starting on the right path

john5hud

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Mar 15, 2017
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3
Hi guys/girl ( and torts)
let me start with by say I'm all new to torts.
And very excited To hopefully be getting two Hermann soon ( end of April/may ) but dont want to get them not know every thinking I need to know.
I've spend last few month looking at table and light and diet etc...

I'm lucky enuff to be able to house in them garden for summer ( warm months )
where I plan to section them off a area 6 ft X 3 ft on the grass with 2 ft x 1ft shaded gravel area with a slate for food and hide at other end and tubes ,rocks ,and stuff to climb.
also i have little greenhouse to grow weeds/greens and flower for food

for colder times and nights plan to build tort table 4 ft x 2ft and 8inchs basking end and 21 inch hide end with a uv 5.0 18 inch tube to run just over half the table and 50w basking lamp at one end and hide at other.
I plan to you coir and bark as substrate about 2 inchs at basking and 3-4 inchs hide end

now questions :

Can I feed weeds and deforest for the colder month ( just an idea )

still not to sure about the hibernation process if any can help

and mean one can anyone recommend and breeder in Devon

many thanks John5hud

( sorry for any spelling mistakes )
 

wellington

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Hello and Welcome. First it's not a good idea to get a pair. Eventually they will need to be separated. Tortoise don't want or need a friend. Get one of three with it being one male to two females. Impossible to do when hatchlings unless scoped by a vet and that's not usually done.
Second your indoor enclosure is too small for two let alone one adult. 3x6 or better is 4x8.
Weeds can be fed anytime as long as they are free of pesticides and fertilizers.
A 50 watt basking bulb may be too low a wattage. But you'll have to temp it and adjust.
 

Tom

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Hi guys/girl ( and torts)
let me start with by say I'm all new to torts.
And very excited To hopefully be getting two Hermann soon ( end of April/may ) but dont want to get them not know every thinking I need to know.
I've spend last few month looking at table and light and diet etc...

I'm lucky enuff to be able to house in them garden for summer ( warm months )
where I plan to section them off a area 6 ft X 3 ft on the grass with 2 ft x 1ft shaded gravel area with a slate for food and hide at other end and tubes ,rocks ,and stuff to climb.
also i have little greenhouse to grow weeds/greens and flower for food

for colder times and nights plan to build tort table 4 ft x 2ft and 8inchs basking end and 21 inch hide end with a uv 5.0 18 inch tube to run just over half the table and 50w basking lamp at one end and hide at other.
I plan to you coir and bark as substrate about 2 inchs at basking and 3-4 inchs hide end

now questions :

Can I feed weeds and deforest for the colder month ( just an idea )

still not to sure about the hibernation process if any can help

and mean one can anyone recommend and breeder in Devon

many thanks John5hud

( sorry for any spelling mistakes )


Hello and welcome.

Barb spelled it out pretty well, but I'll say it again in my own words:
1. Tortoises do not do well in pairs. They do best alone, but groups of three or more juveniles can work. When they reach maturity, you may have to separate them all if there is more than one male, or if they don't get along.
2. Your enclosure sizes are fine for babies, but much too small for adults.
3. I would not allow them access to the gravel area. They are likely to eat the gravel and get impacted. No sand either for the same reason. If you choose to ignore this and do it anyway, then at least do not feed them on the gravel area to reduce incidental ingestion.
4. I agree with Barb that a 50 watt bulb is not likely to do the job unless the whole room is already kept warm all day.
5. You should get a UV tube that spans the whole enclosure, not an 18inch one.
6. Your walls will need to be much taller than 8". If you use 4" of substrate, then your walls should be at least 16" high to contain an adult. I'd go 18" just to be sure.
7. Lets talk about hibernation toward the end of summer. That is a whole discussion in itself.

Here are some tips:
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/

I typed this up for russians, but care for hermanni is pretty much the same:
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/russian-tortoise-care-sheet.80698/
 

JoesMum

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Hello, I am around :)

Welcome from Kent (actually a train heading in that direction from Bristol ;) )

The others have summed it up pretty well.

All I will add is that young torts, and those in their first year of being owned, are best not hibernated.

Weeds are plentiful in the spring and summer, but more difficult in winter. I never persuaded Joe to go anywhere near dried weeds regardless of how they were served to him.

Most of us end up using a good quality pellet soaked in water such as Komodo and store bought greens when the weeds are in short supply.
 

TammyJ

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Welcome.
It's hard to think like a tortoise. Most of us would be lonely by ourselves. But tortoises only see other tortoises as competition for the food and as trespassers on their turf.:)
Or as a means of continuing their species.
 

john5hud

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Joined
Mar 15, 2017
Messages
3
Hi guys thanks for the response much appreciated.
Wellington,tom and Joe mum thank you for posting

Joesmum (hibernation) : dis is why I ask as have seen on a view videos yrlings starting to be hibernated for a few week and add more each year giving that tort is a good weight and healthy.
when would you guy recommend so I know roughly ( a age )

pairing : I had never even consider think like a tort but it make sense
So I one it shill be for now

Basking : would it be easy to buy high watt 150 or higher and have it on a dimmer or could two 50w-75w in lamp reflectors

table size : plan to buy tort as a baby (1 yr old ) and was planning to keep in the 2 x 4 for year or till he/she is 8-9 inchs presuming tort would be around 3 - 4 inch when purchased

uv ligths : if table is 4 ft long with foot taken up by hide.
then a 3 ft tube could it be attached diagonal for maximum coverage

gravel outside : could I use bark and a big bit of slate or would slate on the grass be better

Thanks again to all for the warm welcome and great advice

john5hud
 

john5hud

New Member
Joined
Mar 15, 2017
Messages
3
And tom mate that was some good links thank you am I able to send private messages if there anything I think of.
many thanks tho

John5hud
 

Tidgy's Dad

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Fes, Morocco
Hello, John, and a very warm welcome to Tortoise Forum. :)
A tortoise shouldn't be hibernated the first winter you get it whatever its age. For youngsters, some begin hibernating at three or four years old, but I don't hibernate mine at all.
Not sure that dimmers are necessary, a thermostat could be used, but I don't myself, except with a CHE (ceramic heat emitter) at night.
A tiny hatchling is better off in a smaller enclosure but they can grow very quickly.
If you can hang the tube diagonally, I can't see that being a problem.
Just block off the gravel area, the grass is fine.
 

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