Hello all. This is my first post to this website. I am planning on buying a Hermann Tortoise and hope some of you can point me in the right direction. I have a totoise table that is 4" by 2". I have a sola glow lamp that is 125W and am going to use 50/50 play sand and top soil for substrate. Im growning some weeds that i brought from shelled worriers. I hope this all sounds ok. Im a little confused about the outdoor set up. My garden is not very secure and there are lots of cats and dogs in the area so i want a set up that is enclosed at the top. I was thinking of maybe a very large rabbit run style. Would this be ok? what size would you recomend. Also would a Hermann be prone to dig out of the enclosure. Im also a bit worried about theft so only want to put the tortoise out when im at home. any other advise would be appreciated. Thankyou Karen

Karen

Hello and welcome :-) what age/ size  of  Tort are you getting ? your size setup seems fine for a hatchling (ish)  I have 4 Hermanns, 2 adults,  1yr old Lucky and a baby from this summer Tadpole, 8 wks now :-)

Lucky the 1yr old is in a table similar size to yours and tbh if it was the beginning of the summer it would of been fine but now I would be looking at something bigger for indoors,,but I'm hibernating him this year, (soon,) so will make do until the spring,, Now to contradict myself :-)

The outside, for a 1yr old

Its getting cold outside now and Lucky doesn't go out so much anymore, so thinking about next spring myself,, was thinking about the wooden sand pits prob about 4"x4" covered with a wire mesh, shelter at one end in case it rains ect, some sort of coldfram/tunnel to warm up in,lots of little plants to hide/climb through,

Some baby torts when very young ( a few months old ) dont like the big outside to begin with and prefer to be or seem to be more secure if their outside pen is not too big,  Lucky had the plastic Guinea pig run with the wire mesh top Ideal for babies as long as your around if weather changes,,

There's lots of pictures of setups on here which should give you some ideas for now and next summer , good luck its nice to see your trying to get organised before you get your baby and hope this helps a bit :-)  xx

Cath

Hi Karen, to the site, and well done for doing your research before getting the tort!

Great advice from Cath.

I have occasionally a rabbitt run (the triangular type) with a hutch incorporated, as long as you put wood around the base so that the tort cannot see or poke its head out of the mesh.  You could put nylon crop type wire on the base or bury it to stop the worry of tunneling, but I think Horsfields are more likely to dig out.

When the babies were very small I used the large rabbitt cage but as Cath says you have to be there with them incase it rain and floods the cage, also if its too hot the base of the cage heats up to quick and its too hot for them with nowhere to escape.

If you select photo gallery from the lefthand column you will see examples of our members enclosures.

I hope this helps, regards Vivienne

Thankyou for your replys. im planning on getting a Hermann that is about a year old. I dont feel confident enough with a baby.  Would a rabbit run type enclosure be suitable for an adult tortoise? Also im confused about hibernation. I have been told that i should not hibernate my tort untill he is 5 years as he is more likley to survive. Is this true? Sorry for all of the questions. I just want to make sure that i get it right. Also would you be able to advise me on how big a Hermann will get. I have looked on websites and they contradict themselves. I hoping to get a male so that he is smaller.

Hi Karen, a tortoise run will be ok whilst the tort is small, but when its is an adult it will require a larger pen.

Regading hibernation, as you havent got the tort yet, if you do get one before winter it would be best to over winter the tort (keep it awake) as you need to build up a weight chart, weighing the tort on a regular basis, so that you can plot its growth to make sure it has put on enough weight to go through the hibernation.

All torts grow at their own rate, best to keep looking at pictures, see the gallery to get a rough idea.

Regards Vivienne