Substrate for baby hermann tortoise

[Natalie44]

Hello all 👋

New here! I’m getting a baby hermann tort very soon and I’m in the middle of buying everything I need for him or her before it arrives. A couple of questions- is fine orchid bark okay on its own? And do I need to spray it to keep it humid? And what’s the best shop bought food to give them if I don’t have access to fresh greens outside?

Natalie x

 

[zolasmum]

Hello and welcome from Devon. We have a hermanns tortoise -Zola- who will be 24 next month.When we got him as a baby, there was very little help or useful information around - luckily, we got by, but I wish this forum had existed then. I am not the best person to advise you on substrate, but I can tell you what shop bought foods we give Zola - his favourite is radicchio, which he loves - also we get watercress,
lambs lettuce, rocket, pea shoots, pak choi, and whatever else he might like. I buy the small packets of each, and never get the ready cut mixed salads, as they are not as fresh. We make a special journey to a big fruit and veg warehouse - 50 miles each way - as they have whole heads of radicchio - we can't get them anywhere local ! But they keep for weeks in the fridge.
Here is Zola with his radicchio.Best wisshes from Angie x

 

[Alex and the Redfoot]

Hello!
Yes, fine grade orchid bark alone is fine (make sure it's a fir, not a pine bark). For baby Hermanns coco coir (coco peat) is another feasible option.

To keep substrate humid it's better to pour water in substrate to keep lower layers wet (but not soggy wet). This will give longer effect than spraying and dryer top layer prevents shell fungal diseases.

As for the foods - members from UK (@zolasmum , @Littleredfootbigredheart ) can help with places to buy greens and veggies.
Also you can grow some "food enrichments" in a planter box and order opuntia cactus pads online. Good supplements to grocery store greens are Agrobs Pre Alpine Testudo, ZooMed Grassland and Nutrazu Tortoise Diet LS (dried grass, herbs and weeds pellets to rehydrate and mix with usual food).

I would ask you to check with us heating/lightning setup. It's the most expensive and confusing yet very important part of reptile husbandry.

 

[Natalie44]

Hello and welcome from Devon. We have a hermanns tortoise -Zola- who will be 24 next month.When we got him as a baby, there was very little help or useful information around - luckily, we got by, but I wish this forum had existed then. I am not the best person to advise you on substrate, but I can tell you what shop bought foods we give Zola - his favourite is radicchio, which he loves - also we get watercress,
lambs lettuce, rocket, pea shoots, pak choi, and whatever else he might like. I buy the small packets of each, and never get the ready cut mixed salads, as they are not as fresh. We make a special journey to a big fruit and veg warehouse - 50 miles each way - as they have whole heads of radicchio - we can't get them anywhere local ! But they keep for weeks in the fridge.View attachment 371400
Here is Zola with his radicchio.Best wisshes from Angie x

Hello angie

Thank you for your reply. Yes, there is a lot of conflicting information out there. Luckily I stumbled across this forum. I’m so glad I did. We went to a pet shop the other day and they didn’t give very good advise. At the time I took their advise on board but then after reading the information on here it’s clear they didn’t really know what they were talking about. Also thank you for the food recommendations- I’ll see if I can order some pellets online, and will look around my local supermarket to see if I can find any suitable greens there. Your zola is a cutie!
Natalie x

 

[Raquel1978]

I found forest floor(think it's also called Cyprus mulch) a much better substrate than the others I used.. I buy mine from amazon.

I put a layer in then I wet it not so much as its soaking wet more damp then put another layer on top..

Mines also a baby and they enjoy burrowing which is why I slightly damp the underneath. I find misting don't really work as well.

 

[zolasmum]

Hello angie

Thank you for your reply. Yes, there is a lot of conflicting information out there. Luckily I stumbled across this forum. I’m so glad I did. We went to a pet shop the other day and they didn’t give very good advise. At the time I took their advise on board but then after reading the information on here it’s clear they didn’t really know what they were talking about. Also thank you for the food recommendations- I’ll see if I can order some pellets online, and will look around my local supermarket to see if I can find any suitable greens there. Your zola is a cutie!
Natalie x

The supermarkets we use most are Morrisons, Sainsburys and Waitrose, but the actual greens they sell vary in quality as well as price, and they may come from different suppliers where you are, so I can't say for sure - but in my experience, Sainsburys is much better for watercress, and Waitrose is the most likely to have lambs lettuce. Zola starts his day by being hand fed several slices of cucumber - with vitamins etc on it once a week. He is a cutie, but you can see from the photo that his shell is split at the front -there was just a small split when we got him, and we understand he had been stepped on ! As he grew, the split became larger, and his shell became miss-shapen, but we think he is beautiful, and he is very healthy and strong.
Angie x

 

[Tom]

Hello all 👋

New here! I’m getting a baby hermann tort very soon and I’m in the middle of buying everything I need for him or her before it arrives. A couple of questions- is fine orchid bark okay on its own? And do I need to spray it to keep it humid? And what’s the best shop bought food to give them if I don’t have access to fresh greens outside?

Natalie x

Hi Natalie! Welcome to the forum. I'm really glad you've already realized the pet shop advice isn't good.

Read both of these at least a couple of times:

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...

tortoiseforum.org

Questions are welcome.

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

Aww congrats on getting your new baby🥰
We tend to frequent the supermarkets @zolasmum has mentioned for greens and such, Sainsbury’s always tend to stock the bags of spring greens, they don’t always have lambs lettuce but usually one of the others have it, they always have romain too, you might sometimes have more luck if you have a local greengrocers.
Our red foot is a fruit eating species but we don’t always need the quantity supermarkets provide, hence it’s handy when you can bag your own at the grocers, obviously your guy won’t be eating fruit so you won’t have that issue, but you still might find more variety at a grocers depending where you’re located in the uk😊
We’ve also found it really handy to grown our own weeds for her, currently we have some filaree, broadleaf plantain and some dandelions growing for her, all grow wild in the uk, if you’re confident you can harvest it from somewhere that hasn’t used any pesticides or fertiliser that’ll be handy! Just simply need to uproot some and plant wherever you desire, but failing that I’ve found these online stores pretty great for edible plants, seeds etc if you fancy having a look

The Tortoise Den - Tortoise Packages & Accessories across the UK & Scotland

The Tortoise Den specialises in a selection of captive bred tortoises, including Marginated, Hermanns, Spur-Thighed, Horsfield, Sulcata, Leopard and Red-Footed Tortoises, based in Ellesmere Port, Cheshire on the Wirral.

www.tortoise-den.co.uk

Tortoise Products | The Tortoise Hut | England

The Tortoise Hut is the leading online specialist tortoise shop supplying a range of products & supplies for the care of all species of tortoises. We have baby tortoises for sale which can be collected from us in Devon or couriered by our specialist Reptile courier service. We offer a nationwide...

www.tortoisehut.co.uk

TORTOISE SANCTUARY UK | HEVER TORTOISE WORLD

Welcome to Hever Tortoise World - Tortoise Conservation through Education, Preservation & Captive Breeding Programmes based in Hever, Kent, UK

hevertortoiseworld.org

Also the tortoise table is great to look at to see what different safe edible plants are out there, again lots of them grown wild here, so if you’re able to find a pesticide free spot it’s perfect!

The Tortoise Table - Home

The Tortoise Table plant database and resource site for Tortoise owners

www.thetortoisetable.org.uk

Wishing you all the best on this new journey, and would love to see pics of your new friend when you get them!!😁