New baby Hermanns arrived today

[SarahGregoire]

Hello everyone- I am new to this forum as my family just added a baby Hermanns to our family. He/she arrived today and seems very happy and active- took a nice warm soak upon arrival and then spent most of the day exploring his/her indoor enclosure- even ate some yummy salad (watercress and dandelion) for dinner. I welcome any and all advice about caring for a new baby tort as this is our first. We were told by breeder to keep in large plastic bin with cypress/coconut substrate. Added a humid hidebox and elevated basking spot. He seems to like resting in the corners but has moved around most of the day. I also found a cuttlebone at the grocery store in pet section. I am not sure about lighting overnight- still waiting for UVB and basking bulb to arrive so I'm using a regular light for now- temp is around 75 and I have sprayed the substrate to keep most. It looks very foggy in his hidebox and also underneath top later of sub. Thanks in advance! Sarah and family

 

[Flipper]

Adorable!

Congrats on your new baby Hermann's May I ask where you got him? I'm getting my own baby next week and I'm super excited

Good luck! Any name ideas?

 

[lismar79]

75 seems low for a baby. Especially in a humid hide. Moist & cold will cause all kinds of bad health problems.
Cute lil one! Here's the care sheet for temp ref.

http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/hermanns-tortoise-care-sheet.63799/

 

[SarahGregoire]

Thanks- do you find that the cheap store bought thermometers and humidity gauges are accurate.

This baby is about 6 weeks old- when we will be able to tell if it's male or female? Are there ways to tell at this early age?

Also how often should we be soaking/bathing the baby? Is there such thing as too often?

 

[SarahGregoire]

Ordered from Tyler at Tortoise Supply in Arizona- he could not be nicer or more knowledgable. Names are being chosen by my 6 year old- so far the top contenders are Turbo and Shellington.