My New Tortoise- Questions!

[hayleyylouise]

I got a new tortoise yesterday and just wondered whether everything seems right, as I havn't owned one before! He's a hermanns, about 2 and a half, named him rocky (hopefully he is a boy if not I will have to change it to roxanne! hehe!) He is 4inchs and weighs 156grams!

I got him from a reptile pet shop, which i got a starter kit with Tortoise table, hide, bowls for food, Thermometer, uv and heat lamp, stuff to sprinkle on his food, and the smelly pelets for the bottom..which i don't like! I've seen many people saying 50/50 sand and top soil? Is this a good idea? can i just buy these from B&Q etc?

At the moment he hasn't eaten very much (is this normal?) I've given him different types of leafy greens and waiting for my weed seeds to arrive, he keeps walking round the tortoise table, right round the edges, and everytime he gets to the end he has to work out that he has to turn, quite cute! it is wooden, so its not like he can see through it?!

Also one last question, should the uv light and heat lamp be at the same side? and should i leave the heat lamp on over night? my house doesn't get that cold in the night, was thinking of leaving it off 12am-7am if possible! and hes the smallest spare bedroom so it keeps heat quite well!

I would appreciate it if people could give me tips, to see if i'm doing okay so far! Thank you!! x

[millie_moo]

congrats on your new tortie!
Your tortie sounds like he's just settling in and getting to know his new surroundings. some torts don't eat much when they first 'move in' so make sure your doing daily baths to keep him hydrated!
the topsoil and playsand you get from b&q, you can play around with the ratio's. i just use topsoil now as i found sand getting in my torties eye but he is abit 'special'!
your lamps you want on for 10 -12 hrs a day. if your house doesn't fall below 15 degrees you won't need any night time heat for him. i have the uv strip and heat lamp next to each other cause then as the tort is basking its also getting enough uv, make sure your uv strip is close enough tho!

[hayleyylouise]

Thats great thankyou! will have to go buy some soil tomorrow, thank god i didn't like the smell of the pelets lol.

My tort some quite shy at the moment but hopefully once he's settled in he won't be!

thanks for your help!

[millie_moo]

for winter feeding tips this is a good read!

Winter Feeding

[purplepixie]

He sounds good.
It takes all new tortoises a while to settle into a new home, not eating food straight away is normal. You should be bathing him everyday to keep him hydrated, this also helps with encouraging him to eat.
It is better if heat and the UV are on the same side.
Just wondering if you got his paperwork with him, when you bought him, as its illegal to sell without. It also causes problems later on if you dont have the paperwork

[hayleyylouise]

Yeah i have, well not just set, the pet shop have to send it off so they get it registered to them, to then sell to me if you understand that lol, so there ringing me when i can collect it!

[purplepixie]

I would keep on at them until you get the certificate, as they are notorious for not providing the paperwork. It should only take a couple of weeks to get it.
As a breeder, it has never taken longer than two weeks to get paperwork for my tortoises.
As I have said, its illegal to actually sell tortoises without the paperwork.