Is this normal colouration

[ChrisDove]

Hello, I was worried about the darkening patachs on my hermanns tortise (Tank) whos nearly two years old. I'm starting to think it maybe her (or his) patterns growing but want to be sure.

Thanks

 

[zovick]

Hello, I was worried about the darkening patachs on my hermanns tortise (Tank) whos nearly two years old. I'm starting to think it maybe her (or his) patterns growing but want to be sure.

Thanks

The tortoise looks perfectly normal to me. I don't believe there is any reason for concern.

 

[ChrisDove]

The tortoise looks perfectly normal to me. I don't believe there is any reason for concern.

Thanks Zovick

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

Everything looks good in that picwhilst you’re here, don’t suppose you mind sharing some of your housing info? It’s always nice to see with new members, but don’t worry if not!

What are your temperatures like all over? Ie basking temp(directly under the bulb), overall day temps(middle and cooler side), night temps?
What kind of basking bulb is being used specifically? Packaging photos are good if you have any
Do you use indoor uv? If so what kind?
What’s his substrate?
What kind of monitoring do you have measuring temp and humidity?

A photo of the full set up would be wonderful! Welcome to the forum

 

[ChrisDove]

Everything looks good in that picwhilst you’re here, don’t suppose you mind sharing some of your housing info? It’s always nice to see with new members, but don’t worry if not!

What are your temperatures like all over? Ie basking temp(directly under the bulb), overall day temps(middle and cooler side), night temps?
What kind of basking bulb is being used specifically? Packaging photos are good if you have any
Do you use indoor uv? If so what kind?
What’s his substrate?
What kind of monitoring do you have measuring temp and humidity?

A photo of the full set up would be wonderful! Welcome to the forum

Thanks.

Yeah happy to share. We've built he a custom table, it's quite big so struggling with the smaller light to keep it as warm as her old enclosure which unfortunately was a vivarium.

I don't have packaging for the light to hand, but taken a photo of the label so hopefully enough?

We try and keep the coolest end at around 20°c at night and 25°c during the day.

She's got three substrates, in front of her hide is tortoise sand, then coco coir in the middle, then at the end I have a mix of top soil and play sand. Inside her hide is edible bedding.

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

Thanks.

Yeah happy to share. We've built he a custom table, it's quite big so struggling with the smaller light to keep it as warm as her old enclosure which unfortunately was a vivarium.

I don't have packaging for the light to hand, but taken a photo of the label so hopefully enough?

We try and keep the coolest end at around 20°c at night and 25°c during the day.

She's got three substrates, in front of her hide is tortoise sand, then coco coir in the middle, then at the end I have a mix of top soil and play sand. Inside her hide is edible bedding.

Thanks for the reply! It’s super helpful for giving some tips&pointers.

Open top enclosures are a bit tricker to keep heated when our temperatures drop in the uk, I’ll include some suggestions below to help with this but ceramic bulbs can come in handy when cold weather comes around, and a covering can help retain the heat in general.

UVB choice looks great, I think the basking bulb might possibly be a spot bulb(not frosted on the front?), you ideally want a flood like this

A dome fitting would also really help project heat down to help with ground temps.

Substrate wise I’d avoid sands, it’s an impaction risk unfortunately, those white calcium bits also encourage substrate eating which you really don’t want. I’d also avoid any kind of top soils, unless composted yourself there’s no way to know each and every ingredient/plant that’s gone into it, that and when trying to achieve the dampness the bc substrate needs to be, it creates a muddy consistency. The substrate looks quite dry, you want it nice and damp in the lower layers, dusty substrate can become an irritant. Coco coir is a nice choice, some prefer to add a layer of orchid bark on top to help keep those lower layers damp.

please feel free to go over these links, they all contain the most up to date stuff

A great one for new comers

Info For New People. Please Read This First.

Hello and welcome to tortoiseforum.org! We are all glad you are here! There is no other forum like this anywhere. We have tens of thousands of members from all over the world ranging from kids with their first tortoise to people who have been breeding and keeping high end tortoises since the...

tortoiseforum.org

Toms care guide

The Best Way To Raise Any Temperate Species Of Tortoise

I chose the title of this care sheet very carefully. Are there other ways to raise babies and care for adults? Yes. Yes there are, but those ways are not as good. What follows is the BEST way, according to 30 years of research and experimentation with hundreds of babies of many species. What is...

tortoiseforum.org

I made this one based off the forums care information and added visual aids, it covers correct equipment(uvb, heating bulbs, lighting etc), sizing(you can get away with slightly smaller indoors if you can build a larger outdoor space when weather permits, but here in the uk, I’d have as big a indoor set up as possible), appropriately maintaining the humidity, safe substrates, there’s lots of visual examples for everything, and a really handy 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 includes lots of inspiration for an adult set up both indoors and out! The indoor bit has some good ideas to tackle indoor space whilst still providing the needed roaming room! Check comments too, I’m always adding to it. I know the recommended adult size is intimidating to some, especially if you’ve been lead into thinking he’ll be fine in a smaller set up(very common) but tortoises long term health really does rely on lots of roaming room. If you’re unable to go that big, go as big as possible

Enclosure inspiration

Howdy folks! Hope everyone is well! As you all know, I’m a big fan of making threads that cater more towards visual learners like myself, I’ve really been wanting to create a thread full of adult enclosure inspiration for a while now, I’ve managed to find some great references over time! I do...

tortoiseforum.org

If interested in looking a different cover options to help retain heat, there’s lots of ideas in here

Visual inspiration

Hi guys! I’ve had some lovely messages complimenting me on my care sheets I made for all the visuals they include! That makes me so happy because as a visual learner myself, that was my goal🥰 I’ve recently had some requests for some more visual inspiration for set ups that can house babies/...

tortoiseforum.org

Lastly, this one here is good to go over and keep on hand, it’ll help you avoid the wrong bulbs, substrates, housing etc, I always encourage double checking purchases on the forum too 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

Really hope you like them! Sorry it’s a lot! But please feel free to ask any further questions, always happy to break any information down

 

[ChrisDove]

Thanks for the reply! It’s super helpful for giving some tips&pointers.

Open top enclosures are a bit tricker to keep heated when our temperatures drop in the uk, I’ll include some suggestions below to help with this but ceramic bulbs can come in handy when cold weather comes around, and a covering can help retain the heat in general.

UVB choice looks great, I think the basking bulb might possibly be a spot bulb(not frosted on the front?), you ideally want a flood like this
View attachment 393456
A dome fitting would also really help project heat down to help with ground temps.

Substrate wise I’d avoid sands, it’s an impaction risk unfortunately, those white calcium bits also encourage substrate eating which you really don’t want. I’d also avoid any kind of top soils, unless composted yourself there’s no way to know each and every ingredient/plant that’s gone into it, that and when trying to achieve the dampness the bc substrate needs to be, it creates a muddy consistency. The substrate looks quite dry, you want it nice and damp in the lower layers, dusty substrate can become an irritant. Coco coir is a nice choice, some prefer to add a layer of orchid bark on top to help keep those lower layers damp.

please feel free to go over these links, they all contain the most up to date stuff

A great one for new comers

Info For New People. Please Read This First.

Hello and welcome to tortoiseforum.org! We are all glad you are here! There is no other forum like this anywhere. We have tens of thousands of members from all over the world ranging from kids with their first tortoise to people who have been breeding and keeping high end tortoises since the...

tortoiseforum.org

Toms care guide

The Best Way To Raise Any Temperate Species Of Tortoise

I chose the title of this care sheet very carefully. Are there other ways to raise babies and care for adults? Yes. Yes there are, but those ways are not as good. What follows is the BEST way, according to 30 years of research and experimentation with hundreds of babies of many species. What is...

tortoiseforum.org

I made this one based off the forums care information and added visual aids, it covers correct equipment(uvb, heating bulbs, lighting etc), sizing(you can get away with slightly smaller indoors if you can build a larger outdoor space when weather permits, but here in the uk, I’d have as big a indoor set up as possible), appropriately maintaining the humidity, safe substrates, there’s lots of visual examples for everything, and a really handy 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 includes lots of inspiration for an adult set up both indoors and out! The indoor bit has some good ideas to tackle indoor space whilst still providing the needed roaming room! Check comments too, I’m always adding to it. I know the recommended adult size is intimidating to some, especially if you’ve been lead into thinking he’ll be fine in a smaller set up(very common) but tortoises long term health really does rely on lots of roaming room. If you’re unable to go that big, go as big as possible

Enclosure inspiration

Howdy folks! Hope everyone is well! As you all know, I’m a big fan of making threads that cater more towards visual learners like myself, I’ve really been wanting to create a thread full of adult enclosure inspiration for a while now, I’ve managed to find some great references over time! I do...

tortoiseforum.org

If interested in looking a different cover options to help retain heat, there’s lots of ideas in here

Visual inspiration

Hi guys! I’ve had some lovely messages complimenting me on my care sheets I made for all the visuals they include! That makes me so happy because as a visual learner myself, that was my goal🥰 I’ve recently had some requests for some more visual inspiration for set ups that can house babies/...

tortoiseforum.org

Lastly, this one here is good to go over and keep on hand, it’ll help you avoid the wrong bulbs, substrates, housing etc, I always encourage double checking purchases on the forum too 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

Really hope you like them! Sorry it’s a lot! But please feel free to ask any further questions, always happy to break any information down

Thanks for the information, I'll take a look through

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

Thanks for the information, I'll take a look through

No problem!