Beach Bum
Member
Hi all I'm new to the site and have lots of questions. My 12 yr old daughter has been wanting to get a tortoise for some time now. Her and I have researched it to death online but as usual you run across a lot of contradicting info. We live in Pismo Beach CA where it gets pretty cool at night (40's-50's) and daytime temps are pretty mild (60's-80's). We are currently in a home with a steep, sand dune for a back yard. Within a few years we will be in a home with a traditional, flat, grassy backyard. She's set on getting a male Hermanns tortoise hatchling if possible. My plan was to build an indoor 5'x3' tortoise table and a similar one for the backyard. I figured on nice sunny days the tortoise could be kept outside to soak up the sunshine and then come inside for the night and on not so nice days. Now come the questions. What bedding material is used for the tables, what kind of heat lamp and UVB for the indoor closure work best, best diet for the little guy and are their any folks with Hermanns hatchlings available? I'm sure I've left out a few but I'll remember shortly. I'm leery of these online reptile suppliers and most sites contradict each other when it comes to diet and material used for the tortoise enclosure (dirt, gravel, sand, moss etc.). Thanks for your time.
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