Getting a 3 year old Hermann tortoise - setting things up

[EmBob]

Hi everyone. We are getting a Hermann tortoise soon that is 3 years old . The tortoise has been living in a vivarium, which the owner is giving us. However, after reading posts on here I can see that this is probably not the best option and an open tortoise table would be better. Unfortunately we didn't know this, so we haven't yet had time to make one using wood etc, but in the indoor enclosures thread I saw someone (sorry cant remember who ) looked as if they had used a childs toy box instead. Would this be OK? As we have a toy box we could use in the mean time until we have time to make one.

Also, if we do transfer him over, are we ok to just take him straight out of his viv and put him in the new toy box that is totally different? Will that not stress him? Should we keep the setup the same as it was in the viv or do they not really mind this too much?

Another question I have is about the substrate. I know you are meant to use a mixture of soil and sand, but by soil does it just mean the type you have in your garden and what kind of sand do we use, is it playsand? How deep should we have the substrate? Also, we have seen some people have put pebbles down to provide different kinds of surface for them to climb on. Is there anything else we can add as well to give them different "terrains",other than sand soil and pebbles? How about different kinds of obstacles and things? I have looked at the pictures on the indoor enclosure thread but sometimes its hard to see what the stuff is that people have used. I think we are going to put in a plant pot, and simple things like this to give him places to hide and also whatever is already in the vivarium he is in. We just want the basics for now then he is happy and then can build on that as we go.

Also, how long do we keep the light on? Do we keep both the UV lights and the basking heat lamp on all the time? If we turn them off at night will he not get too cold? He isnt hibernating at the moment and we don't want him to go into hibernation so do we need to keep him warmer than usual? As I understand it should be around 20 degrees at the cold end and 30 and the hot end? Is this right?

Also, lastly what kinds of plants should we put in there? Should we put in ones he can eat? Does anyone have any examples of plants you use in yours?

Sorry this is such a long post, just want to check we are getting things right. Thanks in advance everyone

[labmad]

Tubs are fine to use, some use these some use tables etc etc, tubs are great if your on a budget or at least until you can make a table like you say, just make sure its a decent size tub - alternatively look on places like freecycle for a solid bookcase which can also be used as a tort table

Set the tub up and pop the tort in there, a good idea to get it set up in advance so you can get temps right etc, your tort may not do much for a while and go into 'sulk' mode, but once it settles he/she will literally come out of it's shell and start to explore , no need to replicate its current house.......

For my torts i use topsoil, which works fine, and for depth its up to you and depends on the depth of the box, but a good gauge is to put enough in just to be able to keep the least bit of shell peeping out, at least then you wont have panic attatcks whinking you have lost your tort

Slate mats are good to feed off and will keep the 'beak' in check, and flat stones are also good to keep the claws in check, and you can always put things in there decor wise that the tort cannot see through, so he/she goes round it, which keeps the tort exercised as it may be more likely to go explore if a pysical barrier restricts the view

otyhers wll be around to help out aswell

[EmBob]

Thank you the advice labmad. Think we will go for the toy box idea then temporarily. Its a pretty good size especially just for now. And will go for the slate and the flat stones too they seem like a good idea