New Canadian Owner - smitten beyond words...

[Blkjkoknhrt]

This baby tortoise (clearly boettgeri) was an impulse born of a long term hankering for a new pet. Ive been interested in pets since before cites and remember pet stores full of monkeys, coatis, tuataras and even a red fox once. Ive had numerous animals over the years, including fish, amphibians , reptiles, dogs, cats and chickens. Ive also worked at Winnipeg pet stores for some length of time.
My first tort (Ive only had one other grace my life) was a eastern box turtle. I was seven years old and bought it from K-Mart, believe it or not. I kept him in an iron washtub and fed him the common diet of the day: (turn away if youre squeamish) lettuce and raw liver! Weve learned a lot since then!
I like the Hermanns because they require low humidity. That's what Id be concerned about with keeping other species is keeping the humidity up; How do you do it in the dry Midwest winter, let alone summer? That's what my climate is like temperate grassland and aspen+pine forests and rocky outcrops (in different areas of course - Manitoba is BIG.)
Im hot to find out what you feed your gang, Im limited in space (apartment dweller - no balcony or yard). Tanks and tubs are what Ill use, so the smaller species suit my situation better.
Right now Ive got Munster in a 10gal tank, heat lamped, UVd, and paper towels for substrate. Hes a real baby, still has his eggtooth (I have no idea how long before it falls off).
Heres a list of my most nagging questions:
what substrate do you use for your babies? Petstore recommends paper towel, everyone else says something different...
I haven't purchased a multivitamin yet, what do you recommend?
UVB: Halogen, Fluorescent or Compact?
Finally, prepared tortoise diets - suitable or supplemental? Ive tried a dried pelleted (soaked and not) and Munster wont even try them.
I know the basics but need geographic and situation-specific data.
Please respond with a little about you all and your tortoistories, Id like to learn more.
[email protected]
Talk to you soon,

 

[johnandjade]

hello from scotland! im new to keeping torts and a new member on here. your in the right place!
there are exallent species specific care sheets which you should check out, and im sure an experienced member will be along to help you out soon

 

[dmmj]

Salutations.
wow tuatara that is one, I would love to get.
substrate, most people use a soil/coco coir mix 50/50, helps with humidity.
Most commercial diet foods, are lacking. the exception is mazuri, most tortoises seem to love it.

 

[lismar79]

Bulbs depend on your set up really. I like the power sun bulbs for basking areas and I like flourescents for all over uv. Stay away from the compact coil style as they are thought to cause eye damage. Welcome!

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi, and welcome to the forum!

We have a care sheet here on the Forum. Take a look at the pinned threads at the top of our Hermanni section. You can also go to Chris's sites http://www.hermannihaven.com/ and http://www.gardenstatetortoise.com/

 

[Moozillion]

Welcome to the Forum! Your little one is a cutie!

Many of us have the most success keeping our tortoises in the most "natural" setting possible.
In the wild, the little ones like yours hide A LOT because they are a high protein source for almost any meat-eating critter and bird out there. As mentioned above, coco coir or even dirt from your yard (as long as it is free of chemicals and pesticides) make great substrate. Most keep theirs at a depth of about 4 inches. The baby will bury itself and hide a lot, intitially, but that's totally normal. The coco coir and/or dirt also helps keep the humidity up. I believe most people aim for 30-50% or a little higher. Babies especially need the higher humidity to prevent pyramiding. Plants in your enclosure will also help keep the humidity up and give your little one stimulation and other things to hide under. You can use real plants or fake plants. There is a really great website out of the UK called The Tortoise Table which has a big list of common plants, their photos for identification and safety recommendations.
Many of the store-bought plants will have fertilizers and pesticides in and on them, so you may want to take any plant out of its pot, rinse off the roots and replant it in a pot with chemical-free soil. Some transplant their plants directly into the enclosures, some sink the pots in the dirt. My Hermann's, Elsa, loves to bury herself under dry leaves! So we have her winter enclosure full of dry leaves on top of 4+ inches of organic potting soil. She hides so well we have to feel around in the leaves for her- and she's 6" long, and 2+ lbs!

As mentioned by lismar, the coil bulbs, regardless of the strength, are too intense for tortoise eyes and can cause inflammation and blindness. The long fluorescent bulbs (I use Reptisun 5.0) and Powersun etc, are fine.

You might want to look at changing your food and water dishes. That particular type of water dish (which ALL the pet stores sell!!!!) has steep vertical sides. A baby can flip over and drown in the water. I (like many here) use the plain terracotta plant saucers for water dishes: the baby can easily get in it to drink or self-soak, and can climb out the gently sloping sides easily. Many of us also use either terracotta saucers or a flat tile slate to feed on because scraping their beaks against it helps keep the beak in trim.

I don't want to bombard you with too much information, so I'll stop here and let others have a chance!!!!
Most importantly, remember to HAVE FUN and enjoy your little cutie!!!!

 

[Moozillion]

Quick question: do you have thermometers inside your enclosure at tortoise-level in both the warm and cool end? Or maybe a temperature gun? How are you monitoring humidity?