Hello
Here are 3 of my posts that were in previous threads, and that edited a bit for my reply to you. I mainly focused on facts and requirements so pardon me the blunt delivery of the information.
Post # 1
1) Indoor enclosure:
Glass vivarium is totally unsuitable because
- It provides no temperature gradient/spectrum for them to thermo-regulate. Basically it is stuffy in the whole vivarium, not good for tortoises.
- The tortoises will try to get through the glass constantly because they see through, this will get them drive crazy and very stressed.
You need an opened-top enclosure with no clear/transparent sides.
2) Substrate:
Sand type is not suitable.
You need plain top soil or coconut coir.
If top soil is used, you need to water it on the edge of the 4 walls of the enclosure, the aim it to have the soil damp underground and dry on top (like in a pot where a plant would be)
If coconut coir is used, you need to frequently make the coir damp but not soaked. Basically you poor water gradually and mix it all until you get the correct dampness.
3) Food:
Vegetables and fruits are not suitable. Kale, cabbage, broccoli, spinach, rocket, tomatoes, cucumbers, carrots, peppers, beetroot, squash, courgette etc are not suitable. Salads have very low nutrition content for Hermann tortoises. No such vegs/fruits are widely available in their natural habitat and they compromise their bone and shell health, gut health etc.
Please feed with mature weeds (dandelions and their flowers, plantains etc). Weeds are free outdoors, preferably picked in unspoilt, unpolluted areas. Try to give a different type of weeds each day or at least some variety during the week. Only feed very little clover occasionally because clover is too high in protein that is not good for young torts.
Wash the leaves with water and sprinkle like dust a very small pinch of your supplement.
Below is a list of weed names and also seeds to buy if you would like to grow. if you grow, only give fully grown weeds.
http://www.tlady.cla...t/herbiseed.htm
Here is a book for palatbale weeds and flowers for mediteranean torts
http://www.tlady.clara.net/id16.htm
if you have doubts about a weed, please ask this forum. Someone will be able to identify the weed and tell if the weed is safe.
4) Food quantity:
Resist the temptation to feed too much. In their natural habitat food is lush only in spring, in other seasons, food is sparse. Not good for tortoises to be overfed even if they eat all the food you give them, they are programmed to eat and eat non stop because they think next time there will be no food.
Looking at your pics, the food quantity is way too much.
Hide the food so that they search for it, do not put it on a plate and don't serve it in front of them.
I would say for a two years old, it is about 2 leaves a day.
The way you see if you give too much or not enough food is with the growth line on the marginal scutes. A optmimal growth line should be as fine as a fine pencil line all the time.If the line gets thicker = too much food, if the line get imperceptible = not enough food.
5) Food supplement:
Nekton MSA is a good one. Choose the smaller tub of 40gr, and get a new one every two months because the product expires after two months. Again the dose is proportional to the weight of tortoises, not to the quantity of food given. For your torts, it would be a small pinch sprinkled like dust on the leaves.
6) Hydration:
Provide fresh water daily in shallow recipients for your tortoises
Soak your tortoises in very shallow luck warm water daily a week for 15-20 minutes. Water should not go above the base of the carapace/shell. If they want to get out of the water sooner, change the water because it has gone too cold for them.
When soaked they will absorb water with their cloaca (tail) and probably drink some water, When being soaked in luck warm water, they might also poop, urinate and pass out a creamy white liquid called urates. The more liquid the urates is the better because it means they are well hydrated.
7) Lamps: Heat + UV
Heat/UV combo lamp are Megaray the brand
Also you need to add a uv strip on the length of the enclosure. Personally i like the Arcadia brand T5 D3 10%
Do you have a laser thermometer to measure temps under the heat lamp?
8) Clean up daily the poo droppings.
Clean up daily uneaten food, soiled substrate.
Clean water dishes daily.
9) Do not let your torts walking around your house/flat. They must stay in their suitable enclosure.
Torts are creatures of habits, do not changes the set up in the enclosure to bring variety or stimulation, it will actually stress them.
10) Do you have an outdoor space for their future outdoor enclosure?
Post # 2
- If you are looking for the best combo UV/heat lamp on the market for tortoises, the brand is Megaray, the bulb you would need is 100W.
- Also tortoises are stimulated by light to be active, and you might need to add extra light like a UV trip.
- Very good book on keeping Hermann torts naturalistically: https://www.amazon.c.../dp/B01K3LDM78.
- You will need an electronic scale to watch growth in mass/weight. Also when your babies grows, only a small fine line (line a like of pencil) will appear on the marginal scutes, this is what we call the growth line, and it should not be thicker than a fine pencil line. Tortoises are programmed to eat so resist to give too much food and resist to hand feed otherwide it won't use its front leggs to tear leaves apart and will only see your fingers as food and won't see the leaves.
- Also it is good to scatter and hide food so they use their sense of smell and search for food, it makes their time more interesting and use their instinct.
- Also please make sure the ambiant temp aduring the night are much lower than during the day. They don't need heat during the nigh, in nature it is much cooler at night and much more damp.
Post # 3
Please use plain top soil. It is the cheapest and the best.
No sand because some sand types cause eye irritation.
Please DO NOT use compost. They do not live on compost in nature.
Changing soil, it depends of the size of the indoor enclosure. In the daily routine you will need to scoop up any soil soiled by droppings, urine (if you see that) and urates.
People say changing the soil every couple of months is swhat is recommended.
By the way on the hydration, i will be on the safe side with your young baby and soak it daily every morning in luke warm water (temp no higher that 30-32 degrees), i am saying that because babies are very prone to dehydration. I find that a terracotta dish keeps the heat longer for the soak. If your baby wants to go out of its soak it is becasue the water has gone too cold or it is too hot. Then you can change the water and continue the soak. Please don't soak your baby in the sink or bath tub.
For example I soak my babies daily 20-30 minutes when they have woken up and warmed up for a little while under the heat lamp. The dish they soak is placed in the enclosure so there is no change in surroundings. When you soak your baby tort, it has to be under supervision (you have to watch it in case it falls asleep in the water, the head falls in water and to avoid drawning - Hermman tortoises are not amphibians and they cannot swimm).
Typically when they have their soak, they will however lower their head in water to drink, their nostrils will also be in the water, this is nornal and you notice their eyes are opened (not asleep) and their throat moving as the water is sawllowed. So don't panic and let it drink.
Also tortoises do not like to be handled and to be lifted from the ground, this is a big source of stress for them, they are ground animals and they freak out when lifted from the ground, so handling must be to the minimum and only if necessary (when soaking, weighing etc).
When handling, you will have to be sure you approach your hands very slowly so they see your hands, and not be surprised otherwise that will stress them as well. Also when handling you have to think of the size of your tortoise, so if you move it fast and lift is very fast high, imagine we put you in a supersonic high speed plane and you go from 0km to 300km from floor zero to floor 100 in 3 seconds, this is a lot for a tortoise. So handling is slow and low. Typically when they freak out when being lifted they urinate because too scared. Frequent handling will lead to stressed tortoises, and symptoms will be from hiding away to diseases.
The way I handle my babies is this way: approach hands slowly, make sure they see my both hands, then put one hand flat on ground, then slide the tort on the palm of hand, slowly cover the tortoise with the other hand, so it does not see, and then lift it very low and move it very slow and transfer it in the soaking dish or on the scale. etc...
Basically tortoises are not domesticated animals, they are still wild and have stong natural instincts, they are not pets, we cannot play with them, they have no affection for us like dogs or cats, they cannot be petted. The less they see us, they less we interact with them, they less we handle them, the better they live in captivity.
Also they don't hear sounds like we do, they hear vibrations. So if you call them by their names they basically won't hear your voice. Also they have no voice and no facial expressions.
Having a tortoise is a hobby rather than having a pet if that makes sense and an interest in learning about tortoises and reptiles in general. Also because they are an endangered specie, this is also a way to contibute to the preservation of the specie.
Additional comments by seeing your pictures:
I am sorry that the shop gave you the wrong substrate, wrong enclosure and plastic plants.
Plactic plants should be avoided, as your tort might nibble on it
A good idea when you have your opened top enclosure is to create different levels of heights, etc.
Deep soil will give your baby the opportunity to dig in and sleep uderground as they naturally do to keep hydrated and thermoregulate. No hide/liitle house for the night.
Always think of how Hermann tortoises would live in nature and this is give you the answers which are pretty evident
A good website to refer to as well is: http://www.tortsmad.com/
I am afraid to say that your new baby shows pyramiding signs. However with proper husbandry you will be able to stop that and give a better life to your tort than it had before.
I hope this helps
Sabina
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Did they give you papers with him?
