hi all

im new to this so please bear with me :)

Im looking for some advise about housing a hermann (or two!!).I am going to try to get hermann(s) 3+ years old.i have been looking at advertisers etc for people selling them. however im a bit concerned about housing ...

lots of people seem to keep their torts in vivs- i dont want to do this. I have a huge gardens with empty greenhouses which i want to make good use of. some places i have read that i will need a heat lamp in a greenhouse...is that right??maybe just for colder days/times??  If i bought a tort from someone who kept it in a viv would it b too much of a 'shock' to b outside?would it be too cold for something use to being so warm??

sorry iv got lotsssssss of questions. the internet and books seem to have alot of conflicting messages and want to get it spot on :)

thnx in advance  Kelly

Hi Kelly

I think it's great that your doing your research before you get your tortoises !  Please feel free to read the care sheets........if you look to the left of the page you will see a box marked 'The Tortose', click on this and it will give you a list of tortoise species, each one is a care sheet for that particular species. 
The care sheets list diet, housing, enclosures, supplements so I hope they are very useful to you.

Your are right about vivariums, they are not good for tortoises as they get too hot, do not allow for a good temperature gradient (ie, no cool side), create too much humidity and the amount of floor space is downright cruel, in my opinion.  An open-topped enclosure for indoors is by far, much more healthy for the tortoise as air can circulate allowing  the tortoise to find a cooler spot when it is warm enough and you can give the tortoise much more room.  You don't need to spend a lot of money either, unlike vivs, as an old wardrobe, bookcase, chest of drawers (all with drawers and doors off) will make an ideal enclosure with lots of room for them to explore. 

Once the weather improves (hopefully soon too!) you will need an outdoor enclosure, which would be ideal if it could be accessed via your greenhouse (which is perfect outdoor housing for torts).  Many keepers (including myself) have a mixture of heated coldframes and greenhouses (these are bulbs for daytime, tubular heaters on thermostats for cold nights, a large variety is used) which we use for sleeping quarters/warming up on a morning/wet, cold days before going into the main part of their enclosure (with ones so small, this will need to be predator proof).

Please read the care sheet and have a look in the members gallery at some of the fabulous enclosures, indoor and outdoor, that our members have shared with us.....you'll pick up some great ideas.

Feel free to ask anything you like, as much as you like

Jo