Newbie to Tortoise

Scottyoh123

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Hi I have just got my Herman tortoise he is 1 year old and he tends to just dig and sleep he is in a vivarium which I know isn't the best but I have got good vents in it and when I get him out for his daily bath he loves to run about and doesn't mind being handled and likes a tickle I feed him a varied diet of romaine lettuce, parsley , cress and I go into the garden and get him some random stuff

Is it normal for him to just dig and sleep when I get home from work most of his food is good and he like to have a poop in the bath I give him does this sound ok? ImageUploadedByTortoise Forum1433964884.558626.jpg
 

crimson_lotus

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I know that sleeping most of the time is common for babies, but I'm not sure how long that kind of activity persists as they grow older. I've never had a baby tortoise.

Please get rid of the rabbit pellets, they are bad for your tortoises legs and they mold. They also don't retain water well for humidity, which is important for a growing tortoise. A lot of the forum members use coconut coir, untreated soil, orchid bark, or cypress mulch.

Do you monitor the humidity and temperatures in his enclosure?

How often do you soak?
 

Scottyoh123

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I just brought the all in at the reptile shop and they told me it was fine even though I had research the fact it wasn't I'll Change the substrate which one is the easiest to clean and spot clean?

I monitor temperature I have the uv on all day at about 28 Celsius and at night I knock it down to 20 Celsius Does this sound ok?
Humidity I do not monitor I thought the vents would be ok should I cut a whole in the roof of the viv to make it like a tortoise table
 

ZEROPILOT

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crimson-lotus is correct.
Pet shops are in business to sell you what they have at the pet shop.
Even well meaning shops don't usually have a lot of long term tortoise keeping experience.
For your baby you'll need something that can hold moisture. Your baby will requiure high humidity to grow healthy.
 

Scottyoh123

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Thank you I'm on it and I'm going to change the substrate as soon as possible :) thank you guys just getting into it and making sure he is ok that's the main thing
 

crimson_lotus

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20 C sounds quite cold, I would keep a heat lamp on at night so he doesn't get sick. You can purchase a ceramic heat emitter for night time which emits all heat and no light.

I would not cut a hole on the top because you want to trap the humidity in his enclosure. I have a completely closed chamber for my tortoise, although my type of tortoise requires a lot more humidity than most.
 

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