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Old 17-04-2015, 12:39 PM   #1
tomsneade
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Default baby hermann advice

Hi folks. I am Tom and have just joined this group. I have had a 10 month old hermann tort that sleeps all but 2 hours in every 24 and is sometimes reluctant to eat. Every other day he will happily devour dandelion leave and flowers, then he will show little interest in food for 2 or 3 days. Sometimes he is very lively, sometime quite the opposite ! He looks bright eyed, and bushy tailed and poo's and wees every couple of days. He is in a viv with the temp set at 30 degrees, which is on for 12 hours a day. Just wondering if this is normal behavior . Many thanks. (Just this morning, he woke at 9 am, when his heating/light came on....came out of his bed...basked under the lamp for 1 hour and returned to bed !)
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Old 19-04-2015, 07:00 AM   #2
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Well I'm also very new at this, but as you have no other answers:

A "Viv" is considred bad for torts and should ideally be on a table type enclosure.

The basking spot I believe should be at about 32 degrees or slightly higher, but make sure there is room for a temprature gradient, so the tort to find a cooler area if needed.

For feeding, I'm told they should get quite a mixture of safe weeds (check on thetortoisetable.org.uk) and that it's better to feed dandelions only once per week.

Also it's good to try and bath daily and give food after bathing, as thats when their appetite is as it's best.


This is what I've been told and also read this online, I may not be right about everyhting, so hopefully someone with more experiance will reply soon.
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Old 19-04-2015, 09:32 AM   #3
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Originally Posted by tomsneade View Post
Hi folks. I am Tom and have just joined this group. I have had a 10 month old hermann tort that sleeps all but 2 hours in every 24 and is sometimes reluctant to eat. Every other day he will happily devour dandelion leave and flowers, then he will show little interest in food for 2 or 3 days. Sometimes he is very lively, sometime quite the opposite ! He looks bright eyed, and bushy tailed and poo's and wees every couple of days. He is in a viv with the temp set at 30 degrees, which is on for 12 hours a day. Just wondering if this is normal behavior . Many thanks. (Just this morning, he woke at 9 am, when his heating/light came on....came out of his bed...basked under the lamp for 1 hour and returned to bed !)

I agree vivs are not the best places for med tortoises, there is not enough change in temps. They need around 32c under the heat source and around 25c at the other end. When its warm outside the temps are even higher in a viv.
Being only a young tortoise, just like most babies they eat poop and sleep.
You need to keep a record of weight gain, weighing once a month. If your tortoise is gaining 2-3grms a month then thats fine.
Make sure you bathe your tortoise every day for two weeks then every other day. As dehydration is one of the biggest killers.
I would also not have the heat and light on quite so long.
My smaller tortoises have the heat on from 7oclock in the morning (tortoises rise with the light) and goes off around 4-5 oclock, as they are generally asleep by then. They need no heat at night, just the heat of the house.
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Old 19-04-2015, 02:12 PM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by tomsneade View Post
Hi folks. I am Tom and have just joined this group. I have had a 10 month old hermann tort that sleeps all but 2 hours in every 24 and is sometimes reluctant to eat. Every other day he will happily devour dandelion leave and flowers, then he will show little interest in food for 2 or 3 days. Sometimes he is very lively, sometime quite the opposite ! He looks bright eyed, and bushy tailed and poo's and wees every couple of days. He is in a viv with the temp set at 30 degrees, which is on for 12 hours a day. Just wondering if this is normal behavior . Many thanks. (Just this morning, he woke at 9 am, when his heating/light came on....came out of his bed...basked under the lamp for 1 hour and returned to bed !)
Hi there Tom and welcome to the forum. I agree that the minimum hotspot temperature should be 32 C during the day. One reason that some of us are not keen on vivs is that you can't have much of what we call a temperature gradient. If it's 32C at the hotspot then in a viv it's not always possible to have the cooler end at 20C depending on the size of the viv.

Air circulation is important as well - see what you can do with the viv to increase ventilation.

It's not unusual for really small ones to spend a lot of time sleeping / resting.

Especially with little ones it is useful to keep a monthly (or so) track of weight. This will help you to notice if your tortoise is not thriving. The scales don't need to cost very much but with a smaller tortoise you will need something that measures in individual grammes. If you keep using the same scales it's not much of an issue if they are not fantastically accurate because you will get a good idea if it's heading in the right direction.

A wider variety of food would be good. Can I suggest you learn to recognise a few more weeds? Plantains are found in most gardens and are an excellent tortoise food.

Have you got a source of uvb in the viv?

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Old 19-04-2015, 05:51 PM   #5
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Hello and welcome to the forum from me too.

I agree that a temperature gradient is very important for your little tort. They like to be able to bask but also go somewhere cooler as they thermoregulate. It may be getting a tad warm in the viv hence why your tort is digging down somewhere cooler for much of the day.

I imagine a variety of food may well encourage him to increase his appetite.
Try not too overdo the dandelions though. You can buy romaine , lambs lettuce and radicchio and the weeds are growing everywhere now. Easy ones to find and identify are Cat's Ear, Sowthistle, Clover, Plantain and Bittercress. Have a look on at the plant database on TTT http://www.thetortoisetable.org.uk/site/plants_19.asp

A really useful book is the Collins Complete Guide to British Wild Flowers by Paul Sterry. http://www.amazon.co.uk/British-Wild...by+Paul+Sterry

It can often be found cheaper elsewhere.

If you're green-fingered there are plenty of flowers you can grow which are edible and include pansies, petunia, nemesia, rose petals, honeysuckle, campanula, calendula, nasturtium and many more. All edible flowers are listed on the TTT website.

Offer your little one regular baths to keep him hydrated. I do my juveniles daily and my sub-adults/adults alternate days.

I weigh and measure my torts every month. It's reassuring to see their growth.

I'd imagine that a few tweaks here and there and your tort will be more active. Any other questions, just ask.
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Old 21-04-2015, 02:18 PM   #6
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thanks very much !
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Old 21-04-2015, 02:20 PM   #7
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many thanks !
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Old 21-04-2015, 02:25 PM   #8
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Thanks a lot. I was wondering whether or not to turn the light and heating off when he beds down. I have the light/heating come on at 9am and going off at 8pm. I will try turning it off around 5pm...
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Old 21-04-2015, 02:31 PM   #9
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Hi , thanks for your reply. I have just a heat lamp and tube lighting in the viv, which was professionally set up by the pet shop. I have had him for 1 month and he has gained 7 grams ...so I guess he's ok. Thanks again.
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Old 26-04-2015, 10:02 PM   #10
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I thought the Viv bashing was gone, you can have your tortoise in a vivarium with sucessful results ive had mine in one since i got him 8 year or so ago at the recommendation of a well respected vet up here. its better for controlling the climate, just make sure the above mentioned is taken care of (Ventilation is key)
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