Testudo hermanni tortoise

[Phe31]

Hi this is my first time on here I have a testudo Hermanni tortoise 9months old named Pluto. his substrate is med bio life which he is fine with and some moss in one corner and plants and hides Also. He has generally weeds out the garden and occasional dark leaf mixed salad and kale. His light stays on 12-13 hours a day temp between 35-38 degrees night time 22-24 he normally sleeps from 7 at night till around 9 in the morning when I turn his light on. The last couple of days he has woken at 4.30 in the morning and just lay on his slate or walk around. Do I need to turn his light on or keep off till 9 still And would you say he’s ok with temps and food he’s very active in the day and I bath him every 2-3 days for 20 minutes. Couple of pics

 

[KarenSoCal]

Hello, and welcome to the forum!

I'm going to link our care sheet for Hermanns. That will answer most of your questions.

Your nighttime temp is a little low. In the coolest part of the enclosure it should never drop below 27°C.

What kind of enclosure are you using? Is it a closed chamber, or is it open topped? Is the humidity being kept above 80%?

Read over the care sheet, then come back with questions or concerns. We're happy to explain why we recommend what we do.

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...

www.tortoiseforum.org

 

[Phe31]

Hello, and welcome to the forum!

I'm going to link our care sheet for Hermanns. That will answer most of your questions.

Your nighttime temp is a little low. In the coolest part of the enclosure it should never drop below 27°C.

What kind of enclosure are you using? Is it a closed chamber, or is it open topped? Is the humidity being kept above 80%?

Read over the care sheet, then come back with questions or concerns. We're happy to explain why we recommend what we do.

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...

www.tortoiseforum.org

Oh really I was told no lower then 20 degrees was fine I have a open top table with one side closed which is around 25 degrees at night I have a mercury mvb Arcadia d3 bulb 100watts and a ceramic heat emitter with thermostat for the winter months which I’ve not had to use yet. his humidity I struggle with, it Varys between 50-70% I’ve just started pouring a little water into a section of substrate to higher the humidity. He seems good in himself when I got him the reptile store owners had him along with another sibling but mine was much smaller. The owner of the store said he thinks the other one had been taking his food but he eats and pops well and bathes for a while and basks for while too.thank you for replying as well.

 

[Phe31]

Also his table

 

[KarenSoCal]

Oh really I was told no lower then 20 degrees was fine

You are correct on the nighttime temp...I reviewed the requirements for Hermanns and they can drop lower than some other species.

You'll find in the care sheet that MVBs are not recommended. They contribute to pyramiding and are expensive. They are also unreliable in how much UVB they actually put out. We recommend an ordinary incandescent flood bulb for basking, and a fluorescent tube type UVB.

I have my basking bulb on a timer for 12 hours on/12 hours off daily. It comes on at 8 AM.

It would be best if you added many more food items for more variety. Variety is key to a good healthy diet for tortoises just like it is for us. What you're giving Pluto is good, just add more. I'll copy a list of good foods...it's a very long list.

Compiled by Tom: Good foods for tortoises are "chicories," types of lettuce that are likely to be on the far side of the more common floppy green heads of lettuce most people buy. Anything labeled as simply "chicory" is good, as are radiccio, frisee, escarole, and endive; you might even find something labeled as dandelions. You may find a bag of "Spring" or "Spicy" mix that is good, just check the label to be sure it has some of the chicories I just mentioned. The leaves (just the leaves) of turnips and radishes are also good, as are carrot tops. Collards, mustard greens, bok choy, and other dark, leafy greens are okay as well. If you have any kind of Mexican/hispanic market near you, they will sell cactus, labeled "nopales." Cactus is a great food to rotate in the diet, as it is high in calcium. You don't need to feed all of these at one time, just make sure your tortoise is getting access to different types of food. As you get more experienced, you can find the better types of food listed on the care sheets. Here are a whole bunch of non-grocery store suggestions. Mulberry leaves Grape vine leaves Hibiscus leaves African hibiscus leaves Blue hibiscus leaves Rose of Sharon leaves Rose leaves Geraniums Gazanias Nasturtium Lavatera Pansies Petunias Hostas Honeysuckle Cape honeysuckle Leaves and blooms from any squash plant, like pumpkin, cucumber, summer squash, etc... Young spineless opuntia cactus pads Weeds: There are soooooooo many... Dandelion Mallow Filaree Smooth Sow thistle Prickly Sow thistle Milk thistle Goat head weed Cats ear Nettles Trefoil Wild onion Wild mustard Wild Garlic Clovers Broadleaf plantain Narrow leaf plantain Chick weed Hawksbit Hensbit Hawksbeard Other good stuff: "Testudo Seed Mix" from http://www.tortoisesupply.com/SeedMixes Pasture mixes or other seeds from http://www.groworganic.com/seeds.html Homegrown alfalfa Mazuri Tortoise Chow ZooMed Grassland Tortoise Food Ones that you can buy in every store: Arugula Lambs lettuce Chicory Kale Mustard greens Organic kohlrabi leafs Organic carrot leafs Organic radish leafs Dandelions Radiccio Their main diet should be broad leaf weeds, succulents and grasses. Store bought foods are okay, but not the best. Collards and dandelions are a good food, but neither should be used every day. Check out the plant ID section for lots of ideas on weeds to feed. You can get spineless opuntia cactus pads from most Mexican grocery stores, or grow them yourself. You can also easily grow grape leaves, african hibiscus, regular hibiscus (if it will survive in your area), and mulberry leaves. You can try red apple, ice plant, and jade plant too. Also look into Gazania, pansies, nasturtiums, carnations, geraniums and many others. At the grocery store, favor endive and escarole, but also use cilantro, carrot tops, mustard and turnip greens, bok choy, radiccio, swiss chard, watercress, parsley, all the lettuces, etc. Lots of variety is best. There are also tortoise "weed" seed mixes that you can grow. I like the "Testudo Mix" from Tortoisesupply.com. Buckwheat; cactus; vetch; Mohave aster; creosote bush; desert four o’clock; tacoma stans; bladderpod; globe mallow; goldenhead; burro weed; so many things!