how big should my house be?
- Thread starter T-J
- Start date
The_Four_Toed_Edward
Well-Known Member
Hi T-J and welcome to the forum!
We recommend a minimum of about 3 square meters for adult herman tortoises. There are many ways to achieve it in an affordable way. Since you are already 5 years old, an open top enclosure will do. If you have any further questions please ask away!
We recommend a minimum of about 3 square meters for adult herman tortoises. There are many ways to achieve it in an affordable way. Since you are already 5 years old, an open top enclosure will do. If you have any further questions please ask away!
It should be in the neighborhood of 244x122cm, or larger.
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Littleredfootbigredheart
Well-Known Member
Hello and welcome from a fellow uk member
The sizes mentioned above are what to aim for
As much as it’s encouraged to have tortoises in a safe outdoor enclosure, I understand being from the uk myself, that our climate makes it difficult to house outdoors full time, an outdoor enclosure is great for them to enjoy in summer though! I would generally discourage free roaming outside of a safe enclosure.
Care advice for these guys is painfully behind, fb pages, YouTube, pet stores, they’re all repeating the same outdated advice, this forum is made of people who have spent years finding the best ways to care for them that actually result in healthy tortoise.
As adults they need a minimum of an 8x4 enclosure, roaming is vital to tortoise health, it aids digestion and strengthen their muscles.
Don’t think they can get away with smaller if allowed to free roam, I’d highly discourage indoor free roams, being away from their heat source means they’re being exposed to temperatures that are too low quite often, smooth surfaces like laminate flooring will wreak absolute havoc on their hip joints over time.
There’s just numerous reasons it isn’t a good idea unfortunately, harmful floor cleaners, foreign objects being swallowed, getting stuck under things they shouldn’t like shelving or sofas, low temperatures, no uv, getting hit by doors, one member has mentioned they knew someone who’s tort got their head crushed in a door jam
, flipping hazards, smooth services, the list goes on and is endless.
They feel most comfortable and safe in a space that best mimics their natural environment, so an appropriate sized enclosure is always the ultimate goal, hopefully we can help
I’m going to include some information below on an example of an appropriate indoor set up, it includes the correct levels and equipment etc, including the appropriate indoor uv, you may know/have some of it already, but I cover all basis for any new members reading the threads, hopefully you find the information useful!
Basking light should be an incandescent floodlight(example attached) on a 12 hour timer.
Basking temperature directly under the floodlight should be 95-100f, The rest of the enclosure should be ranging 75-80 during the day.
You may also wish to add ambient lighting on the same timer, providing shady areas with hides and safe plants.
Then CHE/CHE’s(ceramic heat emitters) always on a thermostat, for night heat if your house drops below 60’s at night. Set the thermostat for a night temperature place the probe in their cooler end, plug the che into it and the thermostat into the mains, it’ll be plugged in 24/7 but will only turn on when the temperature drops. We’re a cooler climate so I think you’ll most likely need these.
Large wide domes will help project the heat down, just don’t rely on the clamps that come with them, always hang securely.
Indoor Uv should be a t5 fluorescent tube, avoid the compact and coil uv bulbs, they don’t give out enough uv and can hurt the tortoises eyes. The uv can be on a 4 hour timer from noon. I’ve attached examples of the two brands to go for and some examples of how to mount them. I’d personally go with Arcadia as it comes with the reflector fitting
With lighting always avoid anything labelled halogen or mercury vapour.
For substrates, either coco coir, dampened and packed down by hand as a base, with a layer of orchid(fir not pine) bark or forest floor on top, or just the orchid bark/forest floor. Never use anything with sand mixed in, no top soils and no kinds of moss. The problem with top soil is unless you’ve composted it yourself, you don’t know what kind of plants have gone into it, it could be something toxic. Sand can irritate the eyes and be an impaction risk, moss is an impaction risk too.
You want to aim to have the bottom layer of substrate damp, to do this pour lukewarm water into the corners, not loads but enough to dampen the entire bottom layer. To stop that top layer getting a little too dry/dusty, mix the substrate now n then. Check your monitors and substrate to do the pours as and when needed.
I’d personally recommend you make your own base to go as big as you possibly can for the space you have. The closer you can get to an 8x4 size the better.
When making your base, just make sure the material is safe, some use flower beds, or take a large bookcase, take out the shelves and lie flat, or just make their own, for all these options I’d line with cheap pond liner to protect the base, making sure the liner goes up the sides too and make sure those sides are deep enough! They can be professional escape artists
I’ve also included examples of stands people make/buy to hang their lighting, use a temperature gun to determine how high the basking bulb needs to be, the uv I suggested needs to be mounted 18-20 inches from the top of the torts shell.
For a water dish a shallow terracotta saucer sitting flush with the substrate is considered safest, they have grip in the event your tortoise flips themselves, most pet store options are a known hazard.
I’d also always recommend getting your hands on a temp gun, they’re SO handy when setting up a new environment or for checking your monitors are correct
For the diet side of things, avoid fruits, You want to stick with leafy greens and weeds for these guys, perhaps you’ll find this link below useful, in the wildflower section there’s so many plants that grow perfectly in our climate! Perhaps you could get some seeds offline and plant into organic soil(no fertilisers or chemicals) in a planter the tortoise doesn’t have access to, forage them as they growbe very wary foraging elsewhere, you can’t be sure there’s no chemicals and they’re toxic lookalikes so always double check.
Hope this helps!
The sizes mentioned above are what to aim for
As much as it’s encouraged to have tortoises in a safe outdoor enclosure, I understand being from the uk myself, that our climate makes it difficult to house outdoors full time, an outdoor enclosure is great for them to enjoy in summer though! I would generally discourage free roaming outside of a safe enclosure.
Care advice for these guys is painfully behind, fb pages, YouTube, pet stores, they’re all repeating the same outdated advice, this forum is made of people who have spent years finding the best ways to care for them that actually result in healthy tortoise.
As adults they need a minimum of an 8x4 enclosure, roaming is vital to tortoise health, it aids digestion and strengthen their muscles.
Don’t think they can get away with smaller if allowed to free roam, I’d highly discourage indoor free roams, being away from their heat source means they’re being exposed to temperatures that are too low quite often, smooth surfaces like laminate flooring will wreak absolute havoc on their hip joints over time.
There’s just numerous reasons it isn’t a good idea unfortunately, harmful floor cleaners, foreign objects being swallowed, getting stuck under things they shouldn’t like shelving or sofas, low temperatures, no uv, getting hit by doors, one member has mentioned they knew someone who’s tort got their head crushed in a door jam
, flipping hazards, smooth services, the list goes on and is endless.They feel most comfortable and safe in a space that best mimics their natural environment, so an appropriate sized enclosure is always the ultimate goal, hopefully we can help
I’m going to include some information below on an example of an appropriate indoor set up, it includes the correct levels and equipment etc, including the appropriate indoor uv, you may know/have some of it already, but I cover all basis for any new members reading the threads, hopefully you find the information useful!
Basking light should be an incandescent floodlight(example attached) on a 12 hour timer.
Basking temperature directly under the floodlight should be 95-100f, The rest of the enclosure should be ranging 75-80 during the day.
You may also wish to add ambient lighting on the same timer, providing shady areas with hides and safe plants.
Then CHE/CHE’s(ceramic heat emitters) always on a thermostat, for night heat if your house drops below 60’s at night. Set the thermostat for a night temperature place the probe in their cooler end, plug the che into it and the thermostat into the mains, it’ll be plugged in 24/7 but will only turn on when the temperature drops. We’re a cooler climate so I think you’ll most likely need these.
Large wide domes will help project the heat down, just don’t rely on the clamps that come with them, always hang securely.
Indoor Uv should be a t5 fluorescent tube, avoid the compact and coil uv bulbs, they don’t give out enough uv and can hurt the tortoises eyes. The uv can be on a 4 hour timer from noon. I’ve attached examples of the two brands to go for and some examples of how to mount them. I’d personally go with Arcadia as it comes with the reflector fitting
With lighting always avoid anything labelled halogen or mercury vapour.
For substrates, either coco coir, dampened and packed down by hand as a base, with a layer of orchid(fir not pine) bark or forest floor on top, or just the orchid bark/forest floor. Never use anything with sand mixed in, no top soils and no kinds of moss. The problem with top soil is unless you’ve composted it yourself, you don’t know what kind of plants have gone into it, it could be something toxic. Sand can irritate the eyes and be an impaction risk, moss is an impaction risk too.
You want to aim to have the bottom layer of substrate damp, to do this pour lukewarm water into the corners, not loads but enough to dampen the entire bottom layer. To stop that top layer getting a little too dry/dusty, mix the substrate now n then. Check your monitors and substrate to do the pours as and when needed.
I’d personally recommend you make your own base to go as big as you possibly can for the space you have. The closer you can get to an 8x4 size the better.
When making your base, just make sure the material is safe, some use flower beds, or take a large bookcase, take out the shelves and lie flat, or just make their own, for all these options I’d line with cheap pond liner to protect the base, making sure the liner goes up the sides too and make sure those sides are deep enough! They can be professional escape artists
I’ve also included examples of stands people make/buy to hang their lighting, use a temperature gun to determine how high the basking bulb needs to be, the uv I suggested needs to be mounted 18-20 inches from the top of the torts shell.
For a water dish a shallow terracotta saucer sitting flush with the substrate is considered safest, they have grip in the event your tortoise flips themselves, most pet store options are a known hazard.
I’d also always recommend getting your hands on a temp gun, they’re SO handy when setting up a new environment or for checking your monitors are correct
For the diet side of things, avoid fruits, You want to stick with leafy greens and weeds for these guys, perhaps you’ll find this link below useful, in the wildflower section there’s so many plants that grow perfectly in our climate! Perhaps you could get some seeds offline and plant into organic soil(no fertilisers or chemicals) in a planter the tortoise doesn’t have access to, forage them as they grow
be very wary foraging elsewhere, you can’t be sure there’s no chemicals and they’re toxic lookalikes so always double check.The Tortoise Table - Home
The Tortoise Table plant database and resource site for Tortoise owners
www.thetortoisetable.org.uk
Hope this helps!
