

Hi, welcome to the forum. You should not use sand for substrate. I am not experienced at Hermann's at all but some species dig when it is too cold or too hot. You need to make sure that the humidity is just nice. Can you upload pics of your enclosure?

 

[Grandpa Turtle 144]

Hello Johnny

 

[Yvonne G]

Welcome to the Forum, John!!

Baby tortoises need a lot of humidity, but bigger ones, not so much. Read the care sheet pinned at the top of the Hermann section here on the Forum. It was written by a very well-known and experienced Hermanni breeder. You should be able to get a few pointers from it, and maybe it will help you with your humidity problem.

 

[Speedy-1]

Hi and welcome John !

 

[Tidgy's Dad]

Hello, John and a very warm welcome to Tortoise Forum to you, your wife and the two Hermann's
Firstly, tortoises are solitary animals, don't need friends and should not be kept in pairs. groups sometimes work,in a large enclosure but not pairs.
Here's why : .http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/bad-day-for-baby.114328/
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/pairs.34837/
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/keeping-two-together.115787/
Also have a look at http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/ for useful basic information.
The care sheet referred to is http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/sticky-hermanns-tortoise-care-sheet-updated.101410/
You will see if your torts are larger juveniles or adults, they will need 8 foot by 4 foot enclosures, minimum.
Sand can be swallowed and is an impaction risk, which can result in expensive surgery or death of the tortoise.
Coco coir, orchid bark or cypress mulch are better alternative substrates.
The care sheets will guide you to which temperatures and humidity are necessary.
The torts being hidden and inactive is normal when they move to a new home, they are worried there may be predators here, or they are in another torts territory (here maybe each others) and are not sure if you are going to eat them. Soon they will come to know this is their place and that you are the food god and will become adventurous and explore as long as their temps and set up are correct.
Sorry if this all sounds a bit horrible, but just trying to help you give a happy home to your torts.
Good luck and welcome to the wonderful world of tortoise keeping!