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Old 22-09-2018, 10:43 PM   #313
Cap
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Join Date: Sep 2018
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Ozric Jonathan View Post
Hi there. Those coldframes are great in all sorts of ways. They let in uvb and the design of them is brilliant but they were expensive and v. difficult to get hold of.

I've now got 2 other uvb transmitting coldframes too which were much cheaper. The Jewel Paula comes in at £200. It's easy to assemble. Designed for tortoises and has a sliding roof with a mesh underneath. So the roof can be open to the air in good weather but the torts can't be attacked by birds.

https://www.bluelizardreptiles.co.uk.../9001567201467

It says in the blurb there that the cold frame is made of polycarbonate which is selling it short. It's made of Alltop which is uvb transmitting and has two walls so like double glazing. Great for keeping heat in.

I'd say the Paula is well worth looking at for anyone getting a coldframe for a tortoise.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ozric Jonathan View Post
Hi. There has been a move in recent years to keeping the regional forms of the hermanni hermanni so most buyers are looking to get tortoises that are described as Calabrian, Puglian, Corsican or Sardinian.

The tortoises from specific "locales" as they are known are quite distinct and there is a desire to try to keep it like this. The same could be applied to the eastern hermanns and to Horsfields too, although this is much slower catching on than it has been with the hermanni hermanni.

Whereabouts are you? Hermanni hermanni breeders exist mostly in the south east of England but there are a few others.

If you want to buy tortoises that are large enough that the seller can be confident about the sex, it's going to be more difficult and more expensive. It can take 4 years or more before the hermanni hermanni can be sexed.

If you are not bothered about the regional type then it would be easier to find a pair.

I think the hermanni hermanni are lovely tortoises and mine are Corsicans. I have produced little ones for sale but don't have any at the moment.

I live in the west of Scotland, one of the more challenging parts of the UK to keep mediterranean tortoises. I keep them outside as much as possible but at the moment I still use indoors for part of the year. Heated shed or outbuilding is ideally the way to go, or a greenhouse which is insulated and heated for early spring and late autumn.

The hermann hermanni grows quite slowly (if done right) and do not get huge. So keeping them using a combination of indoors and outdoors can work well for a number of years.

The males are aggressive to each other and can't be kept in the same enclosure unless it is seriously huge. A male will also pester a female constantly. These issues don't normally arise in the first few years. My females are very relaxed with each other. Mostly people want to buy females so we've got the situation where breeders incubate the eggs to try and get females.

The males are great characters though.
Hi Jonathan
Thanks for this very useful information.
I live in Buckinghamshire. What would be your recommendation?
Thanks
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