Time to Stop Lurking and Introduce Myself!

[Ashaba04]

Hi all!
I've been reading this site for the past few weeks and thought tonight is the night I'd write my first post! Maybe it's because I wanted to say hi... or maybe it's because I'm all about distractions when I'm supposed to be working on grad school homework... who can tell, really? lol.
I don't have a tortoise just yet- but I will as of Tuesday!! I ordered a baby Hermann's from lllreptile and I can't wait! I have his enclosure all set up and ready for him. Now I just have to wait. (Which is the worst part!)
What I can tell you about him is his name: Krads Olsen II.
Why?
Well, my mom is from Denmark and when she was growing up her family had a pet tortoise. As can be expected for the time (about 45 years ago), they didn't know too much about how to care for him; but they loved him nonetheless. Her whole side of the family has fond memories of the little tortoise that would eat all the lettuce they could find and made scratching sounds as he walked along their floors. Anyway, his name was Krads Olsen. Krads= scratch and Olsen= similar to Smith or Jones in the US. Soooo, I felt it only fair to name my new little guy/gal after his... great uncle?
I'll be sure to post pictures when I get him.

Peace,
Kirsten

 

[Balboa]

Welcome!
I too lurked for a long time before finally posting.
I'm glad you did your research first, that is SOOOO much better than the usual "I bought this tortoise, now what do I do with it?"
I think you chose very well for a species , not that I've ever kept them, but a really workable species for most people by my understanding.

 

[Torty Mom]

Welcome to TFO! We love to see pictures of your little guy when you get him!

 

[terryo]

Welcome to the forum, Kristen!

 

[coreyc]

Hello Ashaba welcome post some pic's when you get him we all love pic's

 

[Kristina]

Welcome to the forum!

 

[abra]

Welcome and thanks for doing your research, you should post some pics of your enclosure

 

[jackrat]

Welcome!

 

[JohnathanO]

Welcome to the forum!

 

[jensgotfaith]

Welcome, welcome, welcome!!!

 

[Ashaba04]

Thank you for the warm welcome, everyone!
It was a hard decision between a redfoot or a Hermann's but I think a Hermann's is the best choice for me. Someday, I'd love to have a Sulcata... but I think that is a day that's far away!

here's a picture of the whole enclosure. aspen on the left, bed-a-beast type soil on the right.

this is the humid side. it's about a quarter of the whole bin. log hide, fake plant, water dish.

and this is the dry side where the heat will be! potted hide, slate for food, orchard grass, and cuttle bone.

I'm going to use a Powersun 100 watt for heat/UVB.

Do you have any suggestions for the enclosure? I'm assuming he will move things around and I will have to take some stuff out per his liking. He's going to be about 2 inches, so I think this enclosure will do him well for a little while. Right?
During the spring and summer I will, of course, have him outside as much as possible! And I'll be upgrading his bin as needed!

(Also, is it ok that I posted these pictures here? If I should have posted them under the enclosures section, I'm sorry!)

Kirsten

 

[Angi]

Looks good. How far is lll from you? There is one about 45 min. from me, but I know they are all over and wonder how far yours has to travel.

Welcome!
Angi

 

[ALDABRAMAN]

Welcome.

 

[Ashaba04]

Looks good. How far is lll from you? There is one about 45 min. from me, but I know they are all over and wonder how far yours has to travel.

Welcome!
Angi

Angi, I'm in a suburb of Chicago, so my little guy is making quite the trek from CA. :-( I know they're putting warmers in the box with him, though... makes me a bit nervous anyway!

 

[tortoisenerd]

Welcome to the group! Nice enclosure.

Yes, that should be good for a bit, but probably not that long actually as from the scale it looks smallish. Hopefully you don't find the clear sides an issue. If the tort is pacing or trying to climb out, you may want to put up paper around the sides. I'd sink the flower pot down more so the tort is hiding in substrate, not sitting on the plastic. If it can't go down more, then you don't have enough substrate. I like substrate deep enough for the tort to burrow and cover itself (probably 4 inches for a 2 inch tort). I'd put it perpendicular to a wall, not in the corner, as the tort will want to walk around it where it is, and if its perpendicular, they won't try to go behind it (torts like to walk the enclosure perimeter unless its very obvious they can't fit that way). I'd take the rocks out from around and in the water dish unless you find some flat ones and need them for the depth of the dish. You are probably fine if you sink the saucer in so its more flush with the substrate, and just don't fill it up all the way. The tort won't be able to walk over those (they seem to block the entrance and block the tort from soaking). What is your temp gradient like?

Make sure the heat isn't directly over the food or else it will wilt. I would prefer the moist side to be the warm side, as cooler and moist isn't a good combo. You probably won't find your tort venturing much to that side (plus you want to keep the water a little warmer...water will be even cooler than the ambient temp). Do you have a lamp stand or similar rig so you can vertically adjust the bulb? Ensure it is mounted with the bulb face parallel to the substrate, not at an angle. You might want to take the wood out as that encourages climbing, which hatchlings aren't adept at because they tend to flip over, and doesn't have a hide purpose (I like everything in the enclosure to have a purpose, mostly hides). Keep an eye on the half log--if the tort starts climbing that, you probably want to take it out to minimize flipping hazards (vertical sided hides are great, same with the hay piles or fake plants, like you have). What is your house temp at night? Below 70 F or so and you probably want a bit of heat from a ceramic heat emitter...you still want a temp drop, but not too much for hatchlings (adults are fine to get cooler at night, more like 60 F). You can use a timer for your day-night cycle.

Good luck!

---

I'm surprised they are able to ship to Chicago this time of year! Good luck with the little guy's journey.

 

[Ashaba04]

Welcome to the group! Nice enclosure.

Yes, that should be good for a bit, but probably not that long actually as from the scale it looks smallish. Hopefully you don't find the clear sides an issue. If the tort is pacing or trying to climb out, you may want to put up paper around the sides. I'd sink the flower pot down more so the tort is hiding in substrate, not sitting on the plastic. If it can't go down more, then you don't have enough substrate. I like substrate deep enough for the tort to burrow and cover itself (probably 4 inches for a 2 inch tort). I'd put it perpendicular to a wall, not in the corner, as the tort will want to walk around it where it is, and if its perpendicular, they won't try to go behind it (torts like to walk the enclosure perimeter unless its very obvious they can't fit that way). I'd take the rocks out from around and in the water dish unless you find some flat ones and need them for the depth of the dish. You are probably fine if you sink the saucer in so its more flush with the substrate, and just don't fill it up all the way. The tort won't be able to walk over those (they seem to block the entrance and block the tort from soaking). What is your temp gradient like?

Make sure the heat isn't directly over the food or else it will wilt. I would prefer the moist side to be the warm side, as cooler and moist isn't a good combo. You probably won't find your tort venturing much to that side (plus you want to keep the water a little warmer...water will be even cooler than the ambient temp). Do you have a lamp stand or similar rig so you can vertically adjust the bulb? Ensure it is mounted with the bulb face parallel to the substrate, not at an angle. You might want to take the wood out as that encourages climbing, which hatchlings aren't adept at because they tend to flip over, and doesn't have a hide purpose (I like everything in the enclosure to have a purpose, mostly hides). Keep an eye on the half log--if the tort starts climbing that, you probably want to take it out to minimize flipping hazards (vertical sided hides are great, same with the hay piles or fake plants, like you have). What is your house temp at night? Below 70 F or so and you probably want a bit of heat from a ceramic heat emitter...you still want a temp drop, but not too much for hatchlings (adults are fine to get cooler at night, more like 60 F). You can use a timer for your day-night cycle.

Good luck!

---

I'm surprised they are able to ship to Chicago this time of year! Good luck with the little guy's journey.

---

Thank you so much for your response! I'll take out the wood and rocks, put more substrate, keep the bulb closer to the moist side, and keep an eye on the half log. Directly under the bulb it's about 94 and the light is suspended from the ceiling. It took me a while to understand what you meant about the pot, but I got it now! Duh. I'll move it so the little guy can run around.
Don't worry, I'll get him a new enclosure as soon as he needs it- I'm assuming a month or two from now?
Luckily, it isn't too cold here this week, so he should be ok.
Again, thank you for your suggestions!

 

[Tom]

Hello and welcome. Good luck with the new tort.

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi Kirsten:

Welcome to the forum!!

If I'm remembering correctly you mentioned that you had a hide on the humid side, but the light is on the dry side. Just remember that cold/wet=bad and warm/wet=good.

 

[RV's mom]

welcome to TFO!

teri

 

[egyptiandan]

Welcome to the forum Kirsten

Danny