Hello there.
 

My name is Terri and I am new to this brilliant site. After a lot of research I am now the proud but nervous owner of Usain, my beautiful Hermann torty. As a child growing up in the 60's, we had tortoises as family pets. Dora lived out in the garden all her life, we fed her bananas, tomatoes, cucumber, didn't have any idea what breed of tortoise she was, she would dig a pit and hibernate every winter and every spring she would reappear. She laid several clutches of eggs and grew to be a big girl. We bought her from a pet shop for the princely sum of 7/6, less than 50p in today's money ! Dora lived well into her 50's.
How things have changed ! Usain has a beautiful new tortoise table, heat, light, water, a bedroom and staff..me...to attend to his every need ! He has been out in the garden on sunny afternoons this week where he charges around, much to the bantams surprise, and follows me around like a shadow. He is such a character and I am totally besotted by him. I have plans for a large outdoor enclosure next spring but for now he lives indoors. He currently weighs 250g and the advice when I bought him was not to let him hibernate this year but he seems to spend longer periods in his little bedroom asleep. I bring him out and put him under his light every morning...should I be doing this or am I stressing him ? He was on dry wood chip substrate but I have changed that to a mix of soft sand and top soil with a pebbles area too. Should I be bathing him each day or misting his living quarters...I'm afraid of him becoming too dry. Any advice would be great. I have been on several sites researching but found so much conflicting advice I'm now not sure what to do. This site is definitely the best one for good common sense advice from true torty lovers and owners and I look forward to being part of it. I hope I haven't come across as a complete numbskull but I really want to do what's best for Usain :roll:

Hello Terri & welcome :)
Things have indeed changed. There are still many living like Dora (tough ones)

Your right not to hibernate in the first year you have them. They need to settle in and for you to get to know whats normal for them. So I would get Usain up. Dont know how big his table is but I would either block or take out his "bedroom" you can also try adding just a low watt light bulb in a clip holder or desk lamp. Not to add heat, just to try and fool him its still summer. I agree misting / hydration is very important.

Looking forward to seeing some pictures of Usain. :)

Thank you for that advice. I have been out and bought a desk lamp and a misting bottle so will start hydrating him and his surroundings each day. He has been quite lively today and seems to be enjoying his new sandy surface, rocks, pebbles and plants....not that he's spoilt of course !!

Hello and welcome I love the name not sure we have had a Usain before all good advice above I use a bulb that is supposed to help people who suffer from s.a.d over the winter they give off a tremendous amount of light and it seems to work for me if I have any that are not well enough to hibernate.will rty and find a link for you.
Bright Full Spectrum Energy Saver Natural Cool Daylight (6500K) low energy 11w = 55w (was 60w) Edison Screw ES E27good for SAD (Seasonally Affected Disorder) Compact Twisted Spiral Light Bulb
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B00...FgL&ref=plSrch

Hi Terri and welcome. I agree with the above, don't hibernate him this year, get to know him a bit better over the next year. You will need to convince him that it's summer, and this can be tricky depending on the individual tort, cos they're all different. Keep his lights on for 12/14 hours a day. Please ask away if your not sure about anything, no question is a stupid question . Good luck.

Excellent advice above Terri. Welcome to SW. :-)

Thank you everyone for the warm welcome and great advice. I am going to enjoy being part of the shelled warriors site. I have bought a s.a.d. light for Usain' s summer quarters...thanks for the link. :p

Welcome to the forum.

Great name. Is that after Usain Bolt? Ha ha. They do move incredibly quickly when there is the chance of escape!

Look forward to seeing pictures of Usain.

Welcome Terri... sounds all good, pickies when able , great you've joined the site, and ask away. we like a good debate on here also. CB

Yes, it is Usain after Bolt. I was going to call him Bolt but Usain suits him better. He has been out in the garden today as its been a lovely day here in Cornwall. He really enjoys being outside on the grass and really motors around with the sun on his back.:razz: