more questions from a newbie!

[kberr]

I haven't gotten my baby Hermanns yet, I want to get everything set up and test it for a while first.
Can anyone give me substrate advice? I am thinking either pellets or coconut. Pros and cons?
Do you recommend supplementing their diet with tortoise pellets?
I am sure I will end up wanting more than one of these great little guys...I know you should not have 2 males, or really even 1 male with one female. Can they be sexed as babies? Can I put something other than a Hermanns in with a Hermanns in a year or 2 and will sex matter if they are different species?
I see a lot of stuff from tortoisesupply.com on the forum. Is this a good online source for a baby?
thanks again for everyone's great advice!
Kim

 

[kimber_lee_314]

I like to use moist coco coir - pellets are too dry and can get moldy. I supplement my torts diet with Mazuri or Sulcata Gold once a week. They really can't be sexed as hatchlings. They can be temp sexed, but even then it's not a guarantee. I wouldn't mix the species unless it's another subspecies of Hermann's. Tortoisesupply is good, but can be very slow. They have the best seeds in my opinion. You can also try Carolina Pet Supply. They are very good, but shipping is more expensive (for me.) It just depends on where you live. I hope this was somewhat helpful for you. Good luck!

 

[tortoisenerd]

I buy from what every online reptile supply company gives me the lowest cost for the items including shipping. I go through and test it out with the shopping cart feature. Unless I want such a specialty item I only have one choice. So, it depends on what you are buying. Best to figure out everything you need at one time and get it all. I do try to exhaust all my local options so I have an easier return option, but Petco doesn't have much good stuff! Hardware and home improvement stores are great actually--you can pick up a slate tile to feed on, a plant saucer for water, light fixtures, and maybe some substrate and tort table building supplies. Yes, use something humid like coconut coir, organic potting soil, cypress mulch, or orchid bark.

 

[TylerStewart]

Tortoisesupply is good, but can be very slow. They have the best seeds in my opinion.

I assume this is a typo? We don't sell seeds, and about 98% of orders ship out within 24 hrs (excluding weekends for tortoises).

 

[kimber_lee_314]

Tortoisesupply is good, but can be very slow. They have the best seeds in my opinion.

I assume this is a typo? We don't sell seeds, and about 98% of orders ship out within 24 hrs (excluding weekends for tortoises).

Oh dear! I mixed up turtlestuff with tortoisesupply! My apologies Tyler! (I'm still getting used to your new name.)