Hello All - Page 3

CherryBrandy · 06-04-2016, 08:45 PM

suze soooo envious. I adore the bigger tortoises - so sirene and elegant CB

Finfendy · 09-04-2016, 12:18 PM

Oh yay! Moderator finally got my posts on here, think they have got a bit lost though.
Current train of thought is that the tortoise table will go in my smallest bedroom with my wardrobe/storage cupboard. We have also set aside a patch of garden, the outdoor enclosure will be 10ft x 5ft initially... will this be big enough, It can be bigger, just want to be able to go to my Mr with a set size rather than saying as big as possible.
It will all change in a year or 2 when I get my office (heated log cabin type of thing) built in the garden, tortoise will move in there and have access to the outside enclosure which will also get bigger.
It's going to take a few months to get everything sorted I guess so I am just researching things and going to get some plants in etc. in the meantime. Still trying to find a breeder too... I have been told we can travel so breeder doesn't need to be Kent based. It's getting quite exciting now I know this is actually happening!!

CherryBrandy · 12-04-2016, 10:11 AM

if you have a hatchling or juvenile you will see why 10ft x 5ft may be a little large to start with - tortoises get anxious when exposed to large areas - so you will need lots of little hideaways and net over the top or secure in other ways but good way to go eventually !!
sort of rule of thumb (as views can differ - biggest area you can manage is best often) is for a 12inch tortoise 9 ft x 9ft is required - minimum for health and wellbeing. I would say though that some of mine don't even venture far from the greenhouse, so it is dependent on factors of size, species etc. CB

Finfendy · 12-04-2016, 11:03 AM

Thanks for the reply CB. I may have found a tortoise (or 2) cb15 Testudo Hermanni Hermanni. So they will be dinky. They will probably just have a smaller temporary outdoor accommodation while we prepare the larger pen, then I will just Fence a bit off for them so it's not huge!
All I can do now is order plants while I wait for my table to be built.
Roughly how long does it take for a tortoise to get to it's full size? Seeing as I look like I'm getting 2 tortoises I may need 2 pens eventually.

CherryBrandy · 12-04-2016, 11:15 AM

depends on tortoise, species, environment, food, but generally can be from 7 - 10 - 30 years. hard to tell. I don't have much experience with Hermanns but from what I have I think they grow pretty quick in year terms. cb15 will be v v v dinky ! make sure they don't slip under fences etc. I use to pin my little pens down with tent pegs also. They didn't try and escape but were just agile enough to. CB

Finfendy · 12-04-2016, 11:29 AM

Oh that's fine, they will have their other accommodation by the time they grow out of their table.
My partner loves a challenge, I'm sure he'll enjoy figuring out how to keep a tortoise in!
I keep looking out for weeds on my walks around the village, think I have spied a few nice ones! It's amazing, everything now is can the tortoise eat it?? Or can i use that in it's enclosure?

Ozric Jonathan · 12-04-2016, 11:40 PM

Finfendy the hermanni hermanni tortoise is a really lovely creature! Well I would say that. But seriously they are quite a lot smaller than their eastern hermann cousins and grow more slowly. That doesn't hold true for every single one but in general terms it's accurate.

With hermanni hermanni tortoises it takes several years (or more) before they might need to be separated. Say, if they both turned out to be male. I think for this subspecies to reach full size it will normally take well over ten years. I have a couple that I've had for about that long and I reckon they have decades more growth (all being well) to come.

A 2015 CB hermanni hermanni is about 2 inches long. It's a small creature and as CB says above, it doesn't feel safe in the wide open spaces.

Keep us posted (even if you get a different species)!!

Finfendy · 13-04-2016, 11:14 AM

Jonathan, thanks for your response. It's great news, I was beginning to panic that we wouldn't be able to offer them much space at the moment. I'll sort them a smaller outdoor enclosure which gives me time to get the big one perfect.

06-04-2016, 08:45 PM	#21
CherryBrandy Senior Member Adult Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: SE England Posts: 4,262	suze soooo envious. I adore the bigger tortoises - so sirene and elegant CB __________________ Horsfields, Spur Thighed, & Marginata

12-04-2016, 10:11 AM	#23
CherryBrandy Senior Member Adult Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: SE England Posts: 4,262	if you have a hatchling or juvenile you will see why 10ft x 5ft may be a little large to start with - tortoises get anxious when exposed to large areas - so you will need lots of little hideaways and net over the top or secure in other ways but good way to go eventually !! sort of rule of thumb (as views can differ - biggest area you can manage is best often) is for a 12inch tortoise 9 ft x 9ft is required - minimum for health and wellbeing. I would say though that some of mine don't even venture far from the greenhouse, so it is dependent on factors of size, species etc. CB __________________ Horsfields, Spur Thighed, & Marginata

12-04-2016, 11:15 AM	#25
CherryBrandy Senior Member Adult Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: SE England Posts: 4,262	depends on tortoise, species, environment, food, but generally can be from 7 - 10 - 30 years. hard to tell. I don't have much experience with Hermanns but from what I have I think they grow pretty quick in year terms. cb15 will be v v v dinky ! make sure they don't slip under fences etc. I use to pin my little pens down with tent pegs also. They didn't try and escape but were just agile enough to. CB __________________ Horsfields, Spur Thighed, & Marginata

12-04-2016, 11:40 PM	#27
Ozric Jonathan Senior Member Adult Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: West of Scotland Posts: 4,226	Finfendy the hermanni hermanni tortoise is a really lovely creature! Well I would say that. But seriously they are quite a lot smaller than their eastern hermann cousins and grow more slowly. That doesn't hold true for every single one but in general terms it's accurate. With hermanni hermanni tortoises it takes several years (or more) before they might need to be separated. Say, if they both turned out to be male. I think for this subspecies to reach full size it will normally take well over ten years. I have a couple that I've had for about that long and I reckon they have decades more growth (all being well) to come. A 2015 CB hermanni hermanni is about 2 inches long. It's a small creature and as CB says above, it doesn't feel safe in the wide open spaces. Keep us posted (even if you get a different species)!! __________________ Testudo Hermanni Hermanni (Corse) tortoises

09-04-2016, 12:18 PM	#22
Finfendy Member Egg Join Date: Apr 2016 Location: Kent Posts: 60	Oh yay! Moderator finally got my posts on here, think they have got a bit lost though. Current train of thought is that the tortoise table will go in my smallest bedroom with my wardrobe/storage cupboard. We have also set aside a patch of garden, the outdoor enclosure will be 10ft x 5ft initially... will this be big enough, It can be bigger, just want to be able to go to my Mr with a set size rather than saying as big as possible. It will all change in a year or 2 when I get my office (heated log cabin type of thing) built in the garden, tortoise will move in there and have access to the outside enclosure which will also get bigger. It's going to take a few months to get everything sorted I guess so I am just researching things and going to get some plants in etc. in the meantime. Still trying to find a breeder too... I have been told we can travel so breeder doesn't need to be Kent based. It's getting quite exciting now I know this is actually happening!!

12-04-2016, 11:03 AM	#24
Finfendy Member Egg Join Date: Apr 2016 Location: Kent Posts: 60	Thanks for the reply CB. I may have found a tortoise (or 2) cb15 Testudo Hermanni Hermanni. So they will be dinky. They will probably just have a smaller temporary outdoor accommodation while we prepare the larger pen, then I will just Fence a bit off for them so it's not huge! All I can do now is order plants while I wait for my table to be built. Roughly how long does it take for a tortoise to get to it's full size? Seeing as I look like I'm getting 2 tortoises I may need 2 pens eventually.

12-04-2016, 11:29 AM	#26
Finfendy Member Egg Join Date: Apr 2016 Location: Kent Posts: 60	Oh that's fine, they will have their other accommodation by the time they grow out of their table. My partner loves a challenge, I'm sure he'll enjoy figuring out how to keep a tortoise in! I keep looking out for weeds on my walks around the village, think I have spied a few nice ones! It's amazing, everything now is can the tortoise eat it?? Or can i use that in it's enclosure?

13-04-2016, 11:14 AM	#28
Finfendy Member Egg Join Date: Apr 2016 Location: Kent Posts: 60	Jonathan, thanks for your response. It's great news, I was beginning to panic that we wouldn't be able to offer them much space at the moment. I'll sort them a smaller outdoor enclosure which gives me time to get the big one perfect.

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