My tortoise's home and a quich introduction.

[Fish_cats&_torts]

Hi. I'm 11 years old, and a new tortoise owner. I have 2 cats, 2 fish tanks, and I'm currently breeding German Blue Rams. I live in Greece. I got a baby hermann's tortoise 3 days ago. I had it in my balcony until I made it's outdoor enclosure, which is now ready. It has double shades, a mini greenhouse, water, plants, rocks, dried leaves, and soil as substrate. No UV, but direct sunlight. Temps don't fall bellow 10 degrees celsius. The problem is that when I got the tortoise, I didn't know I shouldn't handle it, and I did all the time. It is now stressed and not eating or drinking. Not as active as it should, but it still loves exploring. What do I do for that? Give it some time?

I still haven't bought Calcium and D3, but I'll very soon. Is this OK? What about the thermometer? Is it accurate?
https://www.petsupermarket.gr/exo-terra-calcium-vitamin-d3-sup-90gr?sort=p.price&order=ASC
https://www.petsupermarket.gr/thermometro-erpeton-terarioym?sort=p.price&order=ASC
Thanks in advance!

 

[Fish_cats&_torts]

I forgot to mention I'm bathing the tortoise dai;ly for 15 mins.

 

[Fish_cats&_torts]

Some more photos...

 

[Fish_cats&_torts]

He drunk water!!!! Yay!!!

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi, and welcome to the Forum!

We have quite a few younger members here and we're glad to have you join our Forum family. Here's a link to our Hermanns care sheet:

Sticky: HERMANN'S TORTOISE CARE SHEET *UPDATED

Josh and I corresponded last week about making an updated version of the Hermann's tortoise care sheet since the old one we have posted here is a bit outdated and a little too brief in my opinion. So, here is the new one equipped with photos. Look out for the April 2015 issue of Reptiles...

tortoiseforum.org

I don't think you did a bad thing by handling the baby. He's probably just stressed because he's realized he's not in his original home territory anymore. He'll settle down once he realizes his new home is safe and food is provided.

 

[Fish_cats&_torts]

Thank you so much! I'm glad to be here!

 

[jsheffield - In Memoriam]

Hi. I'm 11 years old, and a new tortoise owner. I have 2 cats, 2 fish tanks, and I'm currently breeding German Blue Rams. I live in Greece. I got a baby hermann's tortoise 3 days ago. I had it in my balcony until I made it's outdoor enclosure, which is now ready. It has double shades, a mini greenhouse, water, plants, rocks, dried leaves, and soil as substrate. No UV, but direct sunlight. Temps don't fall bellow 10 degrees celsius. The problem is that when I got the tortoise, I didn't know I shouldn't handle it, and I did all the time. It is now stressed and not eating or drinking. Not as active as it should, but it still loves exploring. What do I do for that? Give it some time?

I still haven't bought Calcium and D3, but I'll very soon. Is this OK? What about the thermometer? Is it accurate?
https://www.petsupermarket.gr/exo-terra-calcium-vitamin-d3-sup-90gr?sort=p.price&order=ASC
https://www.petsupermarket.gr/thermometro-erpeton-terarioym?sort=p.price&order=ASC
Thanks in advance!

Welcome to TFO!

This is a great place to learn about your new tortoise... and share more pictures over time (we hope).

Jamie

 

[Fish_cats&_torts]

Thanks for the welcome!!! Last question for now- do you think my tort will be fine with no aditional heating/lighting?

 

[Tom]

Hi. I'm 11 years old, and a new tortoise owner. I have 2 cats, 2 fish tanks, and I'm currently breeding German Blue Rams. I live in Greece. I got a baby hermann's tortoise 3 days ago. I had it in my balcony until I made it's outdoor enclosure, which is now ready. It has double shades, a mini greenhouse, water, plants, rocks, dried leaves, and soil as substrate. No UV, but direct sunlight. Temps don't fall bellow 10 degrees celsius. The problem is that when I got the tortoise, I didn't know I shouldn't handle it, and I did all the time. It is now stressed and not eating or drinking. Not as active as it should, but it still loves exploring. What do I do for that? Give it some time?

I still haven't bought Calcium and D3, but I'll very soon. Is this OK? What about the thermometer? Is it accurate?
https://www.petsupermarket.gr/exo-terra-calcium-vitamin-d3-sup-90gr?sort=p.price&order=ASC
https://www.petsupermarket.gr/thermometro-erpeton-terarioym?sort=p.price&order=ASC
Thanks in advance!

Babies can be very temperature and environmentally sensitive. They should not be outside full time. They need a proper indoor enclosure with the correct heating and lighting until they get a little bit older. 10C is much too cold for a baby. Babies also need to be soaked daly. And what kind of soil? Bought-in-a-bag soil from a store is generally not safe for a tortoise. Most of it has terrible additives, and even with no additives, it is made from composted yard waste and could be something toxic like oleander or grass clippings with yard chemicals on it.

Here is the current and correct care info. Read this and feel free to ask lots of questions:

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

 

[Fish_cats&_torts]

Thanks. I'll read the article later, I'm doing maths right now.... but if 10 c is too cold for a baby, how do baby hermanns survive here in the 'wild'? In Greece we have many many free hermanns in parks, yards, wherever you look at!

 

[Fish_cats&_torts]

Ate lettuce today!! Yay!!
I'm still confused wether I should keep him outside or inside....

 

[Yelloweyed]

If the ambient temperatures outside are within the guidelines and you have the appropriate burrows/hides, outside is always better because of the free UVB from the sun. If the temps aren’t appropriate, then an enclosure inside will be easier to get the temps and humidity under control.

 

[Fish_cats&_torts]

Thank you so much! He's now normaly eating and drinking. He started eating when we gave him some strawberry, and now he will eat everything!! Whe the temps are lower than 10 degrees Celsius, which is something that has years to happen, and when it's raining, I'll be keeping him inside, and all the other days he'll be outside.

 

[Fish_cats&_torts]

I got tortivet shell. Is it good? Do I need something else?