Hermanni Hermanni is ten inches high enough

[Kighill]

Most advice I have seen suggests 16inches for a safe height to retain your tortoise. However HH are a little on the small side.
My torts are only one year of age so I have a few years waiting before they attain any size of significance.
Two questions
1. What is a maximum size you would consider for baby tortoise habitat. Information suggests they do not travel far when first hatched or when juvenile. (I am unsure how long this lasts)
2. When of an adult size will ten inches be tall enough.
My long term plan is curved granite blocks and a run upto 30 feet X 15 ish.

[sandy]

Originally Posted by Kighill

Most advice I have seen suggests 16inches for a safe height to retain your tortoise. However HH are a little on the small side.
My torts are only one year of age so I have a few years waiting before they attain any size of significance.
Two questions
1. What is a maximum size you would consider for baby tortoise habitat. Information suggests they do not travel far when first hatched or when juvenile. (I am unsure how long this lasts)
2. When of an adult size will ten inches be tall enough.
My long term plan is curved granite blocks and a run upto 30 feet X 15 ish.

Its not just the height of an enclosure, as if higher than the length of the tortoise they cant just scale it. They have to have help, such as corners, they can shimmy up them in a blink of an eye. So all corners should be capped.
Plants/housing/ objects should not be around the edge of the enclosure, as again they can climb up and over very quickly.
Always make the enclosure as big as you can, and plant up with suitable plants. That have time to establish well. You can always put up a barrier to make an enclosure smaller than it is to make it larger.
Females especially if they get gravid, will try every escape possible to find a nest:0)
Outside my hatchling enclosures have been something like six foot by six foot. You would be surprised how and where they can walk to, given the chance:0)

[Kighill]

Thank you
How long do you keep hatchlings within the 6x6 enclosure?
How big an enclosure do you use for your creeps?
The maximum size for mine will be 30ft X 15 mostly due to budget constraints. Granite is quite expensive per metre although long term it will require no maintenance.

[Suze65]

Originally Posted by sandy

Its not just the height of an enclosure, as if higher than the length of the tortoise they cant just scale it. They have to have help, such as corners, they can shimmy up them in a blink of an eye. So all corners should be capped.
Plants/housing/ objects should not be around the edge of the enclosure, as again they can climb up and over very quickly.
Always make the enclosure as big as you can, and plant up with suitable plants. That have time to establish well. You can always put up a barrier to make an enclosure smaller than it is to make it larger.
Females especially if they get gravid, will try every escape possible to find a nest:0)
Outside my hatchling enclosures have been something like six foot by six foot. You would be surprised how and where they can walk to, given the chance:0)

Completely agree, and they are very good at the shimmy in corners or between the things.

[Suze65]

Originally Posted by Kighill

Thank you
How long do you keep hatchlings within the 6x6 enclosure?
How big an enclosure do you use for your creeps?
The maximum size for mine will be 30ft X 15 mostly due to budget constraints. Granite is quite expensive per metre although long term it will require no maintenance.

30x15 for little HH sounds absolutely fantastic, just make it interesting with the planting , they love to hide under grasses and woody shrubs like Thyme, lavender, Rosemary, the sort of things they would find in their natural habitat. Also give it texture with slate, pebbles, large pieces of bark ( not small pieces, they might try to swollow this) don't use small stones, they will try to eat these too, you can make small hides with pots on the their side, again large pieces of tree bark are good to hide under, use your imagination , it's fun.

[sandy]

Originally Posted by Kighill

Thank you
How long do you keep hatchlings within the 6x6 enclosure?
How big an enclosure do you use for your creeps?
The maximum size for mine will be 30ft X 15 mostly due to budget constraints. Granite is quite expensive per metre although long term it will require no maintenance.

A lot depends on how they grow (slow but sure is the way) and how much they like to wander. Females have a tenancy to mostly stay where the heat is, unless gravid. Males do like to be out and about:0)
My adults have a heated GH, and have most of my garden to wander around in. They come and go as they please. Its about 35ft x 60ft. I have another area where I did keep my hatchlings. I stopped breeding tortoises around five years ago:0(
30ft x 15ft is fine:0)

[Kighill]

Originally Posted by Suze65

30x15 for little HH sounds absolutely fantastic, just make it interesting with the planting , they love to hide under grasses and woody shrubs like Thyme, lavender, Rosemary, the sort of things they would find in their natural habitat. Also give it texture with slate, pebbles, large pieces of bark ( not small pieces, they might try to swollow this) don't use small stones, they will try to eat these too, you can make small hides with pots on the their side, again large pieces of tree bark are good to hide under, use your imagination , it's fun.

The larger run will be when they are grown on a little although I am planning on building it soon. I would never see them at this age in such a large area.
When trying to find out the most suitable size habitat for youngsters it simply states they stay nearby to where they were hatched whilst refraining from stating how far this may be in a natural habitat.
For the babies I agree with Sandy but welcome the opinions and thoughts of other experts on the forum to form a balanced idea.

[CherryBrandy]

Sounds good. Never under estimate even the smallest tortoise. At night I struggle picking out the tinies because they dig under the lawn like lifting up carpet. The bigger the better area - My pen is a really large guinea pig hutch - reason being it covers over to stop predators. Then I add bits I, separate areas with gravel boards, or pots, but so they have to walk round or over or under or across.
They know who they are, but Margo and Mig (renamed from Meggie as he has boy traits see below - see his face..thats a boy on a mission) will climb up as look out.

Rule of thumb 9ft x 9ft for a tortoise up to 12 inches...but bigger the better to be able to roam. And roam they do. Lips on boards will stop climbing over but not up.

[emma_mcraf]

Your baby margies are looking gorgeous and just look at all that yummy clover, CB.

I agree, lips are great for stopping them climbing out. We have lids on all the enclosures to deter birds of prey and seagulls. So there's no climbing out for my lot and some of them are very adept climbers!

I agree with everyone else though - the larger the better if you can.

[CherryBrandy]

thanks Emma, I love clover nearly as much, I suspect Margies must grow bigger quicker as they end up so large! that's my theory anyway as they came as 39 grammes odd and now are mmm...quite a lot bigger !
Having too high sides means you cant see them that's the disadvantage which is why I like the lips. and double security along side sometimes ! CB