Tortoise experts please?

Question

Hello!!!

I have a female 2006 hermanns tortoise, I bath her every 2 days, and most days she is fed dandelions, hawkbits and cats ears, hawks-beard, plantains, clover, creeping bell-flower (mainly leaves), occassionally rose petals, kale, carrot, potatoe and peppers. and is always given tortoise dust sprinkled over her food.

The lights are on around 12 hours a day, the temp at the hot end is around 93 degrees, but at night it gets so low that i purchased a heat mat, but i heard that tortoises should not have heat mats as it burns them???? she seems ok though.

every day she has a good stroll around the living room sometimes for 20 mins, sometimes for an hour (depends how cold it is).

she is 8cm long and ways 100g

Is everything Im doing correct??????????

Does she sound like a healthy tort to you? i am a beginer and want everything to be perfect and want a happy healthy tort!

thanks
xXx

Answer 1

as long as she is eating and strolling around she will be alright.

Answer 2

As you can see from the responses - keeping a tortoise can mean reading between conflicting suggestions. Sweet potatoes are fine in moderation but I would avoid 'normal' potatoes.

It isn't good to allow your tortoise to roam around on the floor. This is one common way for your tortoise to get a 'draft' and could possibly make it poorly. As long as you have a big vivarium then it'll be fine in that. The summer months is the time to take it out and allow it to explore it surroundings preferably outside in the blazing sunshine but with adequate items for it to explore and shade.

Heat mats are fine so long as your tortoise can not dig down to it, simply place something over it preventing direct contact.

I would suggest buying a number of books and doing online researching - you will find different responses to certain questions - the best thing to do is decide for yourself and using commonsense.

Even the experts can not always agree on a tortoise welfare - truly.

Answer 3

Generally OK. Http://www.tortoisetrust.org should help a lot, they are UK based and have a GREAT tortoise site.

Food- avoid root veggies (carrots, potatoes), and only dust with vitamins a couple times a week- it is easy to overdo them, especially on young tortoises.

Temps- belly warmth is OK- IF it can be carefully regulated. It should NEVER get more than about 90F, and too many of them have no heat regulation. I like to use behaviors to regulate temps- if it avoids the hot end, cool it off a bit, etc.

Baths- I am in the minority, but I don't like forced baths, especially not that often. I believe that if the habitat humidity is right (and they DO need at least one place with high humidity), food moisture is right, and water is easily available that they don't need the stress of what must be a torture to them. Besides- they have waterproof skin- how much can they absorb in a short soak?

Answer 4

Your Hermann's only needs a heat source if temperatures go below 10 c which in a house is very unlikely to happen at night. Heatmats are known to dehydrate tortoises and do not keep a hermann's in a vivarium it causes runny nose syndrome which is serious for a tortoise.
Good reliable websites are www.tortoisetrust.org and www.thetortoisehouse and of course on yahoo groups look up tortoisetrust and tortoisefriends where you can ask the experts any tortoise related question you want.Hopefully i will see you on these sites, under briantortoise3234, please say hi, i have 4 adults and 6 hatchling i am selling.

Answer 5

Do not put heat mats in with your turtle as like you say it can burn them, I have a tortoise & brought a heat mat & a month later my tort was poorly & did not realise he was burning his feet on the mat. Your doing a brilliant job & your tortie sounds as though she is doing just fine.

Hermann's Tortoise (Testudo hermanni) and Marginated tortoise (Testudo marginata) are small European Species. There are two subspecies of hermann's tortoises. One subspecies grows to about 5 or 6 inches the other subspecies grows to 7 or 8 inches. The marginated tortoise grows from 9 to 11 inches. The care of both these species is very similar. They both come from a Mediterranean climate that is mild/temperate to subtropical. Neither tortoise digs a burrow but both species dig shallow pallets into soft earth or under bushes and debris to hide from the heat or cold. Both species naturally hibernate in the wild, but on warm winter days may become active.Herman's tortoises and marginated tortoises are grazers and herbivores. They do not eat meat of any kind and require very little fruit. Adult tortoises can be maintained in grass yards and lawns where there are a variety of edible weeds, flowers or other plants. If a grassy yard is not available adults can be fed dark green vegetables. If they are fed only dry foods (such as dry tortoise diets or dry leaves and grass) they must have water available every day.

Answer 6

A few improvements.
I would avoid potatoes and only feed peppers once in a great while. Peppers are a fruit and high in sugar . This feeding list has healthy foods for your tortoise.
http://www.russiantortoise.org/edible_plants.htm
They are appropriate for all turtles and torts.
If the temperature falls below 60 degrees at night you can use a heat emmiter to raise it a bit. Anything above 60 should be fine.
Do you have a UVB light? If not make sure to get one right away. It's really important! =)

Answer 7

The pet store just wants to sell you a tortoise. 20 gallons is much to small for most tortoises. I can't think of any tortoise that can be kept in a tank that size.

Answer 8

It does sound like your on your way to being a responsible turtle owner. Heat mats or rocks should never be used with any reptile, because they are cold blood and have fewer nerve cells in their skin, they easily get thermal burns. And since they arent the cleanest animals, those burns will quickly get infected. If you feel you need the mat to maintain proper temperature, place it underneath the cage, not in it. You should also find a good reptile vet in your area, so that you can establish the proper procedures for brumation (turtle hibernation).

Answer 9

hi sweetie you sound like you are doing the best for your tortoise, but i would not recommend a heat mat, i use heat lamps so the tortoise can move away if too hot, they are baskers so it is natural to get the heat they require from the top side of their shell, i would not recommend potatoes in her diet and limit her pepper intake as too much is not good for them, check out the tortoise trust web site for a full list of what a Herman eats, but you are trying to do your best for your tortoise so well done