Yearling western hermanns

[ellen.]

Hey,
I bought a yearling western hermanns a couple of months ago and this is my first reptile. I think she is poorly.
The tortoise table is about 2 by 4 foot and has a basking/ubv lamp on one side, soil and wood chipping substrate, newspaper in the bed bit. There are some aloe vera plants in there too.
Recently, she has stopped eating as much and seems less energetic. And this morning I noticed a few snot bubbles.
Any ideas on what's happening/what I need to do?
Thankyou!

 

[wellington]

First off she should have been housed in a closed chamber with high humidity.
Remove soil, and paper they are not proper substrates.
Need to know exact type of wood chips.
Also need to know type of heat and light you are using and exact temps, day, night, basking.
How often do you give warm water soaks?
What is the diet?
For now, get the day and night temps to 80 while it's not feeling good. With a basking of 95-100.
Get the enclosure covered, making like a plastic tent over it so all lights and heat are under the tent
Get the stuff removed that shouldn't be in there.

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

Hello and welcome, sorry this is happening!

It’s sounds from your description that you’ve unfortunately been given a lot of incorrect and outdated care advice.

It sounds like a possible RI, the usual cause of this is temps being too low but I can’t know for certain without readings.

There are other things to address, any kind of all in one basking&uv bulb isn’t the best or safest choice unfortunately.

Top soil shouldn’t be used as there is no way of knowing what kind of plants have gone into it, could be something toxic, reptisoils tend to have sand mixed in which also isn’t good for them. What kind of wood chips? If it’s beech wood chips, those aren’t a good choice either, they hold no humidity and are just mainly used whilst they’re in shops cause it’s easier to clean, newspaper is also a big no no, you don’t want your baby possibly eating that!

By table I’m presuming you mean an open top? Babies need housing in closed chambers to maintain the humidity they need, it aids in smoother growth.

If you could try answering these further questions that’d be great!

What are your temperatures like? Ie basking temp(directly under the bulb), overall day temps, night temps?
What kind of monitors do you have measuring your temperature and humidity?
How’s diet been?
What’s your soak routine?

A photo of your full set up would be great if you’re willing to share! Along with one of your tortoise

In the meantime I think you’ll hopefully find this thread I made a really useful read, I cover correct equipment(lighting heating, the right uv), levels, substrates, sizing, the importance of a closed chamber, appropriately maintaining humidity, there’s lots of visual examples for everything along with a really handy diet link!

Housing young Russian/Herman

Hello there! In this thread, I’m going to include some information on an effective way to tackle a starter set up/a way you can build a bigger size once your baby is an adult. I know it looks a lot to go over, I like to make sure all bases are covered, I’m happy to break down any information...

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This one will also be really good it you to go over, it’ll help you avoid the wrong bulbs, substrates, housing etc, I always encourage checking purchase on here before buying too!

Common keeping errors

Hello everyone! I’d been a long time lurker on this site long before joining just under a year ago now, over that time I’ve seen these husbandry issues come up time and time again, sometimes with dire consequences☹️ I thought this thread might serve as a good visual guide for these common...

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[Littleredfootbigredheart]

That may seem a whole lot of information all at once! But I’m happy sticking around to answer any further questions you have to help get you and baby on the right track

 

[ellen.]

The temp is aprox 36°C under the lamp. I'm using a 12hour on and off timer. I have a combined digital timer for humidity and temp. I have been bathing Shelly in warm water for aprox 20 mins every day/every other day.
Thankyou so much for your help!!! I have now ordered orchid bark to replace the substrate which should arrive tomorrow.

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

The temp is aprox 36°C under the lamp. I'm using a 12hour on and off timer. I have a combined digital timer for humidity and temp. I have been bathing Shelly in warm water for aprox 20 mins every day/every other day.
Thankyou so much for your help!!! I have now ordered orchid bark to replace the substrate which should arrive tomorrow.View attachment 380814View attachment 380815View attachment 380816View attachment 380817View attachment 380818

Thank you for the photos, glad you’ve got some good substrate on the way, basking temperature sounds good but I’d definitely look into the recommended lighting choices in the links above when you’re able. Next will be tackling the humidity as there is already some intense pyramiding starting for quite a young tortoise, to combat this you could look into some sort of greenhouse cover.

These are some other closed chamber options

Visual inspiration

Hi guys! I’ve had some lovely messages complimenting me on my care sheets I made for all the visuals they include! That makes me so happy because as a visual learner myself, that was my goal🥰 I’ve recently had some requests for some more visual inspiration for set ups that can house babies/...

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[ellen.]

Thankypu so much!!

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

No problem at all! Always happy to help in any way I can!

Just to add as a heads up, that house is very cute looking! But be sure baby can’t climb up it, falling off the top could be quite dangerous for one so little.
For the water dish I’d definitely suggest getting a clay terracotta saucer, the pet store options lack grip in the event the tortoise flips, terracotta saucers are considered safest, especially for little bubs, he’s very cute btw! Feel free to pop in on the forum any time! They’ll always be a member along to help advise on your set up moving forward

 

[ellen.]

Thankyou so much I have ordered a greenhouse tarp and terracotta bowl. Is there anything you would suggest for bedding instead of newspaper? And will shellys snotty nose go away with these changes?
I really appreciate all the help!

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

Thankyou so much I have ordered a greenhouse tarp and terracotta bowl. Is there anything you would suggest for bedding instead of newspaper? And will shellys snotty nose go away with these changes?
I really appreciate all the help!

Fab, bedding can be the substrate that runs throughout like the orchid bark and coco coir, he might enjoy a nice deep layer of coir in his bed area to burrow down intojust make sure you damp it all and firmly press it down with your hand, it can dry quicker if left loose.

The best way to battle a potential RI will be keeping temperatures up, you might find the basking bulb is reaching the desired basking temperature, but not enough to heat the entire enclosure all the way to the cooler end, only your monitors can say, but it wouldn’t surprise me if you need to install a CHE(ceramic heat emitter) over the middle of the enclosure to make up ambient temperature and provide night heat now our uk weather is dropping. The changes won’t bring instant improvement as it can take a week or two for them to start recovering, but warmer temps throughout the enclosure are definitely the way to go, I’d personally try and keep it in the 75 range overnight whilst he’s poorly, I think you’ll only be able to achieve that with a ceramic bulb

 

[ellen.]

Fab, bedding can be the substrate that runs throughout like the orchid bark and coco coir, he might enjoy a nice deep layer of coir in his bed area to burrow down intojust make sure you damp it all and firmly press it down with your hand, it can dry quicker if left loose.

The best way to battle a potential RI will be keeping temperatures up, you might find the basking bulb is reaching the desired basking temperature, but not enough to heat the entire enclosure all the way to the cooler end, only your monitors can say, but it wouldn’t surprise me if you need to install a CHE(ceramic heat emitter) over the middle of the enclosure to make up ambient temperature and provide night heat now our uk weather is dropping. The changes won’t bring instant improvement as it can take a week or two for them to start recovering, but warmer temps throughout the enclosure are definitely the way to go, I’d personally try and keep it in the 75 range overnight whilst he’s poorly, I think you’ll only be able to achieve that with a ceramic bulb

Thankyou so much!!!!

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

Thankyou so much!!!!

Anytime!

 

[Tom]

The temp is aprox 36°C under the lamp. I'm using a 12hour on and off timer. I have a combined digital timer for humidity and temp. I have been bathing Shelly in warm water for aprox 20 mins every day/every other day.
Thankyou so much for your help!!! I have now ordered orchid bark to replace the substrate which should arrive tomorrow.View attachment 380814View attachment 380815View attachment 380816View attachment 380817View attachment 380818

You only have one bulb, but there should be four. The one type you are using should not be used over tortoises. That is why your baby is pyramiding. The open topped enclosure with its low humidity is another reason.

Here is a breakdown of the four heating and lighting essentials:

1. Basking bulb. I use 65 watt incandescent floods from the hardware store. Some people will need bigger, or smaller wattage bulbs. Let your thermometer be your guide. I run them on a timer for about 12 hours and adjust the height to get the correct basking temp under them. I also like to use a flat rock of some sort directly under the bulb. You need to check the temp with a thermometer directly under the bulb and get it to around 95-100F (36-37C).
2. Ambient heat maintenance. I use ceramic heating elements or radiant heat panels set on thermostats to maintain ambient above 80 degrees day and night for tropical species. In most cases you'd only need day heat for a temperate species like Testudo or DT, as long as your house stays above 60F (15-16C) at night. Some people in colder climates or with larger enclosures will need multiple CHEs or RHPs to spread out enough heat.
3. Ambient light. I use LEDs for this purpose. Something in the 5000-6500K color range will look the best. Most bulbs at the store are in the 2500K range and they look yellowish. Strip or screw-in LED bulb types are both fine.
4. UV. If you can get your tortoise outside for an hour 2 or 3 times a week, you won't need indoor UV. In colder climates, get one of the newer HO type fluorescent tubes. Which type will depend on mounting height. 5.0 bulbs make almost no UV. I like the 12% HO bulbs from Arcadia. You need a meter to check this: https://www.solarmeter.com/model65.html A good UV bulb only needs to run for 2-3 hours mid day. You need the basking bulb and the ambient lighting to be on at least 12 hours a day.

Give this a read through for the current and correct care advice:

Info For New People. Please Read This First.

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