New companion! Hermanns tortoise

NewTortGuy

New Member
Joined
Oct 20, 2020
Messages
3
Location (City and/or State)
Chicago
Hi! Im erik and my tort is Sally :) Ive had her now for 4 days and I think shes gettin along alright. This is my first tort and with all the conflicting info everywhere online I finally decided to register here with full confidence this community knows what theyre actually talking about lol i mean can you believe theres folks feeding spinach and fruit to their Hermanns everyday!!! CRAZY (i think? >.<)
Anyways Ive been letting Sally roam around the house for about 1-2 hours a day and she doesnt seem nervous or overly stressed when roaming but I’ve noticed shes quite lethargic in her enclosure and even seems to eat more readily when I just leave her greens out for her on the floor as opposed to her feeding dish, like she hardly touches it... so im worried!! Does this mean anything or is she maybe still getting use to her new home?
its a 4’x2’ Zoomed turtle box thingy (easily stretchable to 6’ will do soon, shes currently about 3 1/2”) and she has a decent amount of roaming space. Im simulating day/night TEMPS at with 95F days and and 80F nights and humidty floating between 30-40. IS SHE HAPPY?!? She dont try to crawl up much but yeah her uncharacteristic lethargy in there is worrying. Please help!!22735864-B50E-4FD2-86F7-4AA6FFE6065E.jpeg
 

Tom

The Dog Trainer
10 Year Member!
Platinum Tortoise Club
Joined
Jan 9, 2010
Messages
63,269
Location (City and/or State)
Southern California
Hello and welcome. I'm glad you've joined up and posted because you are making some common mistakes that we can help you fix.

  • Tortoises should never be loose on the floor. That is a recipe for disaster and frequently ends in death, illness or injury for the tortoise.
  • Those tortoise enclosures are not suitable for any species of tortoise at any life stage. Too open and dry for babies and too small for adults that can tolerate the dryness better.
  • Ramped water bowls are tortoise death traps. Remove that ASAP and replace it with a terra cotta saucer sunk into the substrate.
  • You got the right substrate, but it is MUCH too dry and your humidity is much too low.
  • Are you using any UV indoors? What type?
  • There are four elements to heating and lighting:
    1. Basking bulb. I use 65 watt incandescent floods from the hardware store. Some people will need bigger, or smaller wattage bulbs. Let your thermometer be your guide. I run them on a timer for about 12 hours and adjust the height to get the correct basking temp under them. I also like to use a flat rock of some sort directly under the bulb.
    2. Ambient heat maintenance. I use ceramic heating elements or radiant heat panels set on thermostats to maintain ambient above 80 degrees day and night for tropical species. You'd only need day heat for a temperate species like Testudo or DT.
    3. Light. I use LEDs for this purpose. Something in the 5000-6500K color range will look the best. Most bulbs at the store are in the 2500K range and they look yellowish. Strip or screw-in bulb types are both fine.
    4. UV. If you can get your tortoise outside for an hour 2 or 3 times a week, you won't need indoor UV. If you want it anyway, get one of the newer HO type fluorescent tubes. Which type will depend on mounting height. 5.0 bulbs make almost no UV. You need a meter to check this: https://www.solarmeter.com/model65.html
Please read this for the most current and correct care info:

Questions are welcome. :)
 

NewTortGuy

New Member
Joined
Oct 20, 2020
Messages
3
Location (City and/or State)
Chicago
Oh gosh!! Well im currently working on the enclosure cuz yes im well aware its abit small but ive got my materials to extend it. BUT IM FREAKIN OUT FOR THE LIGHTING NOW!! I honestly got bulbs based off an Exo-Terra info chart, im using the 26W 150UVB and 100W ZooMed repti basking spotlight, is this suitable for Hermanns? Also is there a specific brand of substrate youd recommend? I know im better off mixing the substrate myself down the line but certainly for now so i can keep that humidity up. And unfortunately i do live in Chicago and its getting a bit cold so i dont think outside would be optimal :(
 

Tom

The Dog Trainer
10 Year Member!
Platinum Tortoise Club
Joined
Jan 9, 2010
Messages
63,269
Location (City and/or State)
Southern California
Oh gosh!! Well im currently working on the enclosure cuz yes im well aware its abit small but ive got my materials to extend it. BUT IM FREAKIN OUT FOR THE LIGHTING NOW!! I honestly got bulbs based off an Exo-Terra info chart, im using the 26W 150UVB and 100W ZooMed repti basking spotlight, is this suitable for Hermanns? Also is there a specific brand of substrate youd recommend? I know im better off mixing the substrate myself down the line but certainly for now so i can keep that humidity up. And unfortunately i do live in Chicago and its getting a bit cold so i dont think outside would be optimal :(
Don't feel bad. Almost everyone goes down this road. Pet stores and pet product companies offer bad advice and the wrong products most of the time.

None of those bulbs should be used over a tortoise. The cfl type sometimes burn their eyes. This might be why Sally won't eat in the enclosure. Its burns her eyes.

At her size you really don't have to worry about pyramiding, but MVBs (the 150 watt UVB) are not a good way to go for many reasons.

No spot bulbs over tortoises because they concentrate too much heat and desiccation into too small of an area. Use regular flood bulbs instead and keep the wattage as low as you can. I usually go with 65 watts.

No need to mix substrates. The one you've got is the best. You might need more of it and it needs to be kept damp by dumping water into it. How much water and how often? This varies with every enclosure and a wide variety of other factors.
 

NewTortGuy

New Member
Joined
Oct 20, 2020
Messages
3
Location (City and/or State)
Chicago
Thanks so much! Ill deff be handling the light sooner than later. But jeez i wish i spent more time here before i got everything i thought i “needed” darn dem pet stores
 
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