New to Hermann hatchings and tortoise raising

[Absolutely Blessed]

Hi Everyone, I recently purchased 2 Hermann tortoise hatchlings from Tortoise Supply back in August I named them Pickles and Nugget Pickles was a little bit larger than Nugget. I mostly feed them fresh leaves that I grow with hydroponics. Turnip, collards, spring mix, endive, dandelion, oak leaf etc .Plus I soak some Mazuri pellets for them Every morning they have a 30 min. soak in lukewarm water My substrate is coco coir and I had some pure natural premium forest moss mixed in. Also in their hide box. Once a week I weigh and measure my torts. Nugget is by far the larger of the 2 now.. I've notice Nugget poops during spa time but Pickles doesn't. I think Nugget has eaten the moss. Doesn't seem to want to eat much of anything now. I read on the forum that moss is not good for tortoises so I cleaned out the habitat and am just using coco coir and some of the chips. Nugget still doesn't have much of an appetite. They are indoor kept I use a UV heat lamp during the day. Temp is about 85 degrees. Night I use a heat emitter. Might drop down into mid 70's. Does anyone have any ideas on how I can help Pickles? He{?} is somewhat active Likes to climb. I have notice sometimes he flips over and just seems to lay there on his back like he's basking. I usually flip him over when I see that Any help would be greatly appreciated Thanks Lori

 

[Alex and the Redfoot]

Hello and welcome!
Perhaps, the first step is to keep them in separate enclosures (sorry, from your post is not completely clear if you keep them together or not). Living in pair is stressful for both tortoises and one is being bullied by another (likely it's Pickles as he is smaller). Also, when keeping them separate you better control who eats, poops and so on.

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

Hello and welcome!

First up the bad news, Tortoise of any species should NEVER be housed in pairs under any circumstances, they’re incredibly territorial, behaviours that look cute to us really aren’t, following one another and sleeping huddled up is all bullying the the tortoise world, you’ll eventually see more extreme signs of aggression. Anyone who tells you pairs are fine, have no idea what they’re talking about.

Small groups are ok when there’s lots of land and the correct male to female ratio.

The one being smaller is a tell tail sign of stress, it’s actually stunting them.

They’ll need separating into appropriately lit and heated enclosures.

The good news is you’ve made your way here and can give them the best chance possible! You were right to remove the moss, it can indeed cause impaction.

I don’t suppose you could try answering these questions?
What are your temperatures like? Ie basking spot(directly under the bulb) overall day and night temps?
What kind of lighting&heating are you using specifically? Packaging pics are good if you have any!
What kind of indoor uv bulb are you using?
How’s your humidity reading?

A photo of the full set up would be great!

I think you’ll find this thread I’ve made helpful, I cover correct equipment, levels, appropriately maintaining humidity, there’s lots of visual examples for everything and a good diet link

Housing young Russian/Herman

Hello there! In this thread, I’m going to include some information on an effective way to tackle a starter set up/a way you can build a bigger size once your baby is an adult. I know it looks a lot to go over, I like to make sure all bases are covered, I’m happy to break down any information...

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This thread is also really good to familiarise yourself with, it will help you avoid the wrong bulbs, materials etc

Common keeping errors

Hello everyone! I’d been a long time lurker on this site long before joining just under a year ago now, over that time I’ve seen these husbandry issues come up time and time again, sometimes with dire consequences☹️ I thought this thread might serve as a good visual guide for these common...

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Give them a read and please come back with any more questions you may have!

 

[TammyJ]

Welcome to the forum! Yes, the first order of business is to separate them each into its own enclosure. They don't like each other and one will dominate the other and they will both suffer.

 

[Tom]

Hi Everyone, I recently purchased 2 Hermann tortoise hatchlings from Tortoise Supply back in August I named them Pickles and Nugget Pickles was a little bit larger than Nugget. I mostly feed them fresh leaves that I grow with hydroponics. Turnip, collards, spring mix, endive, dandelion, oak leaf etc .Plus I soak some Mazuri pellets for them Every morning they have a 30 min. soak in lukewarm water My substrate is coco coir and I had some pure natural premium forest moss mixed in. Also in their hide box. Once a week I weigh and measure my torts. Nugget is by far the larger of the 2 now.. I've notice Nugget poops during spa time but Pickles doesn't. I think Nugget has eaten the moss. Doesn't seem to want to eat much of anything now. I read on the forum that moss is not good for tortoises so I cleaned out the habitat and am just using coco coir and some of the chips. Nugget still doesn't have much of an appetite. They are indoor kept I use a UV heat lamp during the day. Temp is about 85 degrees. Night I use a heat emitter. Might drop down into mid 70's. Does anyone have any ideas on how I can help Pickles? He{?} is somewhat active Likes to climb. I have notice sometimes he flips over and just seems to lay there on his back like he's basking. I usually flip him over when I see that Any help would be greatly appreciated Thanks Lori

Start with these two threads. This will clear up a lot for you:

Info For New People. Please Read This First.

Hello and welcome to tortoiseforum.org! We are all glad you are here! There is no other forum like this anywhere. We have tens of thousands of members from all over the world ranging from kids with their first tortoise to people who have been breeding and keeping high end tortoises since the...

tortoiseforum.org

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...

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