Help with 2 adopted hermann's pls asap?

Question

ok a friend asked us to take her 2 x hermann tortoises both males living together 2 years old , since reading up on their care needs I'm concerned, first let me explain after measuring their carapaces one is 100mm and weights 202g which is good on the jackson ratio chart the other one is 750 mm and only weighs 87g which is way below (2) also they have been being kept in a plastic under bed storage tank 24 x 16 x 8 which i feel is way to small for both of them ?,(3) the smallest one hardly ever wakes up it buries itself into the sawdust which is my next concern as i have been told sawdust is bad, so i wish to sort a new habitat asap but cant decide on a vivarium or table type as web sites conflict about this advice ?, (4) also what can i do to assist the small one to grow and wake up more ?, he seems to prefer being hand fed and eats more this way and currently we are waking him up and placing him under the current basking light which clips on the side from which i understand is a dual uvb / heat light ? should i get seperate lights ? and how long go on for ?

any sensible advice gratefully received, thanks in advance

Answer 1

Hi, I havekept Hermanns for over 15 years.  The reccomended way to keep them is on a table now days, as their need to thermoregulate is then catered for.  Vivariums is the old fashioned way, a cheap table could be an old book case, or a new one from argos is just £17.99.  On warm days thay can will be better off in yor garden as the UV from the Sun is more powerful than any lamp we can offer them.  The self balasted combined UV and Heat blbs are really great.  The megaray seems to have come out best int tests.  They are garunteed for a year and will remain efficient for a year, where as the uv tubes need changing every six months and their efficiency will deteriorate well before that.

If you don't see any aggression fromthe two males, who to be honest both sound a little too small to be certain of either s*x, then they can stay together, but it might be worth feeding them seperately.  The most common vitamins used with inthe tortosie community are Nutrobal and Calcium carbonate or Limestone flour.  Actually Limestone flour seems to be the preferred choice right now and I have to say the shell growth on my hermanns has been great with limestone flour and nutrobal.

As for the little one I would be bathing him twice a day right now and offering him things like dadelions and plantains as they see universally irresistable to all tortoises.  I would also add something called reptiboost to the water, this is a formula that is designed for poorly reptiles to bath in.  Then when they drink they are taking in some goodness too.  It may also be aworth taking him to a good herp / reptile vet.

You can make up your own mind by doing a little research. I find the Urban tortoise is a simple site to read and it refernces more detailed sites too.  Good luck

Answer 2

Thank you so much for helping these poor animals! It's too small, I would say a 50 gal tank (more length than height) is a much better choice. You are right on that cage. Sawdust is horrible, try anything else. Shavings of wood is great. The small one to wake up more must have his own basking lamp/ uvb and their own cage. They're both males, and they're very territorial! The small one has probably lost the war, and is avoiding the other at all costs. So it's too afraid to do anything. Get it another cage with a uvb and heat lamp. If he prefers being hand fed, then hand feed him.

Hope I could help, and once again thank you.

Answer 3

I have a hermanns tortoise, it lives in a wooden table top box, with a basking bulb attached to the side and a 5uvb tube fixed onto the side, i think seperate lights are better than the dual ones to be honest. i think they need a lot more space to live in, i'd say 30 x 20 size box. make sure you bath then a lot to wake them up, especially the smaller one. try giving it some vitamins too, it comes in a form of dust called cuttle bone, or you can buy vitamin drops for in its water. sawdust is dangerous because pieces can get stuck in their skin and in between the shell and body, i use hemp bedding, its a dust free substrate (like hay almost) and i use shredded newspaper or bark chippings to give my tortoise various textures to walk on. hope all this info helps,

Answer 4

I have a Hermann tortoise and other reptiles. The first thing that I have to say is DO NOT use sawdust! When I brought my tortoise he was in sawdust and he ended with an eye infection. I would suggest woodchips just not cedar. You can get them from most pet stores mine in only £2.20 so it’s not too expensive. As to the type of habitat, I have a glass vivarium because although wooden sided ones and recommended, I found that my tortoise like to climb and push things mainly his water plate. When he tries to climb up the glass he slips off rather then grip on the wood grains and turn over. This is bad especially if you have a small one, because when they are small or young when they turn over their intestines coil and could kill them. Another flaw to the wood is no matter what the seller will tell you they will start to deteriorate after a while due to excrement and water.  

      Your tortoise will need separate basking light (spot light) and also a UV, this is vital if you do not have a UV light he will get a shell deficiency. Under the basking light put a flat stone or two as you have two reptiles, this is just so they have a hot spot, this helps them digest food. I use slate black absorbs the light and the layers that make up slate keep in heat for a longer period of time. You may find that the smaller tortoise will be "bullied" by the larger one. you maywant two seperate homes.

      As their diet it should consist largely of leafy greens and grasses, supplemented with a variety of other vegetables such as broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, cucumber, carrots etc. Fruits such as apples, apricots, grapes, melons, peaches, strawberries tomatoes etc are good for them. In the wild they will take some insects, slugs, and carrion, but feeding of these is not necessary and too much animal protein is harmful. You can also use sparkle from time to time a product called "Nutrabol" from Vetark, it is what I use and this gives them the calcium and nutrients that they might be missing.

The last thing that I would like to say is if in summer you put them the garden for a little bit of natures finest, was your lawn first, dog, cat, duck and especially geese faeces is extremely poisonous to your pets.

After you work is done enjoy your pets they will be with you for years :)

P.S Do NOT use shredded paper or newspaper, the ink is obviously harmful to them and as is the bleach in plain. They will chew it! Hemp is fine but not advisable.

you may find books helpful ifyou would like to confirm anything

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Hermanns-Tortois...

or reptile stores :)

Answer 5

the tubs you are keeping them in are too small for two tortoises they may both grow to 200mm but males tend to be smaller than females so they might not grow that big, the ideal place to keep them is on a tortoise table as the tanks and Viv's do not provide enough air flow and can br too moist for the tortoises the minimum requirement for tortoises is twice the floor space of the number of tortoises kept, but the more space the better here is a site that will show you how to build a tortoise table  http://russiantortoise.org/tortoise_tabl...   or an old book case will be ok, as for the sawdust it is bad for tortoises as the little bits can get in the eyes and cause infection or scratch the eyes so it is best to change, a good substrate is a mix of sand (children's play sand is good) and soil i usually get a product called forests bed which is the same as bed a beast,  it is a lot better for your tortoises, the smaller one not eating would be a concern have you had it checked out by a vet the problem with tortoises is if they can't see very well they can't find food so i would get him checked out to see if he can see ok if they can't see they will only eat when being hand fed, the other problem you may have is the smaller one is being bullied by the bigger one, you can't keep two male Herman's together as they are very territorial and will fight for territory so you will eventully have to seperate them as they mature as they will fight, a duel uv light is ok but i tend to find two seperate bulbs are a lot better  if you get a hceramic heat lamp and fit it to a thermostat then you can regulate the temp making sure it did not get too hot as some bulbs can get very hot, if your smaller torotise does not eat after a week of being placed under a heat lamp then i would get it checked out by a reptile vet as there could be something wrong with him as for the growing they are not fast growing reptiles but hte not eating is a concern, hope it all works out for your torotises best of luck honey