Advice for new owners

[Linda and Mark]

We are the proud owners of 2 spurt higher tortoises and so want to get this right! Do they need any kind of bedding in their sleeping area, like straw? I am reading we need to bath them regularly, what's the best way to do this and are they going to go into hibernation?

[Suze65]

Top soil is the best substrate, right across the table and under their hide, no need for any bedding, this will only go mouldy, keep the soil moist ( not wet) and this will create some humidity under the hide, which is necessary for good shell growth. They will go into hibernation if you let them, if you have only just got them, I would recommend you don't hibernate them this year. But to keep them going you will have to fake the summer ( so to speak) with a basking spot, a uv light, and back ground heat. Lights need to be on 12 hours a day, and don't let night time background heat drop too low, eg about 15-18c

[Linda and Mark]

Hello Suze65, thank you for your reply and advice, we have a standard tortoise table, so when you talk about their hide do you mean the lidded compartment or do I need to create a different one and what's the best background heating I can use?

[Suze65]

Originally Posted by Linda and Mark

Hello Suze65, thank you for your reply and advice, we have a standard tortoise table, so when you talk about their hide do you mean the lidded compartment or do I need to create a different one and what's the best background heating I can use?

Yes , the end with the lid , just top soil , a few inches deep, then they can dig down, some tables don't have a lid end so people provide a hide of some sort.
Your back ground heat is the room temp, so over the winter, day time room temp needs to be around 20-22c , basking temps 30-31 c . Overnight room temps around 15-17c, but every tortoise is different and they will respond to different temps, some will tolerate 15c and some will need it a bit higher , so you need to observe your tortoises . If the room they are in gets a bit too cold at night , you could get a ceramic heat emitter ( from any reptile retailer ) plug this into a thermostat , which you can also get from reptile retailers) and set it at around 17-18 c .

[cheloniaman]

I also wondered about this. This thread has helped me