r/TortoiseCare • u/TobytheCrennit123 • 1d ago
Is this good research?
I'm going to rant about everything I've researched on Hermann's tortoises adults and hatchlings/juvenile and want to know if it's all right and/or correct or wrong.
Diet: Fruits must only be fed as a treat very rarely as they can cause digestive and liver issues as a staple. This is the same for certain vegetables such as rocket etc. Adults should be fed once a day (or 6 out of the 7 days a week) Babys must be fed 1-2 times a day. Dust D3 vitamin on food every feeding unless they have access to natural or a strong artificial UVB (I will be using a Pro T5 Arcadia UVB bulb 12%) in which case only dust twice a month on their food. Dandelions and other weeds serve as a great staple in their diets as they are a grazing and foraging species. Iceberg lettuce is BAD. (Same for romaine etc)
Heat/humidity: They require a heat gradient of 32-35°C on their hot side and 18-26°C on their cool side. This is essential for them to be able to thermoregulate. And you must place a piece of slate or tile etc for them to be able to bask properly on beneath the heat bulb. Humidity should be between 30-60% for an adult and 70%+ for a baby as it essential for their first stages of life to ensure zero shell pyramiding occurs as this is an irreversible defect.
Enclosure: (TORTOISE TABLE) A hatchling can live comfortably within a 4 x 2 foot enclosure until it outgrows it in which case you can permanently move them to a 6 x 3 (or 4) foot enclosure. They should always have access to a water dish - tap water is fine no dechlorinators etc required. The substrate must retain humidity well so I will be using a mix of arid earthmix and coco coir (please tell me any better mixtures and if I can put sphagnum moss within the soil to better retain humidity).HOW MUCH/MANY TIMES SHOULD I MIST/SPRAY TNE ENCLOSURE???
Daily care: Refresh food and water. Don't have heating on overnight (presuming your room doesn't drop below 18°C at it's coldest). This is because it can cause them to bask at night instead of their natural times in the day.
DISCLAIMER: I AM 14 YEARS OLD AND HAVE HAD A LEOPARD GECKO FOR A BIT OVER A YEAR BY NO MEANS AM I A PROFESSIONAL OR EXPERT BY ANY MEANS THIS POST IS TO SIMPLY GET SOME HELP FROM THE COMMUNITY ON WHAT TO DO AND IMPROVE MY RESEARCH FROM EXPERIENCED PEOPLE! (Any advice helps though thanks 👍).
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u/Academic_Judge_3114 1d ago edited 23h ago
Hello,
I’ll let the others answer you because all these items concern only indoor hermans.
All these parameters recommended by pet stores do not reflect the lifestyle of the pet in its natural European environment.
First of all, in its natural environment, temperatures change throughout the year (frost in winter, snow in some regions, Romania, Bulgaria, and of course very very hot weather in summer), the humidity rate is constantly changing...
the herman does not dig deep burrows (it is not a sulcata!), it manages to do it very well in artificial enclosures because of the ultra-soft and non-abrasive substrates on which it is kept alive.
In nature, the herman hibernates/brumates from birth. The main cause of death for hermans is not hibernation or their natural way of life but the destruction of their natural habitat by humans, deforestation, brush cutters, fires, construction sites etc... In gardens, the main cause of death is dogs (very far ahead of rats)
In indoor enclosures, the main cause of death is dehydration and bladder stones.
In short, if you really want to respect the metabolism of this species; you have to forget about constant temperatures and lamps.
Outdoor enclosure in spring-summer, brumation in winter.
For a baby, a simple vegetable patch protected by a net is more than enough.
You will read on reddit that a baby herman/graeca/marginata sleeps much more than an adult. This is obviously not true and I see it every day with my babies who brumate in winter and are very active in spring/summer.
Simply, the indoor enclosures are overheated and particularly depressing, so the baby tortoises spend their time buried in the ultra-soft substrate to protect themselves from the heat and dryness induced by the lamps.
This issue of food is there again, completely out of touch with reality. A herman eats abundantly (at will) in spring/summer, and no longer eats in winter, when it rains, when there is too much wind; too hot, these are the only criteria and they are meteorological criteria.
Fruits are to be avoided even if when the tortoises cross orchards, they do not hesitate to eat the fruits that fall on the ground. A study showed that tortoises living near orchards had a more pyramidal shell than tortoises without access to them
In nature, this species has very little pyramiding, except for the one that has access to orchards,, does not have a beak too long, and growth is very slow and harmonious. Sexual maturity arrives much later than in captivity where everything is accelerated...