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30-04-2008, 08:58 PM
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Advice on new hermans
Hi....
Looking for all and any help for our wee Herman..... I got from a very nice lady... setup in a glass front and back terraium with a exoterra sun lamp, seems to be a heat mat below the substrate, which is like grit, kinda like very fine cat litter mixed with earth?.... Cant say Im impressed with the cat litter stuff TBH... It seems to stick to all his wee legs in minutes..... I`ll get readings on temps once lamps been on a wee while. So my questions.... Id like to sink plant a pot saucer with tort friendly plants..... which is the best kind to thrive in a viv enviroment? Is there a better substrate than this gritty stuff?? I read to turn off the lamp at night.... what kinda time... matching our daylight? Im not a great fan of a heat mat inside a viv (getting wet, at best stopping working... dont want to think about worst).... Id like to change this... is it needed??? I was under the assumption if they had 32 basking on thier shell area that is suffient??? Any other advice you fancy flinging in my direction will be very much appreciated too  Den PS Im a snake keeper .... Got a few more years than I care to share under my belt with them LOL 
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30-04-2008, 09:01 PM
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Hi There
I think you'll find that your tortoise will do much better in a tortoise table rather than a vivarium enviroment; www.tortoisetrust.org has a good article on how to make them, just use the site search feature for 'tortoise table' Im not sure what the gritty stuff is... is it vermitucule mixed with soil? It doesn't sound too good.. I would ditch the heat mat, tortoises dont do well with reciving heat from underneath as they are used to basking from the top and can easily burn themselves without realising. Josh
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30-04-2008, 09:06 PM
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Its not vermic... I use that to incubate my snake eggs....(mixed with perlite).... It really is like a fine cat litter mixed with earth.....
Can you suggest what would be a cleaner less messy alternative? I actually like the look of these table things better..... we seen a particularly nice one with a little pebble stone walkway LOL Anyhow... ta  Den
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30-04-2008, 09:15 PM
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Quote:
There's a couple of choices on good substrate for a Hermann... either a mix of topsoil/sand or hemp. Or you could have an area of both. As Tortoise Dude has already said you don't need a heat mat... not for a healthy tortoise anyway. They can be useful for sick torts though. There's lots of differing opinions on vivs and tables... if your viv is open topped, very well ventilated and the area the tort can see through is blocked out then it may be okay - just check you have a good temp gradient.... aim for around 32 degs under the basking site (measure the temp as though it would be at the top of the torts shell) and around 20 degs in the cooler area. Post a pic of your set up and I'm sure people will give opinions. Pansies are always good for in a tort table... or if you just want something aesthetic then pop a plant in a pot in there that the tort can't reach. The only other really important thing I can think of is are you bathing your tort? How old is your Hermann? Hope that helps a little 
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30-04-2008, 10:57 PM
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As soon as we got the wee fella home we bathed him...... He had that substrate all caked to his legs......
I was told he is 2 yrs old. Hes about 3" lenght Id say. The viv seems to have black plastic mesh sides (which arent see- thru.... the back and front have up to 5" high a black border..... Iv never seen a viv like this... the nearest is the exo terrs sliding door front ones.. ... (which this viv has) SO I think it appears that it has good ventalation as mesh sides and top.....???? But I still like the look of the tabletops better and think I may end up with that. I have Aspen... for my Corns.... and that brick of dark looks like soil, but isnt .. stuff for my Green Tree.... Think I`ll try to do somehting with these rather than keep this clay-ey type stuff....... Heat mat is off.... I will remove tomorrow.... I wasnt keen on that anyway..... I`ll get pics of the current setup.... and hopefully next week can sort out somehting better..... Iv got lots of underbed boxes (from snake racks) might joogery pokery with them;-) Looking into seed mixes.... and will make up a couple troughs for all year round food I reckon;-))) Cheers for all the input folx Den
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30-04-2008, 11:07 PM
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Hi There,
an underbed storage box is perfect as a tortoise table; Free Indoor Tortoise Enclosures...Well sort of! This thread is a good example!  Josh
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